Help me pick a traditional please...

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bryan123

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Feb 7, 2017
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Hi, I'm looking for a classy traditional to help round out my as-yet meager collection. I have some Spydercos (Delica, bug and Dragonfly) and a Zancudo D2 framelock and the only knives that I have now that I would consider to be in the traditional category are a SAK Cadet and an Opinel #8 Stainless. I guess I'm looking for a "Grandpa's knife".

From the time I've spent with my current knives I have learned that I don't mind two-handed opening or closing but I'm not fond of nail nicks for opening. Also I don't mind spending some money for something that's really nice as long as the blade is less than 2.5 inches long to comply with local laws. A US-made knife would be nice. I have nothing else US-made at present except my Leatherman first year PST.

Of what I've seen so far the Three Rivers LTC Nomad is a knife that would fulfill my needs but I wanted to ask you folks for suggestions first to see if I can find something a tad more "traditional".

Thanks
 
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The hole in the blade of the Nomad puts it outside our trad guidelines. (Your grandpa had a knife like that?) Pocket clips are also out, by the way.

So it looks like you want a single blade under 2.5", and you don't mind going down to 2 1/8". Do you care if it locks?

Looking at the thread "What trad are you toting today" might give you an idea of whether you want our suggestions.

Good hunting.
 
I always think of a Case or Old Timer medium stockman when I think of "Grandpa's Knife".

IMG_2465__26144.1473705512.200.160.JPG


Case has a ton of handle options, is USA made and reasonably priced. I believe the main blade is just 2 5/16" on the medium stockman.
 
To tag along with the post above, you can probably find an old timer that was carried by somebody's grandpa for the cost of a cheap lunch, if you hit flea markets and antique stores.
 
Check out the wrcase.com and greateasterncutlery.net web sites to get some ideas about what patterns might appeal to you.
 
A Kutmaster/Utica Barlow, maybe? Or a Buck 301 or 303 Stockman?
Made in US, not super expensive. Multiple blades come in handy.
 
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Case might be your best bet for USA made simply because of variety. 2nd would be Great Eastern Cutlery, but their production is very limited, and what you might like might have been unavailable for quite a time (or just a month ago).

2.5"? Where do you live? Chicago? Baltimore?

I'm repeating myself, but I just got a Moki Fish Owl (and can't find the damn thing - I think it's lost on the side of the road) and it's a fantastic knife. Japanese made, not USA, and although it has a nail nick, you can pinch it open easily. Heck, you can drop-flick it, but I wouldn't recommend it (excessive wear and tear). It's somewhere between modern and traditional. They also make knives that are more traditional looking (quince wood, bone, etc). F&F is exemplary.

AG Russell makes a bunch of various traditional knives too. Check them out.
 
I live near the cities of Lowell, Lawrence and Boston which have 2.5" blade laws.

This is tougher than I thought it would be. I watched some videos on You Tube and I like the looks of the Northwoods Michigan Jack, but no one seems to be selling it currently and I can't even determine the blade length. So Planterz is absolutely correct about limited production.

This exercise has led me to have a new respect for my SAK Cadet which was today's carry, but boy do I dislike nail nicks.
 
How about trying a GEC 83 lock back?

Easy to open nick or no nick, compact size 3 3/8" closed. Choice of Drop-Point or Clip blade, came in wood,stag, bone,acrylic, micarta and I'm sure some GEC dealers still have them. A very capable compact knife.

IMG_4021.jpg
 
Will Power said:
How about trying a GEC 83 lock back?

Easy to open nick or no nick, compact size 3 3/8" closed. Choice of Drop-Point or Clip blade, came in wood,stag, bone,acrylic, micarta and I'm sure some GEC dealers still have them. A very capable compact knife.

IMG_4021.jpg
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This looks interesting. I google searched it. How exactly does "Knives ship free" work? There was no link that I could find to make a purchase and/or the knife was currently unavailable. Does GEC have their own site maybe?

I'll check that next.

Thanks for the lead.
 
Most traditional knives will have a nail nick but that does not mean you will actually need to use it to open the knife. I think a lot of people have experienced 'nail-breakers' and assume that slip joint knives are supposed to be that way.
The truth is that, in most cases the nail nick just helps to provide a purchase for your finger and the knife can easily be opened with the pads of your fingers. If you read through this forum and the traditional for sale forum enough you'll see a lot of people referring to the 'pull' on a blade, on a scale from 1-10. This is the scale of how difficult the blade is to open. I recommend you look for knives with a lower pull score, they will be easier to open.
That being said, there are definitely some patterns that lend themselves to easier opening. Specifically Easy Open and One-Armed Man patterns.

One-Armed Man:
15A214STL-RRJB.jpg


Easy Open:
GEC-25-2548__12050.1448907054.1280.1280.jpg
 
GEC's site has a list of approved dealers, I suggest having a look through there.
Keep an eye on the Exchange too.

Thanks, Will
 
bryan123 said:
This looks interesting. I google searched it. How exactly does "Knives ship free" work? There was no link that I could find to make a purchase and/or the knife was currently unavailable. Does GEC have their own site maybe?

I'll check that next.

Thanks for the lead.
Click to expand...

Because GEC produces knives in small batches rather than having a regular, consistent production schedule you will find that not many options are available from them, easily, at any given time. They do have a website that shows their production schedule and more information but they don't do direct sales. You will need to do some research to find the sites that regularly stock GEC and each site will have a different selection, and selections update constantly.
 
EZ-Open notches are available on many GEC patterns. 15,25,56,85 come to mind.

The one armed knives are interesting but I wouldn't like carrying that tooth around in my pocket....
 
OP here. Undaunted by my early setbacks, I am continuing with my quest to add a nice USA-made traditional knife to my collection.

My initial impression is that I liked the looks of the Northwoods Michigan and Broadway Jacks and the GEC 83 and 99. Problem is that I cannot locate anyone who could:

A. Confirm or deny that blade length is less than 2.5"
B. Sell me one.

Is there a trick to this?

Upon further internet browsing I like some of the models by Case and by Bear & Sons (both readily avbailable on my usual purchasing site Blade HQ). However I know nothing about the blade steel quality. I'm not familiar with "TrueSharp" and I know that there are different types of 440. 440a in my opinion is barely adequate or barely inadequate, I haven't decided, whereas 440c is just fine. I have no idea what TrueSharp is. Anyone know?

I also noticed that the Bear knives bear a resemblance to Colonel Littleton knives that I suspect might be more than a coincidence. Anyone know where the good Colonel gets his knives?

Thanks. This is a fun challenge so far.

Bryan
 
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Railsplitter said:
Bryan,

I believe Case states somewhere on their website that TrueSharp is 420HC.
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I was afraid of that. I have found that most 420HC is bad news, suitable for the blades of Leatherman keychain multitools but not much else. The only exception I have found is Buck 420HC which has a good heat treat that elevates it to barely adequate status.

BTW I'm not a steel snob really. Love my SAK's and my Inox Opinel.

Do you know if Case's 420HC is more like Leatherman or more like Buck?

Thanks
 
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