Ode To The 07

[jmh58]

My one/only Sawcut MT..
John

[QTCut5]

My Sawcut 07Ws...

And, since John tossed out a couple of Carhartt grenades, I feel duty bound to return fire...

[jmh58]

Hey Q.. How about a Carhartt SAK??!!
John

[QTCut5]

Nice one, John. Love the Carhartt cover art.

Great knives, those SAKs

I found this one on a trail when I was dirt biking in the high desert around Victorville, CA about 25 years ago. (Gave it to a kid in the local Boy Scout troop I was working with at the time.)

[Lansky1]

It was very kind of Lansky1 to agree to the swap that resulted in a new home (with me) for his beautiful blue 2016 CCC 6207. As an added bonus, he transformed it into a one-of-a-kind CCC Trappcliffe. Then, just because he's such a stand up guy, he performed an encore of his trademark Trappcliffe tango on another 07 from my collection.

Two too-cool blue beauties fresh off the operating slab in the subterranean laboratory of the legendary Wharncliffe whisperer and Trappcliffe thaumaturge (google it), Dr. John Lansky1

P1250003.JPG

AHHHHHHH FOILED ... I thought I was the originator of the Trappcliffe concept - I saw this random pile of Case's on eBay & somebody beat me to it ...

[QTCut5]

AHHHHHHH FOILED ... I thought I was the originator of the Trappcliffe concept - I saw this random pile of Case's on eBay & somebody beat me to it ...

Well hang me up and beat me with a noodle...at first I was amazed to see photographic evidence of a presumably pre-historic TrappCliffe. But, then it occurred to me...Hold on a minute...Lansky1 may still be the "Father of the TrappCliffe"...It's entirely possible that the TrappCliffe in the photo above was created after the owner saw a Lansky1 TrappCliffe mod somewhere and tried to copy it using an old 07 he had laying around. Unless irrefutable proof of an earlier TrappCliffe than the officially recognized Lansky1 mod is entered into evidence, the ruling on the field stands: Lansky1 is still the originator of the TrappCliffe mod (as well as the Trapp2Cliffes mod, as long as were at it).

[doglegg]

Hear hear!!

[Lansky1]

LOL - from the looks of the rest of that pile, my guess is that the tip was broken off on that prehistoric mini-trapper & the wharnie was born out of necessity. I may still be the first one crazy enough to take a perfectly good mini-T & cobb it up into a trappcliffe

[QTCut5]

Normally not a fan of knives made in China (with some notable exceptions), but, for $12.95 I just couldn't resist this discontinued Chief Brand Mini Trapper (in truth, I bought it for the shield). I was pleasantly surprised to find that for the most part it is fairly well constructed. No half stops but very strong snap on both blades. The jury's still out on the interesting jigging...not quite sure how I feel about that yet...might take some time to grow on me. Not 100% certain, but I have a vague recollection of seeing Chief Brand in the SMKW catalog about 10 or so years ago (I may be confusing that with Indian Head...or maybe SMKW had both brands?)

[jmh58]

Nice MT Q.. I like everything about it..

The SAK ya posted is nice too!! White handled Tinker is KOOL!!
John

[QTCut5]

Nice MT Q.. I like everything about it..
John

Thanks, John. Now that I've had it for awhile, I have grown to like it. I think my uncertainty about the Chief Brand was probably due to my less-that-satisfactory experience with Pacific Rim Mini-Ts in general. (It can be difficult to let go of preconceived notions...particularly when they're based on empirical evidence).

[jerryd6818]

This is not an 07 but it is a Mini-Trapper. Kershaw's first venture into the Traditional Knife arena. It's 3.5" closed so it's a kissin' cousin to the 07. The G-10 handles don't do a thing for me but it's a very solid knife and comfortable in hand.

[QTCut5]

In a seemingly endless spiral down the Wharncliffe rabbit hole, I am extremely proud to present the newest additions to the most unique sub-group of my 07 collection: a trio of bespoke Trapp2Cliffes. (Although it should be fairly obvious, a "Trapp2Cliffes" is the latest iteration of the celebrated Lansky1 "TrappCliffe" and is simply an 07W with not one but TWO Wharncliffe blades--hence the "-2Cliffes" suffix.)

The Trapp2Cliffes--because you can never have too many Wharncliffe blades!

[QTCut5]

This is not an 07 but it is a Mini-Trapper. Kershaw's first venture into the Traditional Knife arena. It's 3.5" closed so it's a kissin' cousin to the 07. The G-10 handles don't do a thing for me but it's a very solid knife and comfortable in hand.

Being a huge fan of Kershaw, I am intrigued by their foray into the realm of the traditional Mini Trapper. The curiously named Gadsden (which I assume is a nod to the iconic "Don't Tread On Me" Gadsden flag) certainly has the understated elegance of the classic black, no-shield handle. And I do like the forward placement of the nail nick on the master clip blade (Case's 07 clip blade nail nick placement has always been a minor personal pet peeve of mine.) If jerryd claims it's both solid and comfortable in hand, that's an endorsement not to be taken lightly; now I must seek to obtain one for myself.

[jerryd6818]

This is not an 07 but it is a Mini-Trapper. Kershaw's first venture into the Traditional Knife arena. It's 3.5" closed so it's a kissin' cousin to the 07. The G-10 handles don't do a thing for me but it's a very solid knife and comfortable in hand.

Being a huge fan of Kershaw, I am intrigued by their foray into the realm of the traditional Mini Trapper. The curiously named Gadsden (which I assume is a nod to the iconic "Don't Tread On Me" Gadsden flag) certainly has the understated elegance of the classic black, no-shield handle. And I do like the forward placement of the nail nick on the master clip blade (Case's 07 clip blade nail nick placement has always been a minor personal pet peeve of mine.) If jerryd claims it's both solid and comfortable in hand, that's an endorsement not to be taken lightly; now I must seek to obtain one for myself.

I just got mine from BladeHQ. They didn't have them in yet so I paid a $5.00 reservation fee which came off the price when it was shipped. Total cost was $26.50, tax, license and your recapable tire. They were fairly quick to ship once they stocked them.

GPKnives appears to have them in stock for about the same price.

[jerryd6818]

This is not an 07 but it is a Mini-Trapper. Kershaw's first venture into the Traditional Knife arena. It's 3.5" closed so it's a kissin' cousin to the 07. The G-10 handles don't do a thing for me but it's a very solid knife and comfortable in hand.

Being a huge fan of Kershaw, I am intrigued by their foray into the realm of the traditional Mini Trapper. The curiously named Gadsden (which I assume is a nod to the iconic "Don't Tread On Me" Gadsden flag) certainly has the understated elegance of the classic black, no-shield handle. And I do like the forward placement of the nail nick on the master clip blade (Case's 07 clip blade nail nick placement has always been a minor personal pet peeve of mine.) If jerryd claims it's both solid and comfortable in hand, that's an endorsement not to be taken lightly; now I must seek to obtain one for myself.

You have a PM.

[QTCut5]

News Flash: The unprecedented ultimate 07 corrective surgery in modern Mini-T history has been successfully performed by (no surprise) Dr. John Lansky1.

A few months ago I acquired a "factory error" Christmas Trees 07 that had a spay blade with a 6207W pattern stamp. As you may recall, this mis-labeling caused OCD Monkey significant distress (actually, it was not the mis-labeling that bothered him as much as the lack of a Wharncliffe blade). The stress eventually caused me to sell the factory error 07. Nevertheless, the memory of that sweet red shield could not be forgotten even though the specter of the profile/pattern stamp inconsistency remained imprinted indelibly on the Monkey's psyche, so I broke down and purchased another one.

Enter the renown TrappCliffe thaumaturge, and with a few skillful swipes of his enchanted fingers...Voila! Problem solved and OCD Monkey's (tenuous and fragile) sanity restored.

Profile & Pattern Stamp--Aligned at last!

Peace and tranquility restored in Mini-T kingdom.

[Lansky1]

Glad you like the wharnie mods Q & OCD Monkey can now rest easy that the surgery was successful on his Christmas tree 207w !

[QTCut5]

For those of you playing along at home and keeping score...

While the functional utility and artistic beauty may be obvious, what you can't tell about the Trapp2Cliffes from the photos is:
1) the Kellog's Super Sugar-Crisp snappy snap (much crisper than the mushy soft-talking slow-walking factory 07Ws)
2) the slice-your-eyes-just-by-looking-at-em scary sharp Lansky edges (so much sharper than the factory edges)

Emerald Green

Ultraviolet

Smooth Red

[Lansky1]

Q - wow, thats cool - didn't know you had a set of non-modded smooth bone 07w's to match the double wharnie'd up ones. Very nice !

[jmh58]

Looks good jerry!!!
Real nice line up Q!! That John does them up right!! Kudos Gents!!
John

[Modern Slip Joints]

The man and his monkey do like Wharncliffs! Offhand I do not recall seeing any pocket knives factory made with two Wharncliff blades. I will humbly make one suggestion. Do not loan one of the Trapp2Cliffes to anyone who is not keenly interested in knives. The conversion blades' points are too delicate for loaners. In order to politely refuse I usually answer bring what you want cut to me and I'll cut it for you.

I posted because I'm undecided between two *207W Mini-Ts that are currently available new. I like both the Bone Stag and the Burnt Amber Jig with 4 fine grooves in each bolster. Some of Cases 6.5 Bone Stag is fatter than their other bone and has irregular variations in thickness to better mimic real stag. I'm a sucker for stag so Bone Stag is tempting but the other is more attractive in the ad pictures. I do not desperately need another pocket knife but these might not remain available very long and I only have one *207W. This may be the only place I'll find anyone who will agree that owning just one *207W is a serious shortage so humor me. I know QTCut5 has both so I'd like to hear his preference.

[jerryd6818]

Is this 2019 07W the one you're talking about. If so, it's very pleasing to the eye. I'm not ~Q~ but if you're looking for suggestions, this would be my pick. The shield and the threaded bolsters along with the toasted handles are what causes this one to top my list.

The 2015 07W 6.5 Bone Stag is easy on the eye and there are plenty of them for sale but the 2019 07W Burnt Amber is more satisfying to my eye.

[Modern Slip Joints]

Jerry,
Your little nudge is all it took to push me in the direction of the Burnt Amber bone with "threaded" bolsters. One will be in my P.O. box before long. I want a medium or large knife with 6.5 Bone Stag eventually but 6.5 Bone Stag will be available for a long time. There might never be another production run of the exact 6207W I ordered. I stole your picture to use for a computer screen back ground until mine gets here.

[jerryd6818]

Jerry,
Your little nudge is all it took to push me in the direction of the Burnt Amber bone with "threaded" bolsters. One will be in my P.O. box before long. I want a medium or large knife with 6.5 Bone Stag eventually but 6.5 Bone Stag will be available for a long time. There might never be another production run of the exact 6207W I ordered. I stole your picture to use for a computer screen back ground until mine gets here.

I wasn't trying to influence you (belay that. Yes I was.). Let the waiting begin. I know in my heart of hearts, you're going to love it. Feel free to Kipe my pictures anytime.