Your 2018 Traditional Knife Of The Year

[Jack Black]

Fair enough.
But the 2018 Forum knife won't qualify for the 2019 Knife of The Year, since I received it in 2018?

So I don't get in trouble, I'll go back to the Lil'Jack as my choice.

(P.S. "Had less than 3 hours" would be more accurate. )

I'm afraid not, though you could have asked @skblades to sit on it for a few weeks It's also worth noting that this thread is open until the 1st Jan 2019

I love how Jack poses the question (and I've taken the liberty of editing it a bit for emphasis and applicability to my KotY nomination):



This year I'm just going to cut to the chase and announce that my Knife of the Year is the Mora 120:

I actually purchased two of them this year. I bought my first in February, with the intention of grinding off the tip and using it for final cleanup carving on the rims of spoons. I suppose you could say it was going to be the slöjd knife equivalent of a spey blade. But, that never happened.

I already had a Mora 106 that I'd used quite a bit in spoon carving, so I was prepared for, and expecting, a very sharp, very useful laminated steel blade paired up with a comfortable handle. What I was not expecting, though, was how well it would fit into my whittling toolkit.

You see, I decided that I'd use it as the good folks at Morakniv intended before making any modifications. I used it a bit on a spoon and it was fine. But, then I started work on a larger-than-normal-for-me whittling project and decided to use it to help clear out some of the bulk before switching to my usual whittling knifes. Wow. The 120 is exceptional at clearing away the bulk and I find it to be more natural to use for that than the longer 106. It earned a permanent spot in my whittling tool roster that day.

Pretty soon bulk removal gave way to bulk removal and rough shaping. Then I was pushing that rough shaping to a bit more refinement before handing over to smaller, thinner blades. I even carved a few small projects exclusively with the 120, both to push my skills and to get an idea of what it can do. Suffice it to say that this is an extremely capable little knife. I'm sure with more practice I can get even more out of it.

You may notice the black Sharpie marks on the handle in the photo above. Those are indexing marks for consistent placement in the Tormek small knife jig. That's because this is also the knife that I used as a test bed for gaining experience with the "flat over hollow" grind that I talked about in a previous thread. It was the second Mora 120 that I purchased and is shown in both of these pictures.

I've learned a lot while using this knife and it has changed the way I approach many of my whittling projects. It's a delight to use and an exceptional value. For all of these reasons, this Mora 120 is my Knife of the Year.

Absolutely fascinating Greg

 

[cigarrodog]

There is something about the blade of those new Ancients that works right - just slightly better shaped than the "standard" GEC spear for using.
I sometimes think of that knife as my "ugly duckling". I am ever glad when someone puts one to regular use. They were made with that in mind!!
The beauty is in the holding, not the beholding!!

There is definitely something about the blade design of the new Ancient. The blade design of the Scratted Parchment and the 2018 Ancient is a large part of what drew me to both knives in the first place, but the overall look of both knives make them simply my all time favorite Barlows. When I finally get my hands on the Scratted, it will be collected, while with the 2018 Ancient, I felt compelled to immediately carry it and use it.

 

[oldtymer]

My 2018 knife of the year came from a well known member from across the pond.
He also has a strong attraction for equal end single spring knives as I also plead guilty to.
Will Power thanks for this gem it made my year.

 

[Will Power]

I'm just very glad you like it OT
All the best for Christmas & New Year - Will

 

[ddavis]

Had a lot of good knives come through in 2018.
My 78 has been with me every day this year, it was in my pocket when my daughter was born in February, has been camping, hiking, hunting, and traveling with me, and has done at least a thousand little tasks in 2018. BUT, I received it on December 27th 2017, and started carrying it new years eve. So, I guess it's disqualified...

I'm extremely happy with the 14, but not the knife of the year...

Two grail knives are in the top three for 2018...

But the Knife of 2018 for me is the SAK Electrician. I ordered it in early 2018, and it has proven extremely useful. It's my "dad" knife, and while I don't carry it everyday, on those birthday bbq's and camping trips and get togethers at the park, I'm the hero of all the other dads. It cuts pizza, grapes, hot dogs, baby food packages, opens sodas (and beers for the adults), and I'll close it and put it away dirty, rinse it under the sink at home, and it's ready for another adventure with the family.

 

[JohnDF]

But the Knife of 2018 for me is the SAK Electrician. I ordered it in early 2018, and it has proven extremely useful. It's my "dad" knife, and while I don't carry it everyday, on those birthday bbq's and camping trips and get togethers at the park, I'm the hero of all the other dads. It cuts pizza, grapes, hot dogs, baby food packages, opens sodas (and beers for the adults), and I'll close it and put it away dirty, rinse it under the sink at home, and it's ready for another adventure with the family.

A good choice for sure.

 

[rockman0]

It's been a year of many knives that I really like. This is a difficult choice but I've given it much thought and narrowed it down to one.

A pair of customs from early this year. I love barlows so this father and son duo really rocked my world ! Sawcut bone covers on a barlow are my favorite but the bone on Reese' s knife is pretty darn awesome ! But I can't bring myself to pocket one of these so regardless of their superior fit and finish neither rates number one.

I developed a passion for case tested era knives, especially hunters and coke bottles.
This pair of hunters really push all of my buttons except one. The blades aren't full length. Not many left from the Tested era with full length blades. The tips are so long and thin it didn't take much to snap an eighth inch or more off. I'm really fond of stockmans too. The steel from this era is easy to sharpen and gets scary sharp! For my needs that is perfect .

These aren't practical to carry to my office environment job but they do see time on my belt on weekends. They both slice cardboard effortlessly.
The blades on this pair of hunters are fairly full but just a little short of filling the well when closed. Saber grind on the stag, flat on the worm groove. The stag on this hunter is hard to top but I prefer a flat grind and combine that with the double bomb shield and glossy worm groove bone and it's tied with the stag hunter.

This stockman frequently rides shotgun at work. It has a nice full blade that fills the well when closed.
This one didn't see much use and was not cleaned and never will be as long as im the custodian. It takes care of all my cutting needs at work. My perfect carry at work.

This barehead beavertail or coke bottle came to me with a rusty blade, active rust. I hated to clean it but it was the right thing to do. Turns out the pitting wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, in fact there's only a few very shallow poc marks, I didn't want to buff the rust spots completely off to a mirror finish , just enough to shut down the rust and leave patina and that's just what the majority of the spots are, just patina with no pitting. This one didn't see much use or sharpening, someone put it up wet and never did anything with it. It's the sharpest folder I own, super slicer in the kitchen or on boxes.

Here it is as it came to me.

Here's what I mean by the blade filling the well. That's a full length blade. You see how fragile the tip is.

All cleaned up and posing for a Sunday picture.

So the awesome green bone with the bow tie shield, full flat grind blade with walk and talk like it's new and the time I spent gently cleaning it brought me the best connection to this knife. I'm enamored with it which elevates it to my knife of the year.

 

[Fodderwing]

It's been a year of many knives that I really like. This is a difficult choice but I've given it much thought and narrowed it down to one.

A pair of customs from early this year. I love barlows so this father and son duo really rocked my world ! Sawcut bone covers on a barlow are my favorite but the bone on Reese' s knife is pretty darn awesome ! But I can't bring myself to pocket one of these so regardless of their superior fit and finish neither rates number one.

I developed a passion for case tested era knives, especially hunters and coke bottles.
This pair of hunters really push all of my buttons except one. The blades aren't full length. Not many left from the Tested era with full length blades. The tips are so long and thin it didn't take much to snap an eighth inch or more off. I'm really fond of stockmans too. The steel from this era is easy to sharpen and gets scary sharp! For my needs that is perfect .

These aren't practical to carry to my office environment job but they do see time on my belt on weekends. They both slice cardboard effortlessly.
The blades on this pair of hunters are fairly full but just a little short of filling the well when closed. Saber grind on the stag, flat on the worm groove. The stag on this hunter is hard to top but I prefer a flat grind and combine that with the double bomb shield and glossy worm groove bone and it's tied with the stag hunter.

This stockman frequently rides shotgun at work. It has a nice full blade that fills the well when closed.
This one didn't see much use and was not cleaned and never will be as long as im the custodian. It takes care of all my cutting needs at work. My perfect carry at work.

This barehead beavertail or coke bottle came to me with a rusty blade, active rust. I hated to clean it but it was the right thing to do. Turns out the pitting wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, in fact there's only a few very shallow poc marks, I didn't want to buff the rust spots completely off to a mirror finish , just enough to shut down the rust and leave patina and that's just what the majority of the spots are, just patina with no pitting. This one didn't see much use or sharpening, someone put it up wet and never did anything with it. It's the sharpest folder I own, super slicer in the kitchen or on boxes.

Here it is as it came to me.

Here's what I mean by the blade filling the well. That's a full length blade. You see how fragile the tip is.

All cleaned up and posing for a Sunday picture.

So the awesome green bone with the bow tie shield, full flat grind blade with walk and talk like it's new and the time I spent gently cleaning it brought me the best connection to this knife. I'm enamored with it which elevates it to my knife of the year.

Wonderful read Rob. A truly spectacular old knife and a wonderful telling of it.

 

[TPVT]

like some others have said, i have really throttled my knife buying. however, early summer, i came across a decent deal (finally) on a knife i’ve wanted to try for a couple years. while not necessarily a traditional knife, i suppose it could be argued the pattern/style is.

with all that said, this was definitely my knife of 2018. super easy to keep sharp and does everything i ask it to.

fallkniven nl5 idun (sure wish i had better pictures) ...

 

[315]

like some others have said, i have really throttled my knife buying. however, early summer, i came across a decent deal (finally) on a knife i’ve wanted to try for a couple years. while not necessarily a traditional knife, i suppose it could be argued the pattern/style is.

with all that said, this was definitely my knife of 2018. super easy to keep sharp and does everything i ask it to.

fallkniven nl5 idun (sure wish i had better pictures) ...

View attachment 1038607 View attachment 1038609 View attachment 1038610

Great looking knife! I’ve eyeballed those before but just never pulled the trigger. I’d argue for you and say it’s an extremely traditional knife, fixed blade with a leather handle....heck yeah

 

[rockman0]

Thanks Dwight, appreciate it

Wonderful read Rob. A truly spectacular old knife and a wonderful telling of it.

 

[Jack Black]

Had a lot of good knives come through in 2018.
My 78 has been with me every day this year, it was in my pocket when my daughter was born in February, has been camping, hiking, hunting, and traveling with me, and has done at least a thousand little tasks in 2018. BUT, I received it on December 27th 2017, and started carrying it new years eve. So, I guess it's disqualified...

I'm extremely happy with the 14, but not the knife of the year...

Two grail knives are in the top three for 2018...

But the Knife of 2018 for me is the SAK Electrician. I ordered it in early 2018, and it has proven extremely useful. It's my "dad" knife, and while I don't carry it everyday, on those birthday bbq's and camping trips and get togethers at the park, I'm the hero of all the other dads. It cuts pizza, grapes, hot dogs, baby food packages, opens sodas (and beers for the adults), and I'll close it and put it away dirty, rinse it under the sink at home, and it's ready for another adventure with the family.

Excellent post, my Electrician is usually in my bag rather than my pocket, but I rarely leave home without it

It's been a year of many knives that I really like. This is a difficult choice but I've given it much thought and narrowed it down to one.

A pair of customs from early this year. I love barlows so this father and son duo really rocked my world ! Sawcut bone covers on a barlow are my favorite but the bone on Reese' s knife is pretty darn awesome ! But I can't bring myself to pocket one of these so regardless of their superior fit and finish neither rates number one.

I developed a passion for case tested era knives, especially hunters and coke bottles.
This pair of hunters really push all of my buttons except one. The blades aren't full length. Not many left from the Tested era with full length blades. The tips are so long and thin it didn't take much to snap an eighth inch or more off. I'm really fond of stockmans too. The steel from this era is easy to sharpen and gets scary sharp! For my needs that is perfect .

These aren't practical to carry to my office environment job but they do see time on my belt on weekends. They both slice cardboard effortlessly.
The blades on this pair of hunters are fairly full but just a little short of filling the well when closed. Saber grind on the stag, flat on the worm groove. The stag on this hunter is hard to top but I prefer a flat grind and combine that with the double bomb shield and glossy worm groove bone and it's tied with the stag hunter.

This stockman frequently rides shotgun at work. It has a nice full blade that fills the well when closed.
This one didn't see much use and was not cleaned and never will be as long as im the custodian. It takes care of all my cutting needs at work. My perfect carry at work.

This barehead beavertail or coke bottle came to me with a rusty blade, active rust. I hated to clean it but it was the right thing to do. Turns out the pitting wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, in fact there's only a few very shallow poc marks, I didn't want to buff the rust spots completely off to a mirror finish , just enough to shut down the rust and leave patina and that's just what the majority of the spots are, just patina with no pitting. This one didn't see much use or sharpening, someone put it up wet and never did anything with it. It's the sharpest folder I own, super slicer in the kitchen or on boxes.

Here it is as it came to me.

Here's what I mean by the blade filling the well. That's a full length blade. You see how fragile the tip is.

All cleaned up and posing for a Sunday picture.

So the awesome green bone with the bow tie shield, full flat grind blade with walk and talk like it's new and the time I spent gently cleaning it brought me the best connection to this knife. I'm enamored with it which elevates it to my knife of the year.

Fantastic work Rob, awesome knife

like some others have said, i have really throttled my knife buying. however, early summer, i came across a decent deal (finally) on a knife i’ve wanted to try for a couple years. while not necessarily a traditional knife, i suppose it could be argued the pattern/style is.

with all that said, this was definitely my knife of 2018. super easy to keep sharp and does everything i ask it to.

fallkniven nl5 idun (sure wish i had better pictures) ...

View attachment 1038607 View attachment 1038609 View attachment 1038610

That looks traditional to me

 

[rockman0]

Excellent post, my Electrician is usually in my bag rather than my pocket, but I rarely leave home without it



Fantastic work Rob, awesome knife



That looks traditional to me

Thanks Jack !

 

[Uncle Slayton]

Easy call, been in my pocket every day since It arrived

 

[5K Qs]

Had a lot of good knives come through in 2018.
My 78 has been with me every day this year, it was in my pocket when my daughter was born in February, has been camping, hiking, hunting, and traveling with me, and has done at least a thousand little tasks in 2018. BUT, I received it on December 27th 2017, and started carrying it new years eve. So, I guess it's disqualified...

I'm extremely happy with the 14, but not the knife of the year...

Two grail knives are in the top three for 2018...

But the Knife of 2018 for me is the SAK Electrician. I ordered it in early 2018, and it has proven extremely useful. It's my "dad" knife, and while I don't carry it everyday, on those birthday bbq's and camping trips and get togethers at the park, I'm the hero of all the other dads. It cuts pizza, grapes, hot dogs, baby food packages, opens sodas (and beers for the adults), and I'll close it and put it away dirty, rinse it under the sink at home, and it's ready for another adventure with the family.

Great post, ddavis ! I can see why you picked the Vic Electrician; it's on my short list for Knife of My Life!
Too bad that 78 was eliminated on a technicality - that happens to me a lot!

- GT

 

[Jack Black]

Too bad that 78 was eliminated on a technicality - that happens to me a lot!

That's not too bad GT, I usually get eliminated for being too slow or too stupid!

 

[5K Qs]

That's not too bad GT, I usually get eliminated for being too slow or too stupid!

I'm hoping I can afford lawyers who can minimize my losing out for reasons like you cite, Jack!

 

[ddavis]

Easy call, been in my pocket every day since It arrived

View attachment 1039004

Great choice! I had that same knife come my way this year as well. I was holding my daughter when I got the email that I had "won the lottery." I looked down at her (she was just a few weeks old) and decided the 77 would be hers. So I guess I could say it is my daughter's one-and-only "2018 knife of the year." Although she's a bit young to use it yet.

 

[joeradza]

This thread deserves a bump and not only for the knives and what they mean to us. From the $5 special given to us by that special person to the custom that I've posted and not because of its quality or price but what it represents. Special mention goes to the man who contributes so much to "The Porch" and teaches us about more than knives. Thanks Jack Black .

 

[Jack Black]

This thread deserves a bump and not only for the knives and what they mean to us. From the $5 special given to us by that special person to the custom that I've posted and not because of its quality or price but what it represents. Special mention goes to the man who contributes so much to "The Porch" and teaches us about more than knives. Thanks Jack Black . View attachment 1042358

Thank you Alan, that's very kind of you my friend It's always a treat to see your spectacular Lloyd