In my quest I have been using several stockman knives. All my knives are users by the way.
Tidioute Calf Roper: I believe it is a 2017. 3.4” closed, carbon steel blades, ebony covers. This is a very well-proportioned knife. The flat ground blade shapes are proportioned very nicely in my opinion, though I would prefer a pen instead of a spey blade. The sheepfoot blade extended out too far so I lowered spey blade a little and the sheepfoot a bit more. The carbon steel blades are fine with me except when I use them for food prep, I prefer stainless steel. The springs are a bit weak but not excessively so. The covers are rounded as well as the ends making it a pleasure to hold and use and makes it pocket friendly. The exposed hinge end of the closed blades has sharp corners making it not so pleasant to grip. There are no stylistic embellishments, so it does not look fancy which I like very much. Overall I like this knife very much.
Queen Stockman: not sure what year but probably made not long before closing, I bought it several months after Queen Cutlery closed. 4” closed, stainless steel blades, rosewood covers. Also well proportioned blades, flat ground, a bit longer than the Tidioute, which is helpful for food prep. The spey and sheepfoot could be lowered a little but I have not done that yet. I did find a few tiny rust spots on the stainless steel blades. The springs are a bit weak but not excessively so. As with the Tidioute I like the simple styling. The exposed hinge end of the closed blades has sharp corners making it not so pleasant to grip. The final grinding of the frame was performed very poorly, like maybe someone was learning how to do that job. The ends are not a smooth transition from the radius to the back or front edge of the frame and are lopsided. The back has some low areas, not a smooth flowing surface from end to end. Functionally it works well, the fit & finish is embarrassing for such a company so highly regarded as Queen, though I have read a number of accounts of this type of problems in the last few years they were in business.
Case 6347 Stockman: 3 7/8” closed, stainless steel blades, 3 springs, amber peach seed covers. The hollow ground blades are all thinner than the other knives but due to the 3 spring arrangement they are not bent. My guess is that even though they are thinner, under hard use they would perform well because they are not bent. The springs have a nice strength, not too little or too much. The blades appear to have been tumble polished quite a bit so the exposed hinge end of the closed blades do not have sharp corners and is much more pleasant to hold than the Tidioute or Queen. I am a sucker for the Case amber peach seed covers. This would likely be my favorite if the blades were flat ground.
Camillus 711 Yello-Jaket Stockman: 3 7/8” closed, stainless steel blades, yellow Delrin covers. This arrived just yesterday but already I am loving it. Not sure how old but it is NOS. Fit & finish is better than I expected. As with the others the blade shapes are well proportioned. (I guess I am mostly thinking of the clip blades, I do not like the Turkish clip, looks like it has already been sharpened 1000 times.) One difference from all the others is that the spey and sheepfoot blades are tucked in tightly. The sheepfoot just barely peaks above the clip when closed. This is my first knife with a nail slot on the clip, it works very well though if making a slot it should have a rough surface for striking a match on! Another difference is that the blades are all a little thicker than any of the other knives. The blades are bent just right so there is no blade rub, but not much spare between them either. I am extremely impressed with this knife. It may well become my nearly ideal favorite most carried knife. Such a shame Camillus is out of business.
Status of my quest:
I carried the Case for a while and thought it would become my EDC except I realized that I really like flat grind blades. Maybe I am too picky but when cutting an apple the hollow grind will not cut straight and that just annoys me. The Tidioute is so close to ideal, I could accept the shorter blade but I like stainless steel for food prep. The Queen is also very close but the poor finish grinding shows a lack of pride in workmanship and sours me on it even though overall it is a good knife. At this point (just one day of use) I think the Camillus will be my EDC. But I have said that sort of thing before only to then get a new knife….
So I will finish with one question, do all Case stockman knives have hollow ground blades? The Case 6347 with flat ground blades would steal my heart!
Sorry for such a long post. You folks mostly know all that I have just describe. I guess I am processing my own thoughts.
Might be a never ending quest………..
