All About Pocket Knives

Some more nice knives posted and some interesting discussion

KJ - I am not as experienced as lots of folks on this site and look to this site to learn in addition to the books, researching the internet for history etc etc... I have come to learn terminology is quite interesting as a subject all to itself in terms of knives... I am not saying at all that is off topic here - afterall the definition of wharncliffe was not even clear )... I wonder if a thread dedicated to terminology would be worthwhile sometime... I have to say I called 2 spring whittlers with a wedge a split spring whittler at one time - I wash't aware at that time that a true split spring whittler as discussed above was exactly that - a spring which had been split - I also came to learn that finding a true split spring whittler is a tough thing to do .... I ask this question with all due respect to all (and trying not to go off topic too much) - is BRL considered the bible for knife terminology? or when in doubt how does one look it up? Or as Jerry alluded to - if a company calls a knife a whittler (and I hate to use that example as many have many different opinions in terms of whittlers) than it is a whittler? As I once saw in a post long ago - "my knife my terminology" ... or maybe it is all opinion in the end

QTCut5 wrote:Well, Jerry, the good news is that there is no shortage of Case Seahorse Whittlers currently for sale; so, you can always get yourself another one to replace the one you regret having traded away. (While you're at it, you might want to pick up an extra one or two to toss on carmilluss' ancestor's grave to fill in the holes! )

~Q~

....now, if you drove up to the grave in anything but a FORD and anything but a CAMILLUS in your pocket, he would come out of the grave even faster!!!......... .............

..now, this is turnin' into "a whole 'nuther smoke"- I've never seen a whittler that actually had a spring that was actually split with a spacer inserted into the cavity??....all mine are 2 separate springs with the tapered center insert between them??.......... ...........

carrmillus wrote:

QTCut5 wrote:Well, Jerry, the good news is that there is no shortage of Case Seahorse Whittlers currently for sale; so, you can always get yourself another one to replace the one you regret having traded away. (While you're at it, you might want to pick up an extra one or two to toss on carmilluss' ancestor's grave to fill in the holes! )

~Q~

....now, if you drove up to the grave in anything but a FORD and anything but a CAMILLUS in your pocket, he would come out of the grave even faster!!!......... .............

I thought you were going to say something like, "that's about all a Case knife is good for...tossing in the ground and covering with dirt!"

Personally, I used to be an almost exclusively Case collector; but then I discovered other brands that I like even more and I sold or traded off the majority of my Case collection. Nevertheless, the one thing that has always been a central focus of my collection is knives with a Wharncliffe blade...single blade, 1/2 whittler, seahorse whittler, copperhead, copperlock, trapper, call 'em what'cha will...as long as it has a Wharncliffe blade (and is well-made, preferably in the USA), I'll be interested.

~Q~

carrmillus wrote:..now, this is turnin' into "a whole 'nuther smoke"- I've never seen a whittler that actually had a spring that was actually split with a spacer inserted into the cavity??....all mine are 2 separate springs with the tapered center insert between them??.......... ...........

My impression is that unless you are real lucky or real rich you never will see one of those! Does anyone have an idea of when the last one was made? And yes, this thread is wobbling real bad again and I am helping derail it.

I have to agree with you Mel - the train is teetering on the wharncliffe curve - sorta ... if I had another wharncliffe to post & to get this back on track I would .... I did allude to another thread for the future where all can discuss different terminology and opinions for multiple patterns (that indeed may have a cool historical bend to it)... unless you have a rare "true" split spring whittler that is a wharncliffe ...

I

Dinadan wrote:

carrmillus wrote:..now, this is turnin' into "a whole 'nuther smoke"- I've never seen a whittler that actually had a spring that was actually split with a spacer inserted into the cavity??....all mine are 2 separate springs with the tapered center insert between them??.......... ...........

My impression is that unless you are real lucky or real rich you never will see one of those! Does anyone have an idea of when the last one was made? And yes, this thread is wobbling real bad again and I am helping derail it.

It's ok guys ,for posterity,it'll show future readers the kinda hairpins we are.This feels more like we are all sittin' around table blowin' some air.

Here's all I can think of right now. A United Cutlery Austria wharncliffe frame knife.

No I thought of one better. What 's this??

jerryd6818 wrote:

danno50 wrote: Don't believe that anyone has ever been banned from AAPK?
Dan

Au contraire mon frère. That occurrence is as scarce as hens teeth but it has happened. Mostly trolls before Bryan "fixed" the sign up to mostly weed them out early but there have been a couple of active members banned since I've been here.

And Lyle is correct, meanness and knock down drag out fights are very infrequent.

Run Off The Rails.jpg

And here's the first (the only) Case Seahorse Whittler I bought. I didn't like it near as well in hand as I did in pictures so I traded it off and now I'm sorry I did.

Thanks Jerry, I stand corrected. The only one I remember was a fellow who's name I don't remember (had "tourist" in it though) who was begging to be banned, however, I thought he quit on his own?

I need help, I cannot figure out how to just quote a portion of someone's post. (sorry, further off the rails)

Dan

danno50 wrote:
I need help, I cannot figure out how to just quote a portion of someone's post. (sorry, further off the rails)

Dan

Dan, it's easy. Just hit the quote button and delete the part you don't want. Take care to not delete any part of the quote command or close quote command (in brackets) or the brackets that surround them,

In this case, I deleted everything between the

danno50 wrote: and the [forward slash-quote]

Longblade asks: "is BRL considered the bible for knife terminology?"
Basic answer is "yes".
Knife terminology developed over many years and in different places; e.g. Sheffield, New England States with numerous knife manufacturing businesses, the Southern States where knife collecting/trading was a popular pastime, etc. Hence depending on where you were different names would be used for knife patterns, knife parts, etc.
Bernard Levine tried to bring some of these varied knife terminology into standard definitions by researching the evolution of knife patterns and defining the words based on original useage. No one else has done this so his definitions have become the standard for most knife enthusiasts. The main reason is so that we know what each other is speaking of if we all use standard definitions.
Off topic again, but i feel compelled to answer LB's question.
kj

Great knife Lyle and now we are speeding back down the tracks of wharncliffe-ville ... sitting around blowing air as you note is something I enjoy about AAPK - personally while I take all this seriously I would not even be involved if it wasn't all the fun associated with it and the great friendly attitude of all ...

Thanks KJ for the answer to my question ... not off topic really as it relates to where I originally read the definition of wharncliffe and how it can be a blade , a frame style or both in one (and again I was trying to allude to that in my OP but wasn't exactly clear).... I thought BRL would be considered the "go-to" for definitions/terminology etc... even though certain aspects of his book can be his opinion or subjective...

Although brand new, I guess Lyle's GEC Farmer's Jack would be considered a Wharncliffe. Beauty, eh?

Yes indeed Jerry - that is a beauty .... Is that "Lick Creek" as an etch? Does that refer to a real creek somewhere or just an amusing etch that one can define in so many ways .... yes I'm biting my tongue or in this case tying my fingers up from typing further

Lee, that is indeed a real place, right down to the cabin. Ask Lyle (WLF), it's his SFO and his history we're talking about here.

Thanks Jerry! Now for my stupid question and then back to wharncliffes - what does SFO stand for? Related to that and all may get a good laugh - long ago I posted a Robeson knife and during the thread discussion Charlie noted the "OP" knife... I'm thinking - hmnnnn - an OP knife - that is one I don't know.... well after checking BRL for an OP knife and coming up blank I found out by asking here it meant "original post"... didn't find SFO in Levine's book either

Not a dumb question at all.

SFO = Special Factory Order

An individual or a company goes to a knife manufacturer such as GEC or Queen and contracts with them to make a knife for him that has the features he/she wants but can't get in a current production knife. That can be anywhere from a pattern that isn't being made on down to just a special blade etch and everything in between.

Cool - thanks Jerry .. I do believe a SFO was something you noted when I said I would love to have a jack with a tribal spear and a wharncliffe blade (though you didn't use the SFO abbreviation)... That is cool that was a knife that Lyle has made based on his request!!! Nice Lyle (as I am sure you will read this) and something to be proud of in my opinion!!! I love this stuff ...

Lee ,I was honored Bill Howard wanted to do it,I had mentioned it,but he instigated it a year or so after we had met.

I was born in this little house on the front label,taken from these pictures. That was Papaw and Mamaw Fry's home-place up the holler. Me and Daddy down by the creek fish'n, which we did a lot... I only have one memory before Daddy started taking me fish'n,and it's so early you wouldn't believe it.

Daddy and Papaw Fry could crouch like that all day long,a trait I didn't get. I grin

I enjoyed the labeling probably more than the knife itself,but I liked the rendition. Thanks again Bill.

That's Mamaw Fry on the porch of the addition,funny she had a "new" electric wringer washer, but cooked on an old wood cook stove.

I believe that's my cousin Dale in the yard,he was one of my cousins that had been in that apple tree with me. He was a helicopter gunner in Vietnam,never made it home. His Mommy,Daddy's sister, never could accept it because the casket was closed and eventually lost her mind.

One of the reasons that I was a bit slow to jump into this thread is that most if not all wharncliffes also fit into other topics, such as the Whittler threads and the Farmer's Jack thread, and I have posted most of mine in other threads. But what the heck, here are a pair of GECs with ebony handles.

That one on the left is a beauty Mel. I'm grin'n.

Thanks Jerry for posting that one,allowing me to expound my memories.

Now I understand completely and Lyle that knife is not only a gem - it is priceless in terms of all those memories and a great tribute ... Thank you so much for sharing all that my friend!

and Mel thanks for sharing yours... I think it is quite appropriate in many cases that our knives be posted in multiple threads as they fit in many places as you said... and in the future it will be easy for folks to find the knives for archival purposes...

wlf wrote:
I believe that's my cousin Dale in the yard,he was one of my cousins that had been in that apple tree with me. He was a helicopter gunner in Vietnam,never made it home. His Mommy,Daddy's sister, never could accept it because the casket was closed and eventually lost her mind.

My cousin's first husband was a waist gunner on a Huey and was shot down three times and was the only one to survive each time.He returned home but his mind was still over there. If you spoke to him,it would take several seconds for him to turn and look at you and you may or may not receive an answer. If war news came on TV he would walk out of the room. He finally had to be institutionalized.A true example of the,"thousand yard stare".

On a brighter note;thank you for sharing the story of the knife.These are why I love to peruse the forums every day.

Lyle, are any of your Lick Crick knives still available?

Lord, help me, you guys have stirred up an itch that needs to be scratched.

Charlie

I was thinking the same thing Charlie ....