All About Pocket Knives

Most of us like stag handles, and I'm no exception. I had a couple of my SFO HJs rehandled in some old stag I got from a retired Henckels repairman. Muskrat man did an absolutely super job! He did one leaving the scales quite thick, and on the other, he thinned them down as much as possible without losing the "bark".
This got me thinking about how the handles were done on various knives over the years. It seems to me, that the trend has been toward thicker handles. I've seen real old knives with beautiful stag that barely exceeds the bolster height, and the bark, or texture is full length. Then you see a more modern knife, with thick scales, and large bands of white at either end to "fair" the stag into the bolsters.
A big handle can be helpful for leverage and control, but you feel a lump in your pocket. I've decided I prefer the thin ones. How about you??

Charlie, I like the way stag was done in the old days, the more bark the better....B-R

i want it to match the bolsters. todays knives have very thin bolsters and thick stag has to be pared down to fit. older knives have thicker bolsters and more of the bark can be used. if it is so thick it looks like a football, then it's too thick for me.

Thick, to look at and hold in my hand. Thin, to carry in my pocket!

If I'm going somewhere on the dressy side, I would carry a thinner stag. (going somewhere like this would be my wifes idea, not mine ).
But you don't really have to carry it in your pocket. You can use a snap flap belt sheath like the Buck 110/112 has to carry a slip joint. You can also line it with felt, doe skin, or split leather to keep it from bouncing around if the sheath is to big. They make some from nylon also. Course if you do cary it in your pocket, you might get asked to do one of those dumb enzite commercials.

Upnorth, nice knives. You're right, Muskrat Man does some very nice work and as young as he is you can tell he has the gift. I'm gonna have to get him to do one for me before he becomes too expensive

I like them bigger if the knife is strong enought to handle it.

By this I mean I have a large hand and when I want to use a knife if the handle is to thin, I lose control of cutting. If the blade is to small with a big handle I can brake it to ez or make the blade wabble.

Yes the thick ones need to be in a belt sheath not the pocket.

As a rule I generally prefer thin stag. But both the HJ's that Muskrat Man rehandled are just great!
I don't like scales that are so thick that there's just alittle bark left in the middle of the knife.

Dave

Oh my.....

Some great looking stag.

For me it seems to depend on the overall feel of the knife in my hand. Bigger knife...gnarly and/or thick is ok. Medium, or even smaller...thinner is nice. But I guess I like almost all stag, as it is very unique, and has great character, IMO.

Bill

I am very, very picky on my stag and realize that most folks may not be as selective as I am. I do not like it when stag is not matched well and very uneven. I will include an example of a Schatt & Morgan trapper that has beautiful stag but is very uneven and lopsided, which makes me nuts...

I also see a lot of the newer stag pieces with large bands of white against the bolster like upnorth describes and even though I own several pieces like that I wish the knife maker would put a little more time in and match the stag to the knife. If I wanted a white bone knife I would have looked for one. When I think of stag I think of bark, dark and gnarly...

Sunburst

Beautiful stag everyone MM did excellent work on those H Js. Sunburst you made me I know what you mean. I have a Sheffield lambsfoot with very unbalanced stag scales s-k

p.s. Beautiful e.g., of older stag blade runner

Yeah, I guess you guys do have a good point about the usually slanted, white area by the bolsters.
This seems to be the style favored by the Germans and Japanese, when fitting.

Here is a Bulldog with nice stag, but the finishing at the bolsters...

Especially compared to the little Bob Ham single blade...

Bill

S/K and sunburst,

Still nice knives guys.

If they would just put the thickest piece wherever the nail nick is, at least you could call it a palm swell, and look for a righty/lefty knife.

If you two continue to feel that nausea much longer, just send the knives here to Arizona for treatment (well...your treatment, you know?).

Bill

The stag on this one is quite thin at the edges for a relatively large knife but has deep grooves so varies substantially. No white here s-k.

upnorth wrote:Most of us like stag handles, and I'm no exception. I had a couple of my SFO HJs rehandled in some old stag I got from a retired Henckels repairman.

Hey waynorth do you run into many retired Henckels repairmen???

Sunburst

smiling-knife wrote:The stag on this one is quite thin at the edges for a relatively large knife but has deep grooves so varies substantially. No white here s-k.

No white here that almost sounds like a racist remark SK

Your stag is great all the way through, it does seem like the vintage stag knife makers worked harder at maintaining their stag from bolster to bolster...

After looking at my stag specimens I realize that most knives I have are of the newer stag styles..

Here are two of my better stag specimens, I do believe Mr. Upnorth had a lot to do with this as well.... Then again it could have been that reitred Henckels repairman...

Sunburst

That is a sweet pair sunburst . Maybe 'stagist' is a more appropriate term . Here is one I particularly like. s-k

El Lobo wrote:S/K and sunburst,

Still nice knives guys.

If they would just put the thickest piece wherever the nail nick is, at least you could call it a palm swell, and look for a righty/lefty knife.

If you two continue to feel that nausea much longer, just send the knives here to Arizona for treatment (well...your treatment, you know?).

Bill

Great looking stag there my friend...Nice idea on the nail nick and palm swell marketing...I do believe you would make a nice quality control manager..Then again you would be culling all these knives and bringing them home with you..

Hey SK I do believe that one would make the perfect EDC....In Florida...At my house..

Sunburst

Hey sunburst. I almost didn't recognise you with that beard . Seems you already have a new edc Is that for hunting Mammoth ivory s-k

Here's a little Hubertus German Leverlock Stag. Sorry bout the crappy pics.

Singin46

Hey Singin that is a fine looking leverlock, the one I have is one of my favorite knives. How do you like it??

Sunburst

I'm glad you liked them Charlie!
Nice stag everyone

Sunburst; "beautiful stag but is very uneven and lopsided"

The first time I ran into that I thought it was made that way for left handed people.
A letfy for a lefty, and righty for a righty. It made cents to me.

Hey Sunburst, I really like this knife, different from all my others.
It fires real nice. Your Leverlock is very cool indeed my friend.

Singin46

Here's my example of old stag handles. Some of you may have seen this one before. It's an old Stiletto Cutlery Co. No white here.

I have heard that the Germans often try to put a smoother sided stag scale on the side that fits in your palm (if you're a righty), and the other scale will tend to be a bit gnarlier. Has anyone else heard that? I have a fight'n rooster that appears to have been built this way.

Nick