All About Pocket Knives

I must give credit to MSJ in his determination regarding the factory vs mod of the master clip blade question.

After further research I have concluded that the short master blade on my 1980 Gray-Green Bone 6207 is actually a modification, not a factory job. I've looked at hundreds and possibly thousands of 6207s from every year and this is the only one I have ever seen with a short blade like this one, which leads me to believe it must have been modified. I actually like the shorter clip blade...it's about the same size as the master blade on my Queen #9155s, which, although perhaps not as graceful, seems more sturdy and better suited for whittling or delicate cutting in confined spaces using just the tip. YMMV.

Another thing I discovered that surprised me is the variation in the location of the blade etch. Admittedly, I don't know how or when the etch is applied at the factory; but, for whatever reason, it doesn't necessarily always end up in the exact same place on the blade of every knife; the positions of the blade etches are surprisingly inconsistent: higher, lower, more left or more right. I had just assumed it would be more uniform, but empirical evidence clearly dispels that notion.

The latest addition to the pile. Note it's from the "Work Knives" series. Until now, I didn't even realize there was a "Work Knives" series.

jerryd6818 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 19, 2020 10:52 pm It's a long story and I thought it would never happen but today I finally received this one.

Glad it finally arrived Jerry. I remember you posting about the delay a while back.

jerryd6818 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 07, 2020 11:39 am The latest addition to the pile. Note it's from the "Work Knives" series. Until now, I didn't even realize there was a "Work Knives" series.

Well now.......that is a (ahem ) a mule of a different color. Nice.

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 26, 2020 9:20 pm Meanwhile...
I'm going to go ahead and post this one here even though technically it's not a 07. However, I believe this could accurately be considered Tony Bose's take on the 07. Obviously, the frame is different, but it's the right size (3 9/16" by my reckoning) to fit into the Mini Trapper category.


P9260009.JPGP9260008.JPGP9260010.JPGP9260011.JPG

Awesome "Q".

This one came in the mail earlier this week. A 2013 Case 6207 Carhartt in DR Molasse bone. Came in box with papers, and wrap. Glad to add it to my 07 group.

Papa Bones wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 12:19 am This one came in the mail earlier this week. A 2013 Case 6207 Carhartt in DR Molasse bone. Came in box with papers, and wrap. Glad to add it to my 07 group.

Case 6207 Carhartt_a.png
Case 6207 Carhartt_b.png

Nice ,Nice, you got a dandy there Papa B. Them Carhartt 07 s look great . Thanks for posting,stay safe out there.

Papa Bones wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 12:19 am This one came in the mail earlier this week. A 2013 Case 6207 Carhartt in DR Molasse bone. Came in box with papers, and wrap. Glad to add it to my 07 group.

Case 6207 Carhartt_a.png
Case 6207 Carhartt_b.png

There are five of those (that I know of). Are you going to get them all or have you already acquired all of them?

jerryd6818 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 12:35 am [

There are five of those (that I know of). Are you going to get them all or have you already acquired all of them?

This is the first '07 I've picked up. The only other Carhartt I have is a '54. But I may try to add them all. I've seen a couple of the 6107 easily accessible.

Papa Bones wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:27 am I've seen a couple of the 6107 easily accessible.

6107W, you say?...I like hearing that because it means you're speakin' my language (Monkeyspeak).

Smitty, very nice Carhartt...I do love that Barnboard jigging.

I think jerryd and I are on the same wavelength...a blue one, that is.

Here's what I picked up recently in the "technically-not-07-but-still-a-mini-trapper" category...although even that may be pushing it a bit since without the spay blade this might more appropriately be called a "Dogleg Jack" (official nomenclature resides in the mind of the beholder).

Call it what you will, it's a 3½" 2004 Schatt & Morgan "Dollar Knife Co." (#51) in Sky Blue Jigged Bone

My humble 07 collection.. Love this pattern..

toomanyknives wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 3:32 am My humble 07 collection.. Love this pattern..IMG_1364.JPG

Beauties all, tmk. Welcome aboard the 07 train.

Can't make out the tang stamps on your bottom two...obviously they're pre-1980s era based on the blade configuration, so I'm guessing 1970s? (You'll want to keep those handy for when Mini-T Monkey kicks off his Mini Trapper Timeline Project (MTTP) later this month.)

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 3:49 am

toomanyknives wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 3:32 am My humble 07 collection.. Love this pattern..IMG_1364.JPG

Beauties all, tmk. Welcome aboard the 07 train.

Can't make out the tang stamps on your bottom two...obviously they're pre-1980s era based on the blade configuration, so I'm guessing 1970s? (You'll want to keep those handy for when Mini-T Monkey kicks off his Mini Trapper Timeline Project (MTTP) later this month.)

Thanks much, QTCut5. They are Top Left: 1986, Top Right: 1989
Bottom Left: 1978 Bottom Right: 1974

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 3:15 am

Papa Bones wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:27 am I've seen a couple of the 6107 easily accessible.

6107W, you say?...I like hearing that because it means you're speakin' my language (Monkeyspeak).

Call it what you will, it's a 3½" 2004 Schatt & Morgan "Dollar Knife Co." (#51) in Sky Blue Jigged Bone
PA070008.JPGPA070014.JPGPA070028.JPGPA070012.JPGPA070019.JPG

Wow Q! Home Run, Touch Down, Slam Dunker you got there! What a beautiful knife!
The color, shield, etch, brand! Sweet! Congrats Buddy!

toomanyknives wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 3:32 am My humble 07 collection.. Love this pattern..IMG_1364.JPG

Beautiful knives! I especially like those bottum two! Nice!

TPK wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 4:43 am

toomanyknives wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 3:32 am My humble 07 collection.. Love this pattern..IMG_1364.JPG

Beautiful knives! I especially like those bottum two! Nice!

Thanks very much TPK! I love the old 07 also!

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 3:15 am

Papa Bones wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:27 am I've seen a couple of the 6107 easily accessible.

6107W, you say?...I like hearing that because it means you're speakin' my language (Monkeyspeak).

Smitty, very nice Carhartt...I do love that Barnboard jigging.

I think jerryd and I are on the same wavelength...a blue one, that is.

Here's what I picked up recently in the "technically-not-07-but-still-a-mini-trapper" category...although even that may be pushing it a bit since without the spay blade this might more appropriately be called a "Dogleg Jack" (official nomenclature resides in the mind of the beholder).

Call it what you will, it's a 3½" 2004 Schatt & Morgan "Dollar Knife Co." (#51) in Sky Blue Jigged Bone
PA070008.JPGPA070014.JPGPA070028.JPGPA070012.JPGPA070019.JPG

Appreciate it "Q".

As far as the "Mini-Trapper" / "Dog Leg Jack" issue, I tend to look at them as the same knife with the same lineage but only a different secondary blade. Kind of like a rose by any other name. But I actually am not as fond of the spay blade and think the secondary pen looks more appealing on a 07 style knife.

Beautiful Shatt & Morgan you've got there. A classy addition to any 07 / Mini-Trapper Clone collection.

toomanyknives wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 3:32 am My humble 07 collection.. Love this pattern..IMG_1364.JPG

Wecome to AARP. A nice group of 07's for sure.

Jerry D & Q are singing the Mini-blues this week. Nice looking knives.

Along with all other knives that have a short and long blade pivoting in the same end I do like calling Q's Schatt & Morgan 51 (S&M 51) a jack knife. My Webster's writes jack knives are large folders so maybe Webster would agree to mini-jack. However, I choked reading the O7 and S&M 51 patterns called "dog leg." I don't see a dog's hip shape in them. The only pattern that I'm aware of Case naming Dog Leg is the 4 1/2" *240 which is almost always a Trapper. Its left end is a lot broader than its right making it more like a dog's rear leg. Maybe Q sees a small dogs front leg shape in the 07? The long spey in my 6240 is oddly very broad only near its tip. That does give it more useful cure but the high peak of its spine is a little uncomfortable while using the clip blade. Case did make a small number of 5240s with a pen blade instead of a spey. Now there's a dog leg jack. I'd love to own one.

By the way, my only S&M 51 has two long blades, a clip and a spey.

Papa Bones wrote: ↑Fri Oct 09, 2020 2:44 pm

toomanyknives wrote: ↑Thu Oct 08, 2020 3:32 am My humble 07 collection.. Love this pattern..IMG_1364.JPG

Wecome to AARP. A nice group of 07's for sure.

Thank you, sir...

MSJ, I don't see a "Dog Leg" there either. Oh well, to each his own.

Received these Mini-T's today.

jerryd6818 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 09, 2020 7:58 pm MSJ, I don't see a "Dog Leg" there either. Oh well, to each his own.

Received these Mini-T's today.

As we say here in the south......."Nice 'Uns"

Papa Bones wrote: ↑Fri Oct 09, 2020 8:57 pm

jerryd6818 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 09, 2020 7:58 pm MSJ, I don't see a "Dog Leg" there either. Oh well, to each his own.

Received these Mini-T's today.

As we say here in the south......."Nice 'Uns"

Why thank you Smitty. They look even better in hand.

Modern Slip Joints wrote: ↑Fri Oct 09, 2020 6:17 pm I choked reading the O7 and S&M 51 patterns called "dog leg." I don't see a dog's hip shape in them. The only pattern that I'm aware of Case naming Dog Leg is the 4 1/2" *240 which is almost always a Trapper. Its left end is a lot broader than its right making it more like a dog's rear leg. Maybe Q sees a small dogs front leg shape in the 07?

jerryd6818 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 09, 2020 7:58 pm MSJ, I don't see a "Dog Leg" there either. Oh well, to each his own.

Not to split hairs (or any other element of canine anatomy), but it's interesting to note the entry for "Dogleg" included in the "Lexicon of Knife Terms" section of Tobias Gibson's A Pocket Guide to Knives (http://apg2k.hegewisch.net/lexicon-d.html) has the following definition:

Dogleg: A traditional handle pattern in which the handle is slightly crooked and resembles a dogs hind leg. The top of the knife is narrower than the bottom. The top bolster is noticeably smaller than the butt end pommel. Both bolsters are normally rounded. The handle pattern is favored for Peanuts and Trappers.

I think there's definitely an argument to be made for calling the 07 a dogleg jack. Although it may not be a perfect fit, the 07 does meet several essential dogleg criteria: handle is slightly crooked, narrower at top than bottom, top bolster noticeably smaller than butt end pommel. Whether or not it literally "resembles a dog's leg" is open to individual interpretation and depends on what size/breed dog you use as your reference and how crooked it's legs are, I suppose. But, as jerryd himself has been known to say on occasion, it's close enough for government work (and not worth getting all choked up over!)

So, if the 07 frame geometry doesn't meet your personal concept of a dog leg, what else would you call it...just a plain ol' Jack Knife? Of course there are already several other types of Jack Knife with distinct monikers such as Texas Jack, Serpentine Jack, Small/Medium/Large Jack, etc. What special name would best distinguish the distinctive 07 design?

I don't know what name (if any) Case originally assigned to the very first 07 pattern produced. However, in my defense and to be perfectly clear...I was quite content calling all Case 07 and Queen/S&M 51 patterns "Mini Trappers" until I noticed that knifeaholic refers to 07s with a pen blade as "Dogleg Jack" and 07s with a spay blade as "Mini Trapper" which, I suppose, has a certain logic if for no other reason than to make a distinction between the different blade configurations even though they both have the exact same frame design. And so I have to wonder: Who among us is remotely qualified to question Steve Pfeiffer's use of nomenclature on anything to do with Case knives? (Certainly not me...I'm just a part-time piker here on Planet Pocketknife!)

For the sake of my own sanity (and with all apologies to knifeaholic or anyone who may disagree or take umbrage with my preferred term), I think I'm just going to stick with "Mini Trapper" from now on regardless of blade combination. I'm sure y'all will know 'zactly what I mean.

jerryd: Nice pair ya got there. Glad to see you opened the plastic seal on the Red Cross Commemorative. I didn't weigh in before because I didn't want to add improper pressure or inordinate influence; but, now that the deed is done...personally, I think being able to see the beautiful knife inside the tin has only appreciated it's value (I, for one, certainly appreciate it more!). Oh, and you might want to keep that sweet chestnut '96 handy to add at the appropriate time to the forthcoming Mini Trapper Timeline Project (MTTP) which should be getting underway almost any day now. Coming soon to a theater near you!

Well, my fellow 07 aficionados, at the very beginning of this year the Mini-T Monkey concocted a cockeyed notion to create a Mini Trapper Timeline. The idea was to start with my oldest 07 and, using the tang stamps as a guide, systematically document the evolution of the venerable Case Mini Trapper year by year (or decade by decade, as the case may be) over the past 100 years: 1920-2020.

Since my collection is far from complete in this regard, particularly with respect to the early year model 07s, I'm hoping that other 07 collectors/owners will participate in order to create a more complete timeline. I'll begin with the Tested era (1920-1940) and then after a few days or so move on to successive years. The goal is to try and group all the 07s from each time period in some semblance of chronological order. What we mostly want to see, of course, are photos, but, as always, any and all relevant comments, observations, knowledge, wisdom, critiques, etc. are also welcome and encouraged.

So let's get this show on the road and begin the

MINI TRAPPER TIMELINE PROJECT

Tested Era (1920-1940)

My one and only Tested era 6207 is this Green Bone model which, although it has been professionally cleaned, still shows telltale signs of its age in the pitting of the blade steel. The walk and talk seems to be as tight and snappy as the day it left the factory. The fit and finish is exceptional. I believe this is the only 07 that was ever released with a long pull. And, unlike the following years, this one has no pattern stamp. The oval shield is pinned and has the "closed C" which suggests production in the earlier part of the era, i.e., closer to 1920 than 1940, but the exact year is indeterminate.


Any other Tested era 07s out there? Now's the time to show 'em.

QTCut5 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 10, 2020 3:35 pm Well, my fellow 07 aficionados, at the very beginning of this year the Mini-T Monkey concocted a cockeyed notion to create a Mini Trapper Timeline. The idea was to start with my oldest 07 and, using the tang stamps as a guide, systematically document the evolution of the venerable Case Mini Trapper year by year (or decade by decade, as the case may be) over the past 100 years: 1920-2020.

Since my collection is far from complete in this regard, particularly with respect to the early year model 07s, I'm hoping that other 07 collectors/owners will participate in order to create a more complete timeline. I'll begin with the Tested era (1920-1940) and then after a few days or so move on to successive years. The goal is to try and group all the 07s from each time period in some semblance of chronological order. What we mostly want to see, of course, are photos, but, as always, any and all relevant comments, observations, knowledge, wisdom, critiques, etc. are also welcomed and encouraged.

So let's get this show on the road and begin the

MINI TRAPPER TIMELINE PROJECT

Tested Era (1920-1940)

My one and only Tested era 6207 is this Green Bone model which, although it has been professionally cleaned, still shows telltale signs of its age in the pitting of the blade steel. The walk and talk seems to be as tight and snappy as the day it left the factory. The fit and finish is exceptional. I believe this is the only 07 that was ever released with a long pull. And, unlike the following years, this one has no pattern stamp. The oval shield is pinned and has the "closed C" which suggests production in the earlier part of the era, i.e., closer to 1920 than 1940, but the exact year is indeterminate.


PA010001.JPGPA010003.JPGPA010004.JPGPA010005.JPGPA010006.JPG
PA010002.JPG


Any other Tested era 07s out there? Now's the time to show 'em.

Sounds good. Look forward to seeing the timeline form.