Old guys and their pen knives.

F

fishtale

Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
337
I've been carrying a two blade pen knife all week. It's a Buck 309. I've grown to really like the small size and usefulness. I also got to see why a lot of the old timers I've known carried this kind of knife.

My wife's father and grandfather carried Case pen knives for most of their lives. Each of them selected a 3" bone handle, two blade model. They were used for everything. The main clip blade was kept sharp but the small pen wasn't! Their small pen blade was used to scrape, poke, probe, "dig", and generally do everything but cut!

At first, I didn't understand why but this week answered my questions. When you travel light, you make due with what you have. Less bulk in the pocket was the key to always having a knife with you! Big heavy things got left behind. They didn't collect knives...they used them. They didn't carry multiple knives (unless they were in hunting camp). So, the small blade got a lot of use doing everything you didn't want to mess up your cutting blade. Makes perfect sense!

The older I get the more I learn!
 
I love small knives, and seldom carry a slipjoint over 3 1/8" closed. For several years I carried an old XX tang stamped Case 6333, which I consider to be the Rolls Royce of small stockmans. My collection of slipjoints, however, would hardly reflect what I love to carry. An old time knife collector taught me this lesson and I think it has a lot of merit: "People love little knives and they want little knives; but they don't want to pay for them." This comment was from a collector standpoint on what knives bring the big $

Here's my favorite Case pattern of all time, and I dare say no company equalled Case on their small Stockman. I'm talking Ten Dot and back only... If I owned one of these I owned 25. I once bought literally every one I could find in Louisville that was in mint condition. May be I should go back and do it again
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It's funny how people's experiences are so different. I have known many many older kinfolk and personal acquaintances, also tons of older people I've met professionally via work. Nobody, NOT ONE, that I have ever seen carrying a traditional styled knife, was carrying anything besides a stockman or trapper. Not one as far back as I can remember, and I'm 42 now. Among the much younger people I know or have came across, the few who carry traditionals are more diverse than the oldsters. Sodbusters, tiny lockbacks, Buck 110's, scout knives, SAK's, dinky mini whittlers, etc. I've seen a bunch of Spydercos and Benchmades, and heaping boatloads of flea market Chinese made knives. Getting really interested in knives a few years ago made me start being observant about what others were carrying and using. I can say honestly that I have never seen ANYONE carrying a tuxedo, peanut, pen knife, Texas jack, toothpick, congress, sunfish, elephant toenail, teardrop jack, canoe, saddlehorn, sowbelly, doctors knife, swing guard, ladyleg, or barlow. The three far and away most popular knives judging by what I've seen personally in North Alabama were a Case trapper, Schrade Old Timer stockman, and the Buck 110. The only folks I have ever witnessed carrying a fixed blade of any sorts were hunters, and the three most commonly seen were a stacked leather washer Case, a Schrade Sharpfinger, or a Buck 119. Until I got interested in knife lore and knife collecting, I had never before heard of Queen Cutlery Company, Ontario, Western, Camillus, etc. I'm sure there were plenty of Camillus knives around somewhere, but I can't recall seeing any. There just wasn't much diversity around here in north Alabama. I carry stuff like stag copperheads or folding hunters, and people who see them marvel in amazement, asking who made that, where'dya get it, I ain't never seed nuttin like that befer, etc. :pThey think I'm a knife crank weirdo or something! :D
 
Durwood, That is a beautiful knife, I especially like the amber bone scales! I only have one of the 6333 small stockman, it's smooth white bone. I picked it up when Lowes was clearing out the Case display. There was only one left (the display model) and I thought what the heck. Boy, I wasn't expecting to like it so much! It's so nice, I don't really want to use it...but I do. ft
 
I know what you mean, fishtale. I've seen too many old guys with the traditional two blade pen knife to be an accident. Heck, I grew up with one, my dad. Everything Mr. Van did with his Remington stockman, dad did with his peanut. He just did it a little more carefully and with forthought. Hot dog or kabob sticks, tent pegs, string, packages...

These days with life becoming more and more suburbanized or outright urban, the small two blade pocket knife does seem to be all one needs. And alot of folks don't like to weigh down their pockets.

The knife you are carrying now was the choice for this guy Gene, who worked with us in the machine shp for many years. He was a good old country boy from the farm country just north of here, and he used that little Buck for just about everything. He's grown up hunting and fishing, and knew how to use just a couple of inches of very sharp steel.

Like Bill the Trapper once said on the front porch of Jenkins Store; All you need is a fingers worth of sharp knife.
 
In New England it seems everyone you see has a leatherman.It's almost like an icon now.I have one on my belt at least 5 of the 7 days of the week. In my pocket is usually a case 63062 stockman, or a mini copperlock.The stockman has seen most of my years in my pocket than any other pattern I rotate out once in a while to some neat ones,Eye brand stockman,Buldog sowbelly,Hammer brand small whittler, but the stockman ends up being the style of choice.I do have several pens that I carry occasionally and you are right.That is all you need.
 
Phil,
It's the same way down here in the Piney woods of south Mississippi. I have never seen anyone carry anything but a Case trapper or a Case stockman, every now and then you'll see some of the old men carrying some kinda German knife. Like an Eye Brand or Boker, but they are always either a trapper or stockman pattern. My grandpa carried a little Case jackknfe. But he was the only person I ever saw carry that type of pattern. Nowadays, you'll see some of the twenty somethings carrying Benchmade. But I live in an extremely rural area, so I almost always see those old traditional knives.
 
Maybe it's a regional thing? I would like to see a map breakdown sort of poll where we could see what was most carried regionally, would be interesting to look at. Seriously, until I was in my mid 30's, I had never seen any other knives even sold at stores in our local area except Case, Schrade, and Buck. I didn't even know of the existance of the congress pattern until I saw one in a knife book somewhere, and the congress is usually said to be a Southern traditional pattern. I have an old Boker USA stockman that belonged to one of my grandfathers. The jigged delrin scales are nearly worn smooth, and quite a bit of metal is sharpened away from each blade, but you can tell it was pretty snazzy when it was new. Swedged main blade with a matchstriker long pull, and grooved bolsters. My Dad has carried several Schrade Old Timer stockmans over the years, getting a new one when the old worn one got too loose or beat up to use. He gave me his yellow CV Case trapper (71 model) in the early 1980's, and that's all the knives I've seen him use outside of Stanley utility knives at work. Stanley utility knives are in the pockets and work aprons of virtually ALL tradesmen, carpenters, HVAC, painters, mechanics, roofers, etc, everyone has one. An older gentleman named Bob Sandlin helped us to do some framing last year. He's in his late 60's, and guess what knife he zipped out to sharpen pencils and dig splinters? Case stockman. This guy is an old deer hunter, he gets a bunch of them every year, what does he use to skin and gut his deer? Case stockman, same one he carries to work. I asked him why he didn't get another. He said, "It ain't wore out yet, why should I?":eek:Here I am haunting all the knife shops searching out deals on piles of collectible old knives to fondle, and these older guys, they get one, use it as a tool until it's worn out, then and only then buy another.
 
.. I am beginning to resemble that remark. A fine discussion here fellows.

I grow up with traditionals all around me and never saw anything but until the early 1970's when the Buck 110 came into Vogue. As some of you all know my favorite knives are medium and large Stockman's, Sowbelly's, Trapper's, Barlow's and such.. However, jackknife and several others have shown me the advantages of minimalizing on certain occasions. Sunday-go-Meetings, Weddings, Funerals, ect.. When I do have occasion to minimize my pocket weight, here is what I carry.

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Finest little Pen Knife I have ever cut with!
 
Being from R.I my grandfather had his share of Colonials.Mostly fishing knives.I remember a few shrades he had,one a small celluloid tortoise shell swithchblade,and a swell end jack with the figer cutouts. I'm not sure of the brand on another, but I thought it was Kabar,a large jack with a hatchet for a second blade.What happened to them? Don't know.
I think there's a regional thing.
 
navihawk said:
Being from R.I my grandfather had his share of Colonials.Mostly fishing knives.I remember a few shrades he had,one a small celluloid tortoise shell swithchblade,and a swell end jack with the figer cutouts. I'm not sure of the brand on another, but I thought it was Kabar,a large jack with a hatchet for a second blade.What happened to them? Don't know.
I think there's a regional thing.
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The hatchet jacks were an interesting novely pattern. Imperial also made them. In fact, Imperial and KABAR may be the only two companies that ever offered that pattern. They both made them on contract for others so you will see some other brand names.
 
knifeaholic said:
The hatchet jacks were an interesting novely pattern. Imperial also made them. In fact, Imperial and KABAR may be the only two companies that ever offered that pattern. They both made them on contract for others so you will see some other brand names.
Click to expand...

I'll bet it was a colonial.
 
Great thread! I have developed a great appreciation for the usefulness of a good pen knife. The knife that started it all is a Case pen knife I got at a knife show last year (the one with yellow comp handles). That little knife has been with me on many, many days since and has frequently proved its usefulness.
 
Grandfathersknives003Large.jpg
Here are the knives that belonged to my Grandfathers. The Boker stockman on the bottom belonged to PawPaw Ne, and the top three to Granpa Bland, who I never got to meet. Grandpa Bland must have been closer in mindset to the "penknife" guys, as his knives are much smaller and definitely not stockmans or trappers. The top is a Pal scout knife which is in pretty rough shape, then the yellow 3-1/4'' Imperial in the center, followed by the third knife, a rough black two bladed Camillus Model 50 half congress. Could the Imperial be considered a "pen knife" or is more of a small jack knife??
 
All four of them will slice your gizzard out! Razor freaking sharp carbon steel. The Boker is badly pitted, but still has stout springs. The little Camillus half congress is super thin and lightweight. The Imperial has stamped metal handles covered by a thin yellow plastic coating. The Pal scout has steel liners and bolsters, and was rusted heavily when I first found it, stored in an old cabinet drawer out in the corn crib. It was frozen shut, and I had to soak it in oil for days before it would open up. The springs are very weak, but I would never think of carrying it and risking loss anyway, as it, along with the other knives, are irreplaceable pieces of my families past. The can opener on the Pal scout is the Remington two piece one, as Pal was using up Remington parts after they purchased the Remington machinery and remaining parts inventory. If I had only known it was out there in the old crib! I would have gotten it out of there many years sooner, and it wouldn't have been so badly rusted. We moved into Granny's old place in 1998, and I was going through everything in the outbuildings and found it.

I never knew much from my Grandfathers. One died in 1954 from heart failure, and the other when I was fairly young, so these old knives are dear memories for me, something to connect me to the men I never got to know well or at all in one's case.
 
I'd like to thank ya'll for starting this thread. Not only is it interesting reading and discussing the knives from the older generations, it also inspired me to finally take some pictures of the old knives of my grandparents and get them posted. :thumbup:
 
That Camillus half congress is nice.The Pal scout and the rest still look worthy too.
 
Phil in Alabama said:
Could the Imperial be considered a "pen knife" or is more of a small jack knife??
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I think it qualifys as a two blade serpentine jack.:thumbup:

Those are some great knives, Phil. The Boker looks alot like my Uncle Mike's old Camillus, about the same condition, well used but still workable. I'd have to agree with Davmgt. Those knives would have some great stories to tell if they could talk to you!
 
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