The Mini TrapPER DIEM -- Your Daily Mini Trapper

[loizzojv]

I received my consolation prize in the mail today. All thanks to Q! Here it is, a curly maple mini trapper.

[QTCut5]

Tony, if I could afford it, I'd buy every one of those GEC 48's. The 48 is right up there at the top of my list of favorite patterns. You just gave me leave to change it up a little tomorrow.

And that Case put the 'S' in Select. Another word for that is Super Fine. Oh! I guess that's two words. Oh well.

I was wondering how long it would be until someone posted a GEC 48 here since technically it does fall within the accepted range for Mini Trapper status. That's a super smooth #48, Tony, very nice! Now we'll see if you've opened up a floodgate that will bring on a tsunami of GEC 48 postings (which would be fine with me, BTW).

As for that Bermuda Green Case Select...I agree with jerryd on his assessment; the Select series knives really are Sweet. I think the thing that really sets them apart from normal Case knives is the Nickel Silver liners. For some reason that little detail gives them just a touch more class than the brass liner knives (just like Dr. Seuss' Star-Bellied Sneeches!)

~Q~

[QTCut5]

I received my consolation prize in the mail today. All thanks to Q! Here it is, a curly maple mini trapper.

Welcome to the Mini Trapper Tribe, Joe...good to have ya.

Now that I've started you on the road to addiction, I can't wait to see your next Mini T.

(And thanks for being a good sport...I realize that OCD Mini Trapper Monkey ain't always the easiest fellow to get along with!)

~Q~

[QTCut5]

DAY 51

SUNDAY, the one day of the week in which you feel that maybe you ought to brush your teeth (whether they need it or not), brush your hair (if you have any left to brush), and change your underwear. (Just kidding about changing underwear, of course...after all, this is Hawaii, who wears underwear?! ). I guess I'm somewhat ambivalent about Sundays since it was drummed into me since childhood that Sundays were supposed to be a "special" day reserved for getting all gussied up and going to church and reading the Bible...neither of which made much sense to me at the time. In fact, I actually came to dread the arrival of Sunday because it signaled the end of the weekend and the end of my freedom to dress and do as I pleased.

But, there's a lot to be said for resting from your daily labors and devoting one day per week to spiritual matters...whether you choose to do so at a church with other like-minded believers or someplace else, such as out in nature all by yourself surrounded by the beauty of earthly creation, probably doesn't matter any more than what clothes you choose to wear while doing it, i.e., the worship is more important than the wardrobe, so-to-speak.

Nevertheless, old habits die hard, so for today's Mini TrapPER DIEM I chose this Case 6107WEZ because, while the fancy scrolled bolsters represent sartorial finery, i.e., dressed in its "Sunday best", this Mini T is also fully prepared to have a laid back, take-it-easy, relaxing day of rest with the EZ open cut out, so you won't have to work as hard to open the blade! Seems like the perfect Sunday combination...Win/Win! That's what we like to see.

2014 Case 6107WEZ Second Cut Antique Bone EZ Open Wharncliffe Mini Trapper

~Q~

[jerryd6818]

I like the artwork on the bolsters.

I'm going with this today. I believe the handles are called Rattlesnake.

[QTCut5]

I believe the handles are called Rattlesnake.

That is what everyone calls it, but the ID label on the box calls it "Antique"...don't ask me why since there are several other handle types that are also called Antique. Would it have been so difficult to call this "Rattlesnake" or even "Diamondback" ?

Monkey See, Monkey Do Amendment in effect:

~Q~

[jerryd6818]

Maybe you have the wrong box????

I was born in the year of the Monkey, which is very fitting for my personality. I just discovered that the element for the year of my birth is WOOD. Ain't that something?

[QTCut5]

Maybe you have the wrong box????

I don't think so, I bought it brand new...and also, the ID sticker on the box of every one of these "Rattlesnake" bone knives calls it "Antique" as well even though the blade etches on some of them say "RattleSnake."

I was born in the year of the Monkey, which is very fitting for my personality. I just discovered that the element for the year of my birth is WOOD. Ain't that something?

It is indeed. But what's even more amazing is that you don't own a single WOOD handled Mini Trapper...which has gotten the OCD Mini Trapper on my back all agitated 'cause that just don't seem right...Thanks, pal,

~Q~

[jerryd6818]

Maybe you have the wrong box????

I don't think so, I bought it brand new...and also, the ID sticker on the box of every one of these "Rattlesnake" bone knives calls it "Antique" as well even though the blade etches on some of them say "RattleSnake."

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I was born in the year of the Monkey, which is very fitting for my personality. I just discovered that the element for the year of my birth is WOOD. Ain't that something?

It is indeed. But what's even more amazing is that you don't own a single WOOD handled Mini Trapper...which has gotten the OCD Mini Trapper on my back all agitated 'cause that just don't seem right...Thanks, pal,

~Q~

Well, that shows what I know about it. So "Antique" it is and not 'Rattlesnake'.

Ahah! but I do have a single wood handled Mini-Trapper. It's this Buck 382.

[QTCut5]

DAY 52

As I was posting my Mini TrapPER DIEM for today, I couldn't help but notice that it looks a lot like the one I posted yesterday. It reminded me of a feature in the comics section of the newspaper I used to enjoy as a child where there would be two seemingly identical pictures side-by-side and you were supposed to try to find all the differences between them. How many differences can you identify between the Mini Trapper I posted yesterday and today's Mini TrapPER DIEM?

2010 Case 6107W Second Cut Antique Bone Wharncliffe Mini Trapper

I found six (6) differences (not counting bone color).

~Q~

[jerryd6818]

DAY 52

How many differences can you identify between the Mini Trapper I posted yesterday and today's Mini TrapPER DIEM?


I found six (6) differences (not counting bone color).

~Q~

• Age - This one is a 2010. The first one is a 2014
• Bolsters - This one has plain bolsters. The first one has etched bolsters.
• EZ Open - This one is not. The first one is.
• Shield - This one has the Federal Shield. The first one has a (sort of modified) bomb shield.

I wouldn't put too much stock in any bone color differences or perceived differences in the jigging. For me, differences in color can be accounted for by the way different pieces of bone took the color during the dying process and Case's habit of getting heavy handed on the hafting process accounts for any differences in jigging. Your other two differences are???????


For today's offering, this one pleases my eye.

[QTCut5]

Ooooh, jerryd...you really know how to light my candle...I absolutely LOVE the Sunset Bone 07W. Which would explain why I have two and was seriously contemplating bidding on a third one--currently up for auction by silverladdie on eBay--until my wife caught wind of my OCD Monkey's nefarious plan and immediately put the kibosh on it. Even the OCD Mini Trapper Monkey on my back was unable to convince her of the "need" for three, and he can be pretty persuasive (by which I mean he typically throws unholy tantrums then broods for days in venomous, seething silence until he finally gets his way). Nevertheless, my wife's mind seems to be set in stone this time, so I'll just have to find a way to content myself and pacify the OCD Monkey with the two I already have. Although, quite frankly, it might actually be less problematic in the long run to go ahead and get the third one anyway, uxorial consequences be hanged, since my wife will almost certainly forgive me (eventually) because, at heart, she is a kind, loving and long-suffering individual (which explains why she's still with me after nearly 30 years); whereas the OCD Monkey will torture me for all eternity if I don't do his bidding because OCD Monkey is a ruthlessly heartless irrational taskmaster accustomed to getting his way who very rarely forgives and almost never forgets. What would you do if you were me?

I was planning on saving these to use next week on Two-For-Tuesday during Black and Orange theme week, but OCD Monkey is not known for his patience and insisted I post them today so they would be nicely organized next to jerryd's. Hopefully, I can come up with something else to take their place next week.

Although, technically, I'm posting these today under the auspices of the MSMD Amendment, so it shouldn't count as an official per diem submission. But rules aside, nobody really wants to see the same knives shown two weeks in a row; so, I guess we'll just have to wait and see how OCD Monkey manages to extricate himself from his own, self-created web of compulsive behavior.

~Q~

PS--The other two differences I found are, 1) The pattern number tang stamps (6107WEZ & 6107W), and, 2) the serial number 055 on the 6107WEZ--it's not easy to see without zoom magnification, but look closely and you'll see it stamped on the mark side of the blade just above the date tang stamp.

[jerryd6818]

I never would have thought to zoom in for the serial number but I should have caught the EZ on the pattern stamp. I have a 6149EZ Copperhead. (Beauty, eh?)

[Quick Steel]

Yikes! Jerry that knife has it all for me. A Copperhead, plus E/O, plus gorgeous. That is one great trifecta. Congrats.

[QTCut5]

Yikes! Jerry that knife has it all for me. A Copperhead, plus E/O, plus gorgeous. That is one great trifecta. Congrats.

...plus Wharncliffe, for the "and one" four-point play!

~Q~

[loizzojv]

that is one sharp looking knife!

[Tsar Bomba]

I suspect the OCD Monkey will force a certain someone to post this exact same knife...

[jerryd6818]

Thanks fellers. I am quite taken with that 6149EZ Copperhead. If they had a Copperhead with a Wharncliffe blade in a 3½" frame, I'd be all over 'em like white on rice.

[QTCut5]

DAY 53

Time once again to double down on some red hot Two-For-Tuesday action.

Unlike the last two Mini Ts I posted which were very similar in appearance but had six differences in the details, the two Mini TrapPER DIEMS I selected for today do not look at all alike and yet apparently they actually have more in common than you might think.

Differences:
Handle Material; one has Tan G-10 and the other has Black & Off-White Delrin (note the different pattern numbers).
One has a nickel silver shield and the other has a brass shield

Things in Common:
Blade type; both have a single Wharncliffe blade
They both have synthetic handles
They both have Carhartt shields
They both have "Lazy Duck" head bolsters
They were both made in 2013

And then there's a few intangible things that are difficult (or impossible) to discern from a photo such as: The blades appear to be made of the same type of steel and have the same "as ground" finish and both have decent snap and no wobble.

Granted, those aren't a whole lot of characteristics to compare, but it seems they're (slightly) more similar than it might appear at first glance. Well, you know what they say, "The devil is in the details."

~Q~

PS--Tony, apparently your suspicions were correct...You seem to know OCD Monkey quite well. You two hanging out together, or what? Do you have a relative of my OCD Mini Trapper Monkey on your back...his cousin, OCD Barlow Monkey, perhaps?

[jerryd6818]

How about one more difference? The brown one came in a tin instead of a box.

[Tsar Bomba]

PS--Tony, apparently your suspicions were correct...You seem to know OCD Monkey quite well. You two hanging out together, or what? Do you have a relative of my OCD Mini Trapper Monkey on your back...his cousin, OCD Barlow Monkey, perhaps?

Q, I'm gonna have to start charging the OCD Barlow Monkey rent for all the time he's spent back there...

[jmh58]

[jerryd6818]

Tomorrow's my last day for the Wharncliffes. After tomorrow, I'll just have to sit back and be a spectator for a few days.

[QTCut5]

I really like that Red Bone, jerryd; it practically glows. Has anyone else ever wondered how Case comes up with names for their handle colors? In some instances it seems they allowed a lot more leeway for creativity--think of all the different names for the blue handled knives, for example--but there are relatively few variations for the red handles. In fact, other than "Crimson," I can't recall any other names Case has ever used other than just plain old "Red" for its red handled knives. They seem to have a lot of interesting names for the Corelon handles, too.

Switching gears now to play a little game of Monkey See, Monkey Do with John. He did a much better job with the artistic photographic presentation (he's pretty good at that); but, I was mainly aiming to show off the blades...specifically how this one has been modified (apparently by a serious wharncliffe-o-phile) so as to have two wharncliffe blades, a big on and a small one. As much as I love a wharncliffe blade, I can't help but wonder why.

Maybe the smaller blade is more of a sheepfoot than a wharncliffe...but even so, it still seems a bit redundant to me.

~Q~

[QTCut5]

DAY 54

Sticking with the single Wharncliffe blade (107W) model, today's Mini TrapPER DIEM is a holdover from Strictly Stag week. Interesting thing about this knife is that instead of a shield (or no shield at all), Case burned its logo into the handle; which is the only instance I am aware of when Case did this. The reason (as explained by Case in advertising literature) was because the Stag was just too beautiful to "mess up" with a shield. Hmmm... ...not sure I'm buying that reason, necessarily...I mean they could have just left the shield (and logo) off entirely as they've done before with many different knives...both Mini Trapper and other patterns as well. Nevertheless, what I am buying (or, rather, did buy) was this beautiful 5107W Rancher Series Single Wharncliffe Blade Stag Mini Trapper made with CV Carbon Steel (which I have to keep well-coated with Renaissance Wax at all times to avoid the curse of collecting knives while living in a tropical climate near the ocean: nearly instantaneous CV rust).

2011 Case 5107W CV Stag 'Rancher' Wharncliffe Mini Trapper

~Q~