Your Traditional Knife of the Year 2022 (Easy Tiger! Read the rules first! ;) )

[Jack Black]

Looking over the past year's knife acquisitions:

There was the white bone 86 Barlow, of course, as well as a lovely little Boker "radium" penknife in mother of pearl that @waynorth included in the package as a birthday gift. Thanks, Charlie!

r8shell's Home For Old And Worn Out Knives admitted a few new residents. A Jonathan Crookes (one of the oldest knives in my collection) and a VOOS arrow Jack Knife that's been on my list to pick up if I ever found one at a decent price. I'm very pleased to own these.

Going by the parameters of the KOTY thread there are two that have really charmed and surprised me.

The first is a knife that doesn't actually qualify (I'll edit it out if you wish, Jack) since Jack sent it to me a few years ago, but I'm mentioning it because it has only recently gotten much pocket time. I'd used it in the garden from time to time, but never thought of a folding pruner as a practical blade shape for everyday use. Well, for some reason, I put it in my pocket this holiday season and have used it daily to open packages and slice up cardboard. I just love this thing.

Which leaves us with the 2022 Knife Of The Year.
It's Johnny On The Spot! When these were announced I thought "Why would I buy a fancy new expensive version of the cheap scout/camper knives we had as kids? I even have a few Camillus and Imperial ones in a drawer around here somewhere." Then I realized I really wanted one because it is a fancy new expensive version of the cheap scout/camper knives we had as kids! It's gotten a lot of pocket time this year.

Some nice-looking knives there Rachel, I'm glad you're enjoying the Pruner As you know, I have it's sister, and it's the only Pruner I ever carry

Ultimately my friend, it was the #35 that won out. I feel it meets the requirements, because truthfully, I was sure the Cattle Knife #35 was going to be my knife of the year when I got it, but I was fortunate enough that my dealer "called my name" so to speak, and the Johnny knife showed up, and I just fell in love with it. No bail, synthetic scales, on paper, it's not really mindblowing, but in hand, use, and pocket, it's been fantastic. Knife of the year for me.

That's how true romance happens my friend I love it when a knife takes you by surprise

Thanks, Happy New Year to you, too.
The stamp is hard to read, but I believe it says "C K Italy" Jack Black has its twin.

Carl Kammerling, their older knives can be great users

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks for all the great contributions folks

 

[5K Qs]

In 2022, if you’re lucky, you may have bought, found, or been given, an EXCEPTIONAL knife. Maybe it was a knife you didn’t think was going to be that special, but it has absolutely CHARMED you. Perhaps it was an inexpensive knife, which you picked up somewhere, slipped in your pocket, and then found you couldn’t stop carrying it. It must be a knife you have gotten on or since Christmas Day 2021. If you’ve come across a knife like that, perhaps you’d like to nominate it as YOUR knife of the year.

Jack mentions 2 possible criteria that could be used to identify a KOTY candidate. Because of my weekly rotation schedule, it's not likely I'll nominate a knife because it gets carried unusually often. (The whole point of my schedule is to foster equity in pocket time for ALL my knives, and to minimize "feelings" as the motivation for what I carry.)

But I'm often charmed by many of the knives I obtain, and the challenge is to decide which knife from 2022 has charmed me MOST.

I'm always charmed when my daughter presents me with a knife, which she did a couple of times this year. I certainly like this Sabre Hong Kong stockman that she found in a Minnesota antique store and gave me for Father's Day.


But I also received this Imperial stockman as a generous gift from J Just Tom. When I became reinterested in pocket knives in 2014 after not carrying a knife for 45 years, one of my goals was to find old inexpensive pocket knives (e.g., Imperials, Colonials, etc.) that needed only a bit of TLC to become users. But I discovered that the knives I was looking for were much more difficult to find than I'd anticipated. The stockman Tom sent charmed me greatly since it is exactly the kind of knife that brought me back to knives (and eventually to The Porch).


But the two stockman knives described above sort of disqualify each other from KOTY since they're equally charming to me.

I was also greatly charmed by a very inexpensive Rite Edge Barlow I bought about mid-year. Its charm comes from its somewhat unusual features for the Barlow pattern. It's a lock back; it's curved; it has an appealing drop point blade; its bolster seems large even for a barlow; it has a lanyard hole.

But ultimately, I couldn't justify choosing a knife that I'd actually carried very seldom in 2022.

So I came back to the "couldn't stop carrying" criteria. I almost never buy fixed blade knives, having essentially limited my knife activity to folders when I started because I couldn't get involved with EVERYTHING! But in the past couple of years, I've bought 3 paring knives that I keep on the kitchen counter and use very frequently for food prep. In 2022, I bought an Otter paring knife with 3" carbon steel blade and beech handle, and I've used it probably 6-12 times each week since it arrived. I enjoy using it just as much now as I did when I first got it.
This is my 2022 KOTY!


- GT

 

[CharlieUK]

Late to the game but here goes....

One of my most carried last year was this GEC made Maher & Grosh. I'm usually a single blade guy but one has almost converted me.
But, it doesn't make the cut as it turns out I didn't get it in 2022!

Ultimately my KOTY is this Albers Cut Co. jack. It took me a long time to eventually score one of these, as Jack Black mentioned we're at time zone disadvantage for the drops here in the UK!
I've been fortunate enough to pick up a couple more in the last year but this one has just stayed with me at almost every opportunity - including a couple of adventures abroad
It's pretty close to the perfect knife for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else Mr Albers puts out in the future.

Special mention goes to this dogleg from English maker Paul Mason. This could well have been a contender, but having picked it up mid December it didn't really get the chance to earn the 'knife of the year' status....

 

[Pàdruig]

r8shell's Home For Old And Worn Out Knives admitted a few new residents. A Jonathan Crookes (one of the oldest knives in my collection) and a VOOS arrow Jack Knife that's been on my list to pick up if I ever found one at a decent price. I'm very pleased to own these.

The Jonathan Crookes tang stamp is one of my very favorites - the heart and the pistol lend a very Scottish flair to it.

 

[Jack Black]

That's a great photo Charlie

The Jonathan Crookes tang stamp is one of my very favorites - the heart and the pistol lend a very Scottish flair to it.

One of my favourites too

 

[AnW]

I've enjoyed perusing this post this morning.

I'm running a little late this year, but for me it's not even close. This is not even close to the nicest knife I added to my collection (as I was able to get a couple of Case/Bose Eurekas, a beautiful stag Hartshead Barlow, a few more fantastic Albers single blade jacks, etc. etc. etc.). However, this is the one that invariably gets thrown in my pocket when I'm heading out the door to work 5-6 days per week. Super useful blade and tool combo, just the right size for my uses, and well made.

 

[Henry Beige]

BPS Savage

 

[Jack Black]

BPS Savage

Good choice Henry

 

[Henry Beige]

BPS Savage

It obviously made an impression on you, too, Jack, if you are laying in spares. There are knives I have awaited with more excitement, and knives I have spent more money on, after thinking long and hard. At the price, the Savage was easy to buy, almost flippant. But I pick this one up a lot, for both food and utility.
Thanks for bringing this knife to our attention.

 

[Jack Black]

It obviously made an impression on you, too, Jack, if you are laying in spares. There are knives I have awaited with more excitement, and knives I have spent more money on, after thinking long and hard. At the price, the Savage was easy to buy, almost flippant. But I pick this one up a lot, for both food and utility.
Thanks for bringing this knife to our attention.

Thank you my friend, I'm glad you're finding it so useful, as I am

 

[seas165]

Jack Black and r8shell . Is there. Brand or model on that pruner? I want to start searching for one. I really like the Handle. And to keep the thread on track i did not have a 2022 koty. I enjoyed many knives this year but the ones i ended up carrying most were some i have had for years. Maybe 2023 i will have a koty. I Have enjoyed reading everyones posts!

 

[Jack Black]

Jack Black and r8shell . Is there. Brand or model on that pruner? I want to start searching for one. I really like the Handle. And to keep the thread on track i did not have a 2022 koty. I enjoyed many knives this year but the ones i ended up carrying most were some i have had for years. Maybe 2023 i will have a koty. I Have enjoyed reading everyones posts!

The mark is 'CK' Kevin, which stands for Carl Kammerling, but those are older knives. CK knives are really not the same quality today. Good luck in finding an old one