All About Pocket Knives

Question about bolsters

If a knife has a bolster on the blade end and is bare on the other end it is a bolster and a bare end. So then, if it has a bolster on the knife end and a metal cap on the other end (no blade) is it still a bolster or would that be a metal end cap? and if the knife has a blade from each end would that be two bolsters - how does all that work?

There are way more knowledgeable people than me but the way I understand it is
Barehead :has bolster on blade end and nothing on the other end.

Tipped bolsters :are little metal caps on the ends not a real bolster

One with no bolsters or tips and just big Birds Eye rivets are often called shadow pattern.

I guess technically if it was a muskrat or moose or canoe where the blades pivoted on opposite ends the would be 2 bolster but any knife with large ends on both sides would have 2 bolsters too(think about a trapper with both blades on one end but a heavy bolster on the other end).
That’s my 2¢ worth.

Thank you

If there's a blade under them they're bolsters. If there's no blade they're caps. The small metal ends are called tips as Wade mentioned. Technically not bolsters but some refer to them as tip bolsters.

Eric

perfect - thank you for the explanation.

enuf wrote: ↑Tue Jan 02, 2024 3:10 pm perfect - thank you for the explanation.

My pleasure, happy to help!

There is one grey area though (isn't there always!) that I forgot to mention; on knives that normally have a bolster on each end but are configured as a jack with blades on one end only such as a Texas jack done on stockman handles, congress jacks, or many senators, they're all referred to as bolsters since they normally function as such. Caps are only found on knives that are solely made as jacks such as the teardrop jacks, sleeveboard jacks, doglegs, trappers, etc. and never serve a dual purpose as a bolster.

I knew that description I made originally was too simple, nothing's ever simple with knives LOL!

Eric

Right On, thank you.

I always called them type of knives a bearend jack knife.