The Mini TrapPER DIEM -- Your Daily Mini Trapper

[QTCut5]

Looks like we're on a 51 roll, here; a veritable convoy cruisin' down Highway 51, as it were! It is indeed a beautiful sight to behold.

Today's Mini TrapPER DIEM is another S&M 51 and humbly takes it's place at the rear of the convoy. The plain wood handle isn't as pretty as the bone on the other 51s and it doesn't even have a shiny keystone shield. Nevertheless, it's precisely because of these perceived "deficiencies" that this plain-belly 51 will be the most used, hence the most popular 51 at the weenie roasts on the beaches with the prettier, bone-handled, shield-bellied 51 Sneeches.**

Not to say it's an ugly duckling; but, for this 51, function definitely trumps form.

~Q~

**If you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about, you probably need to brush up on your Dr. Seuss references.

[NapalmSloth]

This is my one and only mini trapper. My wife gave it to me yesterday. It instantly became my Sunday carry.

[QTCut5]

This is my one and only mini trapper. My wife gave it to me yesterday. It instantly became my Sunday carry.

Any wife who actually gives her man a mini trapper (instead of constantly complaining because he's buying too many for himself) is a definite keeper in my book--hang on to that one, Mr. Sloth. Although when I consider your chosen AAPK handle, I can't help but wonder if she might be trying to give you a subtle hint about possibly improving your work ethic? If I recall correctly from my Sunday School days as a youth, isn't "sloth" one of the seven deadly sins? I'm not even going to risk guessing about the "napalm" portion, but I'm sure there must be a story behind that moniker as well.

Anyhoo, it was I who was slothful this morning. I had planned on putting the caboose on the 51 mini trapper train we had going with my Mini TrapPER DIEM post for today; but, gosh darn it, it's just so hard to get out of bed on these bitter cold (75 F) Hawaiian winter mornings, and since it was Sunday and I had no place to be, I allowed myself some extra snoozing time under the cozy covers.

To be perfectly honest, just like the 51s that have been shown here recently (which are technically "dogleg jacks"), this 51 isn't a true Mini Trapper either; if it were, it would have both a clip and a spay blade and be called a 51T. But, at least it's still a model 51, nevertheless. I have always wished that Queen would have made a Wharncliffe version of the 51 (a 51W, perhaps?), but, alas, this is the closest I could find to fulfilling my unicorn dream. It may not be a mini trapper, but at least it is a 51 with a Wharncliffe blade...a mini wharncliffe blade.

~Q~

[doglegg]

Hey Q, I've got one of those.

[QTCut5]

Nice Queen #51 Carver, Floyd. I admit that from a purely proportional perspective it's a strange looking knife because of the little Wharncliffe blade, but for some reason I really like it. If I were ever to EDC it, I think it would come in quite handy and be perfectly suited for a variety of cutting tasks. Thank you for showing yours.

And speaking of knives with a little Wharncliffe blade, allow me to present today's Mini TrapPER DIEM: a most unusual Bear & Son commemorative knife. I must confess that I'm not a fan of Bear & Son knives, but the fact that this one has a single Wharncliffe blade was enough for me to justify getting it to add to my mini trapper collection. Although, quite frankly I'm not so sure it even qualifies as a mini trapper since its closed length is just barely 3", which, I believe, is closer to Tiny Trapper dimensions. And curiously, the blade is only 2 1/8" which seems about 1/4" too small for the frame. It's almost as if the B&S factory did a cobble job on one of their own knives in order to use up existing stock and give the Harvest in the Bluegrass Festival organizers a cheaper deal on an SFO. But, that is purely speculation on my part. Maybe they intended to make a small trapper with an unusually small, single Wharncliffe blade all along. Who knows? What I do know is that while I'm not particularly fond of Ram Horn handles in general, I do find the handle of this bizarre little knife appealing in its own peculiar way.

~Q~

[QTCut5]

Have I mentioned that I'm not a big fan of Bear & Son knives? It may seem a bit odd, then, that today's Mini TrapPER DIEM is yet another Bear & Son just like yesterday's. And, while today's offering is also somewhat on the small side at 3" closed length, at least it has the appropriate trappings of a trapper: a clip and spay blade.

At a certain point in collecting the same pattern, eventually one begins to seek out knives with unusual or out of the ordinary features. That is precisely why I chose to add this particular mini trapper to my collection. The features I found intriguing enough overcome my general disinclination towards Bear & Son knives are the long pulls on both the primary and secondary blades--I have an affinity for long pulls, and it's extremely uncommon to see them on both blades--as well as the partially serrated spay blade--which is also an unusual feature. Although I have several mini trappers with fully serrated secondary Wharncliffe blades, I can't say as I've ever seen a partially serrated spay blade on a mini trapper before. So, naturally I was intrigued. Oh, and also, this knife was extremely inexpensive...closer to what I would expect given the general quality of the Bear & Son products I have previously owned.

Nevertheless, previous experience and low price notwithstanding, I was still surprised when I got the knife to discover that what had appeared to be a partially serrated spay blade actually turned out to be...well, I'm not quite sure what to call it as the serrations are not, in fact, sharpened. Even fish scalers have more of a grind on the serrations than this one. Perhaps it's meant to be a spay blade with decorative file work...on the cutting edge instead of on the spine...Now that's a new twist, for sure...I can honestly say I have never seen that on any knife before. And the name etched on the spay blade is also mystifying. Why they chose to call this "The Bear Trap" is anyone's guess; but, it certainly doesn't seem anything like what I picture when I think of a bear trap.

Well, I was looking for something unusual or out of the ordinary, and I think this strange little B&S mini trapper definitely qualifies. (And, did I mention it was cheap?)

~Q~

[jerryd6818]

~Q~ it looks like they tried to sharpen the serrations but failed. Miserably. If you could generate the enthusiasm, you could call them and send it back. They would try to make it right but from my personal point of view, at this point, who cares.

[Lansky1]

Anyhoo, it was I who was slothful this morning. I had planned on putting the caboose on the 51 mini trapper train we had going with my Mini TrapPER DIEM post for today; but, gosh darn it, it's just so hard to get out of bed on these bitter cold (75 F) Hawaiian winter mornings, and since it was Sunday and I had no place to be, I allowed myself some extra snoozing time under the cozy covers.

To be perfectly honest, just like the 51s that have been shown here recently (which are technically "dogleg jacks"), this 51 isn't a true Mini Trapper either; if it were, it would have both a clip and a spay blade and be called a 51T. But, at least it's still a model 51, nevertheless. I have always wished that Queen would have made a Wharncliffe version of the 51 (a 51W, perhaps?), but, alas, this is the closest I could find to fulfilling my unicorn dream. It may not be a mini trapper, but at least it is a 51 with a Wharncliffe blade...a mini wharncliffe blade.

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~Q~

Q - is that #51 a factory knife ? I've never seen anything like that - it looks like somebody broke off the tip & regrouind it into a stubby mini-wharncliffe - I really wonder what the application for that blade is ??

[jerryd6818]

John, it's made that way on purpose. It's a wood carving knife.

[QTCut5]

I really wonder what the application for that blade is ??

It's a wood carving knife.

Right you are, jerryd.

Although I no longer do any wood carving myself, I just like the idea of a knife with enough handle to get a firm grasp and a small, stout, straight edge blade that is easy to control, especially for making long draw cuts against a ruler and getting inside tight corners (that's what I would mainly use it for anyway).

~Q~

[QTCut5]

YEAR 54


Well, well, well...Happy Birthday to me! As most of you know I love ivory handles on a knife. I would even venture to say that it's my number one favorite handle material. However, due to the ivory ban and eBay's prohibition against selling ivory, it's becoming harder to find...not impossible, mind you, but there's definitely less of it out there being offered for sale than in the past.

Nowadays, if seller wants to list an ivory knife on eBay, he has to use the code word "exotic" to let buyers know it's ivory without tipping off the eBay censors. Of course, there are other ways to list an ivory knife on eBay and get past the censors, a seller can just call it something else such as "smooth white bone" and hope potential buyers will be smart enough to see it for what it really is. This tactic only really works, however, if the seller includes good quality photos in the listing that clearly show the true nature of the handle. When an ivory knife does manage to get past the eBay censors, and it's clear that it really is ivory, it inevitably commands a premium price as there are still a lot of collectors out there like me who love ivory and, due to its relative rarity caused by the ivory ban and eBay's restrictions, are willing to pay top dollar for it.

With my Mini TrapPER DIEM for today I got lucky: the seller had it listed as "smooth white bone" and did not include very good photos that showed or even suggested it was actually ivory. But, having owned several ivory Bulldog Brand knives in the past, I immediately recognized that what he was calling white bone was actually ivory, and my mouth began to water in anticipation of winning this knife...it was only a question of how much I was going to have to shell out for it if any other astute collectors also realized what this knife was really made of. As it so happened, apparently not too many did (I think due to the poor photos in the listing), and I ended up winning this sweet ivory beauty for a surprisingly low price--about half of what I recently paid for a plain Jane bone handled Case mini trapper...go figure. It's true that sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug; this is one time I was the windshield!

Upon close inspection, I think it's pretty obvious this definitely isn't bone...just look at the gorgeous grain in this ivory.

~Q~

[tongueriver]

That ivory is exceptional!

[jerryd6818]

Good on you ~Q~, you sneaky devil, you. That was a good snoop & poop. Ya snuck right up inside their perimeter and captured their flag.

[QTCut5]

Another S&M #51 for today's Mini TrapPER DIEM. I'm really starting to develop quite a fondness for this model.

~Q~

[doglegg]

Q that 51 is reallllly knice but that tusker is salacious. I've got two just from ole dumb fool luck and a couple I paid for. A Bulldog and Ivory!! You did good.

[jerryd6818]

I have to agree with you ~Q~, the S&M's are a fine piece of work.

Stay tuned boys & girls. There's another going to be added to the pile next week. Bought and paid for and on it's way.

[QTCut5]

Q that 51 is reallllly knice but that tusker is salacious. You did good.

Thanks. Floyd...I have to admit that I do feel like the cat that ate the canary when I look at my ivory Bulldog. Such a better feeling than the one I get when I look at one of my knives that I vastly overpaid for after allowing myself to get into a bidding war with another bidder. Now, of course, I use Gixen, but even that's not foolproof as I sometimes put in ridiculously high sniper bids to ensure a win, but which I then end up having to pony up when two other bidders get into a bidding war that inflates the price.

Stay tuned boys & girls. There's another going to be added to the pile next week. Bought and paid for and on it's way.

Ditto for me, jerryd, the anticipation is exquisite. Although, I just checked the USPS tracking number for the knives I ordered and to my frustration and dismay, I see that the pkg was mis-delivered to the wrong PO . This is my worst nightmare: that a knife I ordered gets delivered to the wrong address and the receiver decides to keep it. As far as the PO is concerned, the pkg was delivered, so there's no way to file a claim. And if I did not use PayPal for the purchase, there's no "money back guarantee." Basically, it all relies on the honesty of whoever received the mis-delivered pkg to do the right thing; otherwise, either the seller or the buyer will have to swallow a loss. Fortunately, most people are honest and will return a mis-delivered pkg.

~Q~

[jmh58]

Hey Q.. You got a volcano over there that keeps spitting out them SWEET MTs??? WOW!!!
John

[QTCut5]

Today's Mini TrapPER DIEM is the Queen version of Case's 6.5 Bone Stag. Not sure which version I like more...fortunately, however, I don't have to choose: I'll take one of each!

~Q~

[QTCut5]

Today's Mini TrapPER DIEM is another Queen product. But instead of another S&M #51, this one is a 1998 Queen model #9155 which is slightly smaller (3 3/8") and stouter than a 51. Now, I know what'chall are thinking: "But ~Q~, you don't like synthetic handles and the handles on this Queen 9155 are clearly Delrin. So what gives?' Well, what can I say? It's true that I prefer natural handle materials over synthetics; but, if I like the knife enough, sometimes I just gotta take whatever handle material it happens to have...which in this case is Delrin. And, anyway, there are some synthetic handles that really aren't that bad--although, I still avoid celluloid like the outgassing plague that it is. While Delrin wouldn't be my first choice, unfortunately, I didn't get to choose the handle material, I only got to choose whether to buy it or not...and, I chose to get it, despite the synthetic handle. And, as so often happens, once I got it in hand, I realized that the Delrin handle wasn't really so bad after all.

Of course, philosopher that I am, this got me started thinking about other preconceived notions or long-held beliefs I may have that might not actually be true. Like most people, I have my own biases and/or "prejudices" about all sorts of things, synthetic handles just happens to be one small example. But, I do think it's worthwhile to examine such beliefs from time to time and really consider if they're based on sound principles or if they're something we picked up along the way by osmosis without ever really thinking about them too much. Sometimes it's good to shake things up a bit and try to see things from a different perspective. That's all I'm going to say about that. But, I would challenge you today to think of a prejudice you may have and then try to determine how or why you feel the way you do. Is it something you really believe in your heart, or is it something you were taught that you should believe by someone or something else like your parents or society in general?

If given my 'druthers, however...I still prefer natural handles on a knife, like the beautiful Roger's Bone on these Mini Trappers from Queen's Master Cutler Collection. I think the difference is pretty obvious and speaks for itself.

~Q~

[Lansky1]

If given my 'druthers, however...I still prefer natural handles on a knife, like the beautiful Roger's Bone on these 9155s from Queen's Master Cutler Collection. I think the difference is pretty obvious and speaks for itself.

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~Q~

Q - Totally agree on the Queen Master Cutler Series after having the pleasure of owning one ... top shelf

[jerryd6818]

My latest came today.

[QTCut5]

My latest came today.

As did mine.

~Q~

[jerryd6818]

I like yours better.

[QTCut5]

I think some of my Mini Trappers are actually breeding in captivity. I started out with just one of these 2014 Case Collectors Club Regular Member 6107's and before long I somehow managed to pick up a second one (what can I say? I love the XXpresso Bone). Today, when I was checking up on them, lo and behold, a third one had magically appeared. Must be some hanky-panky going on in the CCC! But, good timing, since today is not only Valentine's Day, it's Threesday.

~Q~