All About Pocket Knives

tongueriver wrote:The Schrade marked trappers by GEC are great knives, of course. Here is a quiz. Do you remember what the other two 'Schrade' marked knives are that GEC made?

I finally got to the point where I could more or less suss out the "other" post-closure Schrades (Camillus, Utica, Bear & Son) but as for the GECs these are the first I've seen. I didn't look further into the Scout Trappers, either - I'm wondering if they're built on the #73 pattern which is a stout medium trapper and the one I've handled had a similar blade profile to the master on the Scout Trapper.

My first 501 Squire will soon be on the way - ExChangeBlade is doing some excellent things for collectors and users:
A carpenter, a pony, and a knight are on the way from the lovely Willamette Valley of Oregon:
All will be used lovingly and with care.

Apparently this is how I "dial it back"... These will soon be on the way to the sunny southeast.
Thanks to Gino for making me an offer I couldn't refuse.

I just snagged this one off the bay, CASE XX USA (no dots) 62048. Put a bid on it last night and forgot about it until the notification came through that I had won it this morning. Guess since no one else wanted it that means I paid too much. Oh well, I'm a sucker for a HOK, they're my favorites.

Good looking bone on that one Wade!

gsmith7158 wrote:Good looking bone on that one Wade!

Thanks! That's what drew me to it. I get all weak in the knees over old CASE bone.

I swear, I was finally going to dial it back but the dealer scrounged up an extra. Thanks for the pointer (and the bad influence), Bruno!

Colonel26 wrote: Guess since no one else wanted it that means I paid too much. Oh well, I'm a sucker for a HOK, they're my favorites.

No - it just means I didn't see it...

I like the bone Colonel, and that is worth not stopping for Mr Bomba.

I spotted this little dogleg scrolling across the top of AAPK tonight and the price was right for a Boker USA in a pattern I do not have - a 9903 (with a 2-piece half-dozen count box and paperwork to boot). So it's on the way here.
I may really have a problem... I think I need a moratorium on buying knives for a while.

Hey Tsar, nice Boker; that scrolling top will get you occasionally (gets me too!) Just bought this Case 6375 from Steve P. that I saw scroll across a few days ago. OH

While you guys were fishing in the AAPK Scroll, I was fishing in the Bay where I found this way less than perfect Camillus Washington Pen knife for three bucks. I've wanted one of these for quite some time but not enough to cut loose with the cash. So for less than the cost of a Whopper® meal at Burger King, I'll have a place keeper. I see a chunk out of the front handle and a pin missing from the pile side. There was almost no description so we'll see what I really got come Thursday. I'm eager to get a look at that tang stamp.

Colonel26 wrote: I get all weak in the knees over old CASE bone.

And rightly so Wade.

Tsar Bomba wrote:I swear, I was finally going to dial it back but the dealer scrounged up an extra. Thanks for the pointer (and the bad influence), Bruno!

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Let us know how you like the knife. I received mine today and it's definitely worth what we paid. A few imperfections but none are a deal breaker.
Bruno

Old Hunter wrote:Hey Tsar, nice Boker; that scrolling top will get you occasionally (gets me too!) Just bought this Case 6375 from Steve P. that I saw scroll across a few days ago. OH

Oh man! That is a beauty!

bdev wrote:Let us know how you like the knife. I received mine today and it's definitely worth what we paid. A few imperfections but none are a deal breaker.

I would say I concur with your assessment. Mine came today and, while the packing was substandard and the factory box was creased a bit, I hadn't paid a dime for shipping in the first place plus the knife itself was carefully wrapped. Very minor "grit" in the action, not nearly like the Queens of a few years earlier however. It'll probably work itself out over time and oilings. I spotted the tiniest of gaps between one liner and the spring, something I always check for but barely noticed on this knife. You can only tell if you look at a bright light source through the knife and catch it just so. Again, issues that are on par with what I've seen in recent years out of Case, Buck or Boker, and new knives from those cutlers go for more than I paid for this knife.

The walnut is outstanding as it is on my Wharnie SFO #1, the knife is nice and slim in pocket and fits well in hand like most larger trappers do in my meatpaws. Given the low cost, the good looks of the knife and the very minor imperfections which do not detract from it as a knife at all, it'll make a fine user and still display nicely if I have occasion to do so.

Tsar Bomba wrote:

bdev wrote:Let us know how you like the knife. I received mine today and it's definitely worth what we paid. A few imperfections but none are a deal breaker.

I would say I concur with your assessment. Mine came today and, while the packing was substandard and the factory box was creased a bit, I hadn't paid a dime for shipping in the first place plus the knife itself was carefully wrapped. Very minor "grit" in the action, not nearly like the Queens of a few years earlier however. It'll probably work itself out over time and oilings. I spotted the tiniest of gaps between one liner and the spring, something I always check for but barely noticed on this knife. You can only tell if you look at a bright light source through the knife and catch it just so. Again, issues that are on par with what I've seen in recent years out of Case, Buck or Boker, and new knives from those cutlers go for more than I paid for this knife.

The walnut is outstanding as it is on my Wharnie SFO #1, the knife is nice and slim in pocket and fits well in hand like most larger trappers do in my meatpaws. Given the low cost, the good looks of the knife and the very minor imperfections which do not detract from it as a knife at all, it'll make a fine user and still display nicely if I have occasion to do so.

Thanks for the feedback.
Mine does not have any gaps. It does have an imperfection to one of the lines in the bolster. The walnut is nice but there is a noticeable ridge where the wood meets the metal both at the bolster and cap. The wood sits a bit lower than the metal and is not a smooth transition (I can catch a fingernail going from the wood to metal. Came pretty sharp from the factory but does need a bit of stoning. The pile side of the blade has a distinct line that runs horizontally from one end to the other. The mark side has some spot stains as well as run over of the etch.
The pins are flush with the wood as well as the shield (very good).
The one thing I don't like about the knife is not cosmetic. The placement of the nail nick makes it more difficult to open it. It sits far back and doesn't give much leverage considering the pull is not light. I love the blade and the swedge on top. I'm contradicting myself 'cause you need the nail nick in that location in order to have the swedge.
I'm just pointing out a few flaws that you'd probably see on any given production knife less than 50 dollars. If I'd have paid a hundred for it, It would be an issue. For 40 bucks, no big deal. It's actually better than I thought it would be.
Nuff said.......Bruno

To be honest, Bruno, the first few times I have opened it up I pinched it as I often do with single-blade trappers such as the one I carried today. I have noticed some funny nick placements on swedged clip blades of varying profiles from Queen, GEC, and at least one Case. The #1's is further back than most, though I find it mitigated by the relative easy pull of mine compared to, say, that of the recent 43s or the man-sized spring on the 11-year-old "Schrade" pioneer trapper I picked up.

GEC's placements of a nick on their NF trappers and other "California clip" blades varies from "meh" to just plain dumb. I feel like on both the Queen #1 and every NF I've ever handled that had a nick the placement exacerbated any heavy pull issues. And one of my Cases, I believe the green saddlehorn, has such a ridiculous nick placement on the clip blade that it prevented me from carrying it a couple times. I much prefer the long pulls on the ornately-swedged blades GEC puts out but I realize there might not be enough real estate near the tang on some of these blades.

But somehow this has turned into another "critique Queen" thread, no thanks to myself. For a $40, $50, or possibly even retail price it's a nice knife, and with my example at least I've got a perfectly attractive-looking large trapper with excellent steel and easy mechanics. Plus I've got another piece of Queen now that they've transitioned from active manufacturer to cutlery history...

It's on its way to me...

Al Mar Falcon circa early to mid-1980s!
It's little brother the Hawk arrived today.
It's in my watch pocket right now!

They both look like nice carriers Dale, you going to do any thing fancy to them?

My youngest Grandson graduates from high school three weeks from tomorrow and two weeks later (June 4th) he ships out for U.S. Army Basic Training. Soooo, as a graduation present, I bought this for him. I'm still on the fence whether or not to have his name engraved on it. Maybe on the bottom bolster?????

No, just carry them in memory of my friend Al.
These are original Al Mars from the mid 1980s. Al passed away in 1992. These were made in Seki Japan by Huhey. Al believed that Huhey was the best maker in Japan.
The handles are the old General Electric white Micarta. This is the original stuff that turns yellow like ivory. As you can see it has yellowed significantly in the past 30 years.

Someone else has purchased the company since Al's death and Huhey is no longer the manufacturer.

Very fine older knives by the late great Al Mar. I was just in the initial stages of developing an interest in knives in the mid-eighties. In the Philippines I came across a current catalog of Al Mar knives. Not then appreciating the exceptional quality of what I was seeing, I've kicked myself for not buying many of those pictured knives. Congratulations on your acquisitions Dale.

orvet wrote:No, just carry them in memory of my friend Al.
These are original Al Mars from the mid 1980s. Al passed away in 1992. These were made in Seki Japan by Huhey. Al believed that Huhey was the best maker in Japan.
The handles are the old General Electric white Micarta. This is the original stuff that turns yellow like ivory. As you can see it has yellowed significantly in the past 30 years.

Someone else has purchased the company since Al's death and Huhey is no longer the manufacturer.

Thanks Dale for the reply. I have seen Al Mars knives but did not know that the maker was deceased. So not just nice knives but nice memories as well.

jerryd6818 wrote:My youngest Grandson graduates from high school three weeks from tomorrow and two weeks later (June 4th) he ships out for U.S. Army Basic Training. Soooo, as a graduation present, I bought this for him. I'm still on the fence whether or not to have his name engraved on it. Maybe on the bottom bolster?????

Fitting gift.

jerryd6818 wrote: I'm still on the fence whether or not to have his name engraved on it. Maybe on the bottom bolster?????

I would engrave some sort of identifying mark on it.
Guys kept taking my TL-29 in the Marine Corps because I knew how to sharpen a knife and kept mine sharp. If I laid my TL-29 down somewhere someone would take my sharp knife and leave their dull one in its place. I finally had to scratch my initials on my sharp TL-29 back instead of someone else's dull one.