All About Pocket Knives

This maybe a rather silly ? But what’s the difference between a Tickler , a fish knife or a Texas toothpick ? Or any other name we call this pattern of knife . This old 4 line Camillus ,according to the thread labeled “A Tickler” is just that and what does it tickle ?. Have heard them called a Texas toothpick also . Then the fish knife w/ liner lock is a fisherman’s knife w/ scaler for scaling and cap lifter for a beer or 2 after fishing ( or whenever deemed necessary) . The scaler really doesn’t work that well ,have tried it ! And we fillet skin off so not needed in our camp. The nail Nick on the fisherman’s knife is so close to pivot end it’s rather difficult to open .
Maybe it’s like the half Whittler or half Congress topic of discussion lately. It just developed over the years.
Thanks folks. Hope to have some fun and discussion with this and maybe even learn something.

Excellent question. Often wondered this myself. Hopefully someone who specializes in this pattern will educate.

I don’t specialize in the pattern but do have a few of them. As usual I have an opinion, but just to be sure I consulted Levin’s Guide. Which if you look up “Tickler” in the glossary says “Texas toothpick - Powderhorn. A jack knife handle shape similar to a clasp knife.” And if you look up “Toothpick” in the same glossary it says “ A tickler.” If you look up “Texas Toothpick” it also says “a tickler”.

Look up”Fish knife” and it says “A tickler jack knife with a fish scaler back or blade.” (It also describes other types of fish knives).

All of these entries in the glossary point to a chapter in the book which has some background on the pattern, and gives a few other names for the pattern and some pictures taken from cutlery catalogs. Including “Saturday Evening Special”, “pickaninny knife”, “tango knife”, “dance knife”, “Chaser”, and “powder horn”. The author says the pattern originated in the 1890s and probably evolved from the European navaja clasp knife pattern, after the Tariff Act of 1890 made it possible for American manufacturers to compete. Says the fish knife pattern emerged in the 1920s.

So basically they’re all the same or similar, with the fish knife differing only by having a fish scaler. My takeaway is, if you’re just going to the dance take your Tickler, but if you’re going fishing after the dance, take your fish knife!

Ken

I agree on the fish knife design being poor. How many scaling jobs would it take to loosen the blade?
As for names. I wonder how many names are used as a result of Levine's books. He seems to have written all the ones he heard.
Knife names, like a lot of common names, seem to be localized. Felis concolour is called a mountain lion, cougar. cat'o'mount, panther, wildcat, puma, and jaguar depending on where it's found. Maybe if it has the scaler, it's a fish knife and without it, it's a tickler, (which, by the way, may come from "rib tickler"??)
Just my two cents worth. J.O'.

When you write a book like that one you have to put in just about everything you’ve heard a knife called. Otherwise some will complain it’s not complete, or inferior, because it doesn’t include the term they used when they lived in Bugtussle.

Yes, if it has a fish scaler it’s a “fish knife”, and without one it’s a ‘tickler”. That pretty well sums it up and in essence is what Levine ‘s Guide says. (BTW that section of the book was authored by Pete Cohen, not by Levine).

Ken

My opinion would be that the inclusion of the de-scaler is the defining difference between what I would call a Toothpick and a fish knife, whether it be a separate second blade, or is inlcuded on the spine of the knife. I shorten it to toothpick knowing that people will recognize it as such, but I recognize that there exists toothpicks named for different states or purposes such as the dagger popular during the Civil War, the Arkansas toothpick. Furthermore I would call it a tiny Toothpick if it's less than three inches closed.

I have often wondered if the de-scaler would actually serve that purpose well, assumed it wouldn't. Same for the hook degorger that's located on the tip of the frame and bolsters and not on the secondary de-scaler blade.

I do find it somewhat funny that I've not seen, I don't believe, a folding fish knife of the varieties being discussed here that doesn't have a cap lifter. Almost as if lifting some caps while fishing is a foregone conclusion. Better do it before you clean your fish though if it's on the de-scaler, and hopefully you didn't have to degorge any hooks before imbibing your favorite bottled beverage.

I actually quite like to carry a fish knife for a main in my EDC rotation. The longer thin blade is good for food stuff; slicing apples or cheese, and is long enough to cut a sandwich in half. The de-scaler and lifter blade is good for all the poking scrapy tasks in a day that I'd rather not use the blade for.

I would like to take this opportunity to officially put forth as a possibility for all gathered to consider. We begin calling the single blade fish knife variety with de-scaler and cap lifter on the same blade the "Wisconsin Toothpick".

Just for simplicity sake call them what ever the manufacturer called them in the catalog pages .

Thomasg wrote: ↑Mon Nov 17, 2025 6:23 pm Just.....

Is this pocket knife a Western States or a Robeson? The reason I ask
is that I see you posted it in the Robeson forum.

Thomasg wrote: ↑Mon Nov 17, 2025 6:23 pm Just for simplicity sake call them what ever the manufacturer called them in the catalog pages .IMG_7968.jpegIMG_7977.jpeg

Interesting post. Just because it is advertised as such doesn't always make it so. Often publishing companies get it wrong. Not saying this is the case here. In the 1960's and 70's, Winchester produced a series of commemorative lever action guns. They produced what they called a rifle and carbine version of each model. Problem with their ads was, they were both rifles. There is a district difference between a carbine and a short rifle. You would think they would know the difference if anyone should.

New_Windsor_NY wrote: ↑Mon Nov 17, 2025 6:31 pm

Thomasg wrote: ↑Mon Nov 17, 2025 6:23 pm Just.....

Is this pocket knife a Western States or a Robeson? The reason I ask
is that I see you posted it in the Robeson forum.

Yes it is a western states that I inadvertently placed in the wrong place .I did have a question about a couple of the Robeson knifes that really caught my eye . I will revist the Robeson Posting for answers .

Figured I would add the only 2 tickler style fishing knives I have. The yellow I assume is a KABAR but blade stamp only says Orlean, N.Y. The red and black is a CAMCO.

Lay a strip of felt or a match stick in the well against the backspring, preventing the blade from closing beyond its critical point and it can be flipped open more quickly than a switch blade.

Then, it’s called a “Dixie Switch”.

Don’t ask how I know such things.