Experiences on Carl Schlieper knives...

Humppa

Humppa

Joined
Jul 25, 2010
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Hi guys,

I´m thinking about ordering one, two or much more Eye Brand Knives from Carl Schlieper, Solingen.

Which experiences did you made with theese knives? What about the steel? What about the scales? Quality Control? and so far ... and so on...

Until now I just own a couple of Cases and one RR.

What can you tell me about theese knives?

Kind regards...
 
They are nice knives. Good carbon steel. (I have no experience with the stainless.)

Fit and finish is reasonably good but it's luck of the draw unless you get to handle the knives in advance.

For a working, carry knife I have few reservations in recommending them.

The older ones are outstanding.
 
I have had two of them, and they are very good using knives. One was the large yellow sodbuster with carbon steel blade, and the other was a stag handle stockman. Both knives held a good edge, cut well, and were good enough that I didn't feel bad about gifting them to someone who would appretiate them when I downsized my belongings. The stag on the stockman was the European red stag, and it was very nice stuff.

Carl.
 
The stag on the modern ones is pretty thick, so like Elliot said, checking them out in person is important. In my experience the steel is a little softer than Case and quite a bit softer than GEC's 1095. I don't have any idea what it is, though.

James
 
Humppa, look for an older one, pre 1990's. There's plenty listed on ebay in both used and unused condition.
I have about 30 Schlieper's, mostly 'older' ones. Recently i bought 2 of the more recently produced knives and everything about them is of a lesser quality than those from 20+ years ago.
roland
 
as mentioned by rprocter try to find a pre 1990 in carbon . world class cutting knife & for years the brand i compared all other cutlery to. however the newer models are decent but if looking for stag , good idea to hand pick if stag.--dennis
 
I have a small sod in yellow/cream (99jry) I got 2 months ago for 35usd or so, don't know when it was made though, maybe recently?

I really like it, LIGHT!,built pretty well, good edge and finish, with a acouple strops it's fairly sharp now, only defect is at the end where liners and scales divide a "bit"

steel is XC75 carbon steel from what I've found, hardened to approx 56 hrc but to me it seems pretty good, maybe the forging made it come out a bit better?

I like the "hammeRED forged" thing LOL

Maxx
 
I'm sure people are right about the older ones.

I have this small Barehead Jack, looks very smart (impossible NOT to like their shield&blade etch!) but the fit is not good. The secondary blade, a small Sheepfoot is crinked as though it should be in a Stockman...consequently it hits the liner in a nasty way. Raised rough spring on open too. Put me off a bit.
 
I was excited when one of my gun show vendors told me he was going to start carrying them. I have an old butterbean or baby canoe that is about 25 years old. I love it. F/F great, and the steel is a fairly hard carbon that takes a wicked edge.

My excitement was lessened when I saw the new ones he was carrying. Compared to the older ones, the finish is a bit rough, as if it needed one more pass on the fine wheel to clean up the grinds on the spine and front of the case. All were that way. The fit needed some work as well.

Overall, they looked like good working knives, but like some many hand finished goods, they just don't seem as good as they used to be. I second the advice given above, make sure you get to inspect the knives before you buy.

Robert
 
I have no experience with the older ones, but I agree with the comments so far regarding the newer Eye Brand knives. I have a large stockman. Fit is good, not great and the swedging is pretty asymmetrical. Excellent working knife though. The blades sharpen up beautifully and it has strong springs.

- Christian
 
Well, thank you a lot for all of your answers.

I would prefer, anyway, buying a carbonsteel blade. What is in comparison with the Case Knives and the Carl Schlieper. Which cuterly company, all in all, makes the knives with the better finish and blade steel?

BTW: I love carrying my Case Stockman Chestnut Bone CV. I think, I like that pattern, followed by the trapper..

Kind regards...
Andi
 
I like the CASE Medium Stock in Chestnut Bone too! Good to have a Pen blade instead of a small Spey to my mind, wish you could get that or a small Clip on more Stockmans.

CASE offers a very big range of knives, some different steels and more often than not, very good build quality. As you are in Germany, you can try Böker's carbon knives which I find are very good lately, Whittler notably.
 
Well, willgoy as I have already read you are from the EU (finland).Thank you for your answer...
I think, I would get a Böker traditional some time... Thanks for being up to buy a whittler from Böker.

The Medium Stockman, for sure, is a very good knife. I love it, carrying it as an EDC. I the penblade more than the Spey...

I´m looking forward to hear any other opinions of the Carl Schlieper knives.

Greetz
Andi
 
Andi, you live in Germany. Surely there are plenty of vintage knives to found there ? Find a few older Schliepers of patterns you like and buy them. You will be glad you did.
One of my main carry knives is the 4 5/8" 2 blade Schlieper, with a saw blade as the secondary. It's an older one and outstanding carbon steel. Sharpens easily and holds the edge through a lot of hard cutting. It's a great knife !
Case makes fine knives as well. Case and Schielper knives have a different 'feel' to them, but it cannot be generalized that one is better than the other.
roland
 
A lot of the older guys around here carry and swear by the older ones I've seen quite a few of the newer ones and all I can say is they're a bit on the rough side but excellent users.
 
the eye brand was always built as a strong user . some models were not that pretty but hell for using hard. i have seen early trapper models that would stand up to a bruuckmann in finish. in fact i've seen some eyes that had the inside of the backsprings mirror polished. for pretty looking at the main inventory of case vs. eye the looks go to case. but for cutting the pre 1990 eyes are legendary.---dennis
 
Thanks a lot, guys, for giving me arguements Pro and Contra...

I think, I gonna order such a knife. I´m gonna use it and later report here, with a newer Eye Brand.

-- Andi
 
Humppa, just for my own education are used knives easy to buy in Germany ?
Second hand stores ? pawnbrokers ? flea-markets ? German Ebay ?
I live in western Canada and used knives are almost never seen by visiting antique dealers, second hand stores, etc. No even many on Canadian ebay.
But my American friends regularly make great finds by checking these types of stores.
Canada was/is just as rural and open for homesteading as recently as about 80 years ago, so where did all the knives go ?
So i wonder what it is like looker for older knives in Europe. It should be loaded with beautiful older Henckels, Kayser, Boker, etc. so many German manufacturers of pocket knives up to about 30 years ago.
roland
 
knives are a bit more appreciated over there in the USA than here in Italy and Germany
I used to live in center Germany years ago knives were a bit more appreciated than here in Italy by the masses, in germany flea markets are also more common than here nowadays, I found some CHEAP junk years ago here where I live or opinels for 50€ because they were 10-20 years old and rusty...

we all have a great knife tradition but in the USA you still keep this tradition high

I'd like to get an older EYE too, is there a way to know the age? I have a soddie but have no idea if it's a 2010 or earlier production

Maxx
 
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