Sowbelly Stockman

[cbfordtruck]

What are your opinions on a Sowbelly stockman knife? Post photos of any sowbelly’s you use.

 

[Henry Beige]

This pic does not do it justice, but Rough Ryder makes a nice sowbelly in green micarta. It is second from the bottom. It is a little out of its league in this photo, but I think it holds its own.

 

[hornetguy]

I like 'em... I have three. Two are Case, one is a Rough Rider. One Case is a curly oak, the other is stag. The Rough Rider is yellow delrin. I like the feel of them in hand... the only "odd" thing is the angle that the spey blade sits, in relationship to the body of the knife. Obviously not a deal breaker for me... just.. different...

 

[Hickory n steel]

Too much curve for my taste.
Standard stockman are fine, but the Sowbelly does not appeal to me at all.

 

[waynorth]

I ignored the Sowbelly Stockman for a long time! A year or two ago I thought I'd try one! I like their sunk or semi-sunk joints, and the way the blades lay perfectly into them!! And they sit real nice in the pocket!!
In the last two years I have scraped up about a half a dozen of them!!!
I always overdo this knife Thing!!!
An Ibberson with Stan Shaw's initials in it!!

 

[TheChunk91]

I have two sowbelly stockmans and I like the pattern a lot. I would like to get my hands on some old ones but they are scarce in the right condition and rather expensive.

The Tony Bose designed case sowbelly is an awesome knife. This one was given to me and what a gift!



When using the clip it has pretty standard ergonomics with two other blades sticking up. This sowbelly frame is quite ergonomic compared to other stockmans. It blends the roundness and girth of a cattle knife with the angles of a stockman.



The ergonomics with the sheepsfoot open are excellent. With this blade open it's one of the most comfortable three blade knives I have ever used. It's up there with the schrade 861/61ot but the sowbelly fills my hand better.



The spey has quite an angle and it makes it easy to do very blade forward cutting, which is effective. The sheepsfoot sticks up some but it isn't uncomfortable (unless you push hard I suppose) and my fingers fall in the right places when gripping.




There aren't a lot of five blade sows so I keep this rough rider around and it's really not a bad knife at all. It's actually pretty cool.

 

[black mamba]

The sowbelly stockman is a wonderful pattern. I have them in several sizes and carry them all from time to time.

Bulldog in mother of pearl @ 3.4"

Rigid in pebbly stag @ 3.6"

Case modified "Beerbelly" in midnight bone @ 3.8"

Owl Head in cracked ice acrylic @ 4.2"

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

I only have one, its a BIG 4-1/8 closed 5 blade,with fat second cut stag covers Parker Cut Co. I like it overall but its a bit fat for pocket carry, which is saying something for me as I like big knives. It really needs a belt pouch lol.

 

[Arathol]

Here is 5 blade in pink pearl made by Bulldog Knives.

I have a similar one in stag that I carry sometimes. Its not big but its bulky. The Bulldog steel takes a wicked edge though.

 

[evergreensSequoiaseucalyptusandOaks]

~

 

[mnblade]

black mamba, That beerbelly is fantastic! Wish Case made one like that.

-- Mark

 

[Will Power]

Winchester Black Box made a very nice one back in the 80s and worth looking out for. It's a relatively chunky pattern but near sunk-joints make for a good pocket carry, a big work-knife and this one came as a present from the late @Big Biscuit, a man with a big heart and big presence. Always remembered Bob

 

[hornetguy]

The sowbelly stockman is a wonderful pattern. I have them in several sizes and carry them all from time to time.

Bulldog in mother of pearl @ 3.4"

Rigid in pebbly stag @ 3.6"

Case modified "Beerbelly" in midnight bone @ 3.8"

Owl Head in cracked ice acrylic @ 4.2"

I laughed out loud at "beerbelly".... what a great knife, and name! Some of the blade swapping folks should start buying Case sowbellies and converting them. We could start a whole new thread for "Beerbellies".....

 

[Chui]

.....this thread is bad for my wallet and blood pressure

 

[cbfordtruck]

I fell in love with a case medium stockman a few years ago and to date it’s my favorite knife. Because I didn’t want to lose that knife, I accidentally ordered a Sowbelly from rough rider thinking it was their version of a medium stockman. I wasn’t very impressed with the Sowbelly pattern because it feels big and uncomfortable but I’m slowly starting to use it more after a year and a half of ownership

 

[redsparrow]

Sowbelly? IMO a great pattern with a goofy name.
- Unbelievably ergonomics... until you try one.
- Comes in a wide variety of sizes, materials and configurations from a single blade
to five blades, something for everyone.

Stockman or Cattleman Type (3 blade) Sowbelly in Ebony

Single Blade Sowbelly in Antique Bone

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

Sowbelly? IMO a great pattern with a goofy name.
- Unbelievably ergonomics... until you try one.
- Comes in a wide variety of sizes, materials and configurations from a single blade
to five blades, something for everyone.

Stockman or Cattleman Type (3 blade) Sowbelly in Ebony

Single Blade Sowbelly in Antique Bone

I really like the looks of those single blade ones, I'd love to see a 2 blade jack style with a sheepfoot secondary.

 

[black mamba]

black mamba, That beerbelly is fantastic! Wish Case made one like that.

Thanks Mark, and also hornetguy, my Beerbelly is a glennbad special, and gets a lot of use. Here's a pic of it "in action."

And here are a couple more.
AG Russell single blade in yellow comp @ 4¼"

Remington import in abalone @ 3¾"

Marbles in ram's horn @ 3.7"

 

[Pinemoon]

A great pattern.
And could be made even better as a Beer Belly

I have a Bulldog dubbed the "Scimitar Sowbelly" thanks to the unusual secondary-- where the sheepfoot would be.

IMG_20190406_2807 by Pine Moon, on Flickr
IMG_20190318_16188 by Pine Moon, on Flickr
IMG_20190318_13728 by Pine Moon, on Flickr

 

[redsparrow]

I really like the looks of those single blade ones, I'd love to see a 2 blade jack style with a sheepfoot secondary.

David, the Case single blade is by far my favorite sowbelly but I think your idea for a jack pattern would be even better! It would make a super custom or mod. If a production company made one I'd probably have a new favorite. Queen made an S&M sowbelly with two blades but the blades were on opposite ends and neither was a sheepfoot. Still I may look one up someday.