Tactical to Traditional (One Man's Knife Journey)
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- Опубліковано 27 лис 2024
- A video outlining a few things to expect when moving from modern tactical style knives to classic traditional slipjoints and lockbacks. The traditional knife world is full of amazing designs, exquisite materials, and practical blade designs. There are, however, a number of differences that should be brought up before making this leap.
Loving the traditional knives. Selling off most of my tacticals and buying slip joints. Pratical and friendly. Love your vids man.
Beauty and character are two excellent reasons to appreciate traditional knives. The first knife I ever had was a stockman, it was a great gift from my dad. Enjoy your beautiful knives.
I also went from tacticool to traditional. Traditional pocket knives are such beautiful pieces of art that are functional and a great American tradition.
LQ Jones same
Seems like more people are getting back into slipjoints. Good stuff.
There are many overbuilt knives that look awesome and I wouldn't mind owning to collect, but for my practical needs on a daily basis, I always end up carrying a smaller knife with a small (3.5" or less, usually 3") versatile blade. It handles most tasks for me. That's part of the appeal of traditional knives for me, is the practicality, as well as that there are a lot of really nice looking patterns out there. Nice video! Thanks!
Great point
I have a mixture of different styles (traditional/modern) I like them all for different reasons. The traditional knives definitely have a beauty about them. Thanks for the video!
I'm right there with you Carter! I just ordered my first traditional knife thanks to your videos. Northwoods Madison Barlow in camel bone. So excited! Thank you!
I agree that GEC is the best, I have seen other traditionals and I believe that GEC is hitting the nail on the head and know exactly what the customer wants!
I'm starting to get into traditional knives again, almost everyday I have a traditional folder in me. My current edc (with jeans) is my large sebenza, mini griptilian, and usually my case mini copperlock.
i love these type of knife, i was raised to keep what works and i have owned plenty of knives. i have passed lots of them on to friends and family over the years, and i have had knives given to me. i can't stand the new knives at all, the ones that look like you could mount a scope on them, not for me
Pivot bushing....great collection Carter. My micarta GEC lockback #42 will be sweet hopefully!
Great Eastern Cutlery has some fine traditional knives. When I started high school in 1959 most of us guys carried a Barlow made by Boker in Solingen, Germany. It was legal in those days to carry to school. And the only knives we could get back then WERE slip joint or lock back. Those were great times and great knives. I've enjoyed your videos on traditional knives very much.
I started collecting knives, more modern like from like CRKT, Gerber, Kershaw, Benchmade, Spyderco, etc..., now owning around 60+ in total and growing... however I started to get interesting in traditional looking knives lately and immediatley got invested in buying some entry level ones like Rough River, Imperial... and now already own more expensive and better built ones from GEC, SCHATT & MORGAN and Case. They are awesome and use them to carry to the office and they dont seem to intimidate people as others typical modern ones that I have. And they are so appealing taking you back to the time when your grandfather used to take out that pocket knife to cut an apple or cut some rope or just do some woodcraft.
These are beautiful. I think you have converted me. Will probably try a couple of the northwoods first.
The first one it's very, veeeeeery awesome!
It looks like a tank!, i can't get it here in México but maybe someday travel to the border and buy it in the south of texas.
I've got the same bone #79! Love that knife. Perfect mix of beauty and function. Top shelf traditional, great taste man.
Do traditional knife companies make beanie hats and hoodies? I will need to know before I make this leap...
LOL I have seen a couple Case hats and shirts around. No tactical patches though....yet
Great vid! I've carried a couple of spydercos for years, and after picking up a bark river bravo 1, I'm looking to get back into traditional blades.
Some of the blade wiggle is due to low cost companies making an inferior product -- just as you see in some of the low cost Tactical. Some play in the blade is acceptable depending on the pattern. Just as some blade run is acceptable in certain patterns of Pen knives. You should also consider some of the higher end wood handles such as true Ebony, African Zebrawood, Desert Ironwood, Bubinga. A most excellent video. Thanks for sharing. GEC makes some of the best knives out there. And while they use some older steels 1095 Carbon and O-1 Tool Steels are nothing to sneeze at. Same goes for their 440C Stainless. Again great video!
To reduce sideways blade play one can cover the bolster in thin leather and press in a vice starting with small pressure and checking the play each press until the desired stiffness is acquired. Note that too much blade stiffness will affect the knife's walk and talk.
i know where you are coming from i feel the same way have benchmade 940 c after owning many other modern folders and feel been there done that got some buck knives and find i really liked knives with character and am looking to expand my collecting that way with traditional pocket knives thanks your video
I have found myself on the same journey...tactical to traditional. Ive owned many tactical folders from makers like benchmade, spyderco, sog, ect. You name it Ive owned it. Then I came across Knivesshipfree.com and my world was opened up. I started my traditional journey with a Bark River Bravo 1. I guess you can call it a split between tactical and traditional.
Then I purchased a Bark River Little Creek in A2 steel, it also has a gorgeous set of Osage orange handle material with green liners... just gorgeous. The little creek is a traditional fixed blade through and through. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my latest knivesshipfree purchase.
I ordered a Northwoods Hawthorne in the clip point blade in blue camel bone. I cant wait to get it in the mail, should be here tomorrow. Nice video buddy, I can totally relate. I found myself doing the same thing with my firearms. I love the black rifles but I am now in love with Winchester pre 64 bolt actions.... my hobby is getting to expensive lol.
Nice commercial shill.
To obtain a centered blade when closed, cover the blade in thin leather and place in a vice 1/4 of the blade length from the bolster. Slowly push pressure on the blade in the direction that will move the blade toward its center when closed. Move the blade in the vice to 1/2 the blade length from the bolster and repeat the bend. Move the blade in the vice to 3/4 of the blade length from the bolster and repeat the bend. Check the centering between bends and go slowly. The more and smaller the distance increments, starting from the 1/4 distance, one takes for each bend will provide better results.
Great video Carter - these traditional patterns are classier and prettier than tactical stabbers. These are knives for grown-ups :-)
my edc folder is a g-10 bearing system slip joint, with an opening hole
it's solid and preforms well, yet I wish it had a blade larger than 3'
I am a traditional E.D.C Man i use it lock back knives and victorinox too.
nice
Seriously, welcome to the knives that MEN carry & use. I don't agree with you on "blade play" though. Other than lock backs, a good traditional folder should NOT have blade play. It's always a pleasure to see younger guys ( I'm 52 ) GRADUATE to the high quality traditionals. (Unless that's what they had from the beginning.) It's the MANUFACTURERS who are to blame for crappy traditional folders, because the OLD traditionals were built fantastic, like GEC does today. A knife is supposed to CUT above all else & thin ground blades WALK CIRCLES around tacticals. I can take a bone or Delrin handled trapper type & field dress a deer & process it too & rinse the knife, oil the joints & never miss a beat. I don't think bearings & washers like blood & dirt so well, LOL. Take a good old folder matched with a hunting or survival knife & you've got everything. Traditionals never left, nor were they to blame. It was all the manufacturers getting CHEAP. If you took your 4 knives & locked em away in a safe, they would appreciate in value better than anything else too. I'm not against the "new" knives, but these young guys make me laugh sometimes. And when they're done playing "Army" or "Rambo", maybe they will see what they're TRULY missing. ( And I will probably get attacked for saying that, LOL.) A good traditional is truly difficult to make too, especially split back whittlers & congress knives. MUCH respect to you friend. Great knives & video. Plus I just subbed. :-)
Could not have said it better..iam 63.still have my shrade walden stockmen.still does deer. Good man.
Very beautiful knives. I totally get why people love these knives and are so into them. The first knife I ever got (from my grandpa) was a small traditional (like a Buck Lancer or a Case Peanut, can't remember exactly... I was probably 6yrs old). And I wouldn't mind having a few traditionals myself. And if I was gonna "collect" knives (ie, purely as a collector item and not meant to be used) it would probably be traditionals. That said, I am probably one of those guys you mentioned who just can't quite commit to them because of the lack of a pocket clip. My OCD just doesn't allow that big of a knife to be rambling around in my pocket uncontrolled! LOL! I have a definite "system" to my EDC and everything has its place and clips are integral to that whole mindset. Before I got my first clipped folder (many years ago) I used to acquire and carry SAKs. I had/have a few larger ones... and tried to carry them freely in the pocket and I *always* ended up just leaving them at home or in the car/truck instead and carrying a SAK Classic on my keychain instead (which, honestly, did 90% of the daily cutting tasks I needed anyway HA!). When I finally bought my first clipped folder it was like a giant mental "ahhhh"... finally I could carry a bigger, more useful knife that stayed where it was supposed to and wasn't swinging around at the bottom of my pocket... and as much as I love and appreciate the absolute beauty of these traditionals (and I do, I've watched all your vids on them and always like them on IG)... I just can't see them replacing my clipped, modern folders. But that's just me. I do love to look at them (and I actually probably will pick up a Case Small Stockman (2.625" long closed) for my watch/coin pocket... that seems an excellent application of the traditional format for my uses).
Anyway, great vid Carter... great knives too!! :)
Thanks for your input and support. I too struggle with the lack of a clip most off all. If I could wear jeans everyday it would be different story I think.
good vid
What knife is the one with the arrowhead on it? The one second from the top?
Great video! Feel the same way...BURNED OUT on Tactical' Folders.
Traditional way nicer than the ”tactical” fad stuff, imo!
Carter, do you have a Victorinox Cadet, Farmer or Soldier?
Worth checking out. My Cadet that hangs on my keys does more cutting than any knife I have clipped to my jeans. It truly is ridiculous we buy all these tactical knives built like tanks. I think I only ever cut paper, tape, boxes, and twine.
These types of knives are refreshing when you know they don't scare or threaten anyone around you. You can whip out a traditional with not much thought and get the job done without anyone batting an eye. Awesome!
Sometimes we get caught up this need to buy something and are constantly trying to find excuses to buy the next knife. My girlfriend doesn't understand it the "knife thing", but I like to compare my knife collection to the same effect of a lady with 10-20 different pairs of shoes she doesn't wear or the need for 10 different types of purses to match her clothes.
Don't know if it's been mentioned below, but traditional knives were often made using acrylic scales. This practice goes back many decades. GEC equips many of its pattens with colorful acrylic scales. The point is, there are plenty of traditionals made with man-made scales and have been for a long time. Not all are made with "natural materials."
Goodluck with the new hobby man..... In the words of the scholar "Coolio", " I'll see you when I get there".....
Well, in the words of BTNH "I'll see you at the crossroads"
Traditional is better what our Dads,Grandpa,great Grandpa used is still good enough for us they lived in harder times and had way harder lives than us and they didn't need a one hand assist that cost twice as much as a good traditional pocket knife
MrBluegrassdave my grandfather used my strider once and the next time I saw him he had his own
Who makes the green one? I think I may have to order one.
It's actually blue camel bone. That's a Northwoods Freemont
Surprised I haven't seen this video before. I'm making a similar transition. First traditional was a Northwoods and I have a Fremont Jack on the way along with the Blade Forums forum knife built by GEC. Also getting into SAK's. Still keeping most of my tactical folders but not buying anything new in that realm.
I collect Case knives and have a bunch.Have some cheap Schrade slip joints as well.The Schrades don't have any blade play/they are 10$ a piece/ and all Case have it.
Interesting. I love wood handles but don't like the look of horn about 99% of the time. I feel like wood looks more classy and gentlemanly and I don't have any stag or horn handled knives in my collection. So I'm the opposite on that point lol but I agree with GEC in general, they're my favorite traditional makers also.
good vid man, well said about the office. I just bought the #47 viper with ivory covers :)
Ack! I missed those! I really need an Ivory knife before they are gone for good.
Damn, I was hoping to tell you where to find them but I just checked and they're out of stock already. Your previous vid made me check out KSF where I originally saw it but they were sold out, so I went on the hunt. Finally found one at GPK. Ordered it less that 24 hrs. ago. I hope you find one.
No, don't accept blade play in traditionals. Returned one after Christmas with blade play. I'll accept a little gappiness in the liners, even the odd tool mark especially in hand made ones but blade play and anything that affects the condition or use of the knife and it goes back. Off center when blades folded to the point the blade is scratched by the liner is another return too. What really drives me nuts is weak to the point of being wet backsprings, it's unsafe and just bad workmanship in a slip joint. If Rough Rider can get that right more expensive brands can too.
Did you sell off all or most of your "tactical" knives? I would love to see a collection update after this big of a mentality switch!
Nope. Still have plenty of tacticals. Been getting more into autos on the tactical blade side right now.
Haha...I totally get it when you say you feel like a goober sometimes when you carry overbuilt knives to work. I sell cars for a living...we're talking an extremely clean, shirt and tie sort of job and people give me the weirdest looks when I pull out a Dalibor Bergam Regulus to cut open a car manual booklet. LoL
Love their knives... however they have the worst edges. Really wish they could fix that..
Not really into these. What advantages to they have over a small folder? They look much more fragile and more inconvenient to carry or use with lack of clip or thumbstud/hole/disk.
No advantage I can see. Just pride of ownership of owning a piece of american cutlery history.
Note on the reducing blade play procedure:
Upon completion, the blade pin through the bolster will probably be visible if it was not prior to the procedure. Don't freak out as this can be remedied if it really annoys you. Check my next post for the remedy.
Hey Carter, do you happen to know the name pattern of the barlow 2nd from the right? It looks really cool.
That is a Northwoods Madison Barlow exclusively (to my knowledge) sold through Knives Ship Free as they own the Northwoods name. They are currently out of stock of them but I think I heard there is another run coming soon.
Thanks for the heads up. If I ever get around to making a slip joint, I'll probably base it around the Madison Barlow since I think the shape is unique for a slip joint.
neiljborja agreed, love that pattern because it is very traditional looking but also unique. If you do end up making one be sure to show it off all over online, id love to see it!
Im in the same boat, im so worn out on the tactical knife thing, I think a lot of us are starting to feel that way, Just sold my hinderer xm18, that I bought two years ago for 825.00, and had to struggle to get 550.00 for it......ugggg
Well coming from a tactical perspective commendation for making the transition, and you came across in flying colors recognizing the Northwooods. But don't sell wood short. Your covers will never have the warm, soft, textured grip a good wood grain gives you. Check out Quince. So pretty, grain texture for good grip. Much better than smooth bone or ivory. But nothing against your beautiful knives, you picked winners. Just saying wait to judge wood until AFTER you get and experience it.
Take a look at GEC 47 viper...badass edc
Have the African Blackwood on the way!
Without a doubt, I would rather "collect" a nice traditional revolver or lever action than a modern semi-auto pistol or rifle. But with knives I look for high value options, and I find more value in modern locking folders and fixed blades. I tend to enjoy guns and knives more for their militaristic properties than as pure collectibles, so in this regard I am drawn to tough and functional designs over aesthetics. I suppose this is why I also like simple Swiss army knives as well. Maybe this will change as I get older and more wealthy, lol.
I bought my double-bladed GEC #23 Pioneer Trapper in 2007. Serial number 023 corresponding with the model number, with beautiful, and highly polished burnt stag slabs; and she's no display case show piece either. She's been by my side ever since "Day 1" as a companion to my Nessmuk sheath skinner by ML Knives. The slip-joints are not as tight anymore, and it's hard to see the engraved "023" on the bolster these days; but this knife has done a heap of work over the last nine years, from light to medium all-purpose chores, camping, fishing, whittling, skinning and processing small, medium, and large game, working in the garage, and cutting hoses for the pick-up truck. I've heard they're all sold out now, and that GEC hasn't done a run of these since 2007, and that there is no plan for another run in 2016; which is okay, because I don't think I'll need to replace this one for another few years. But GEC better make the next run of Pioneers as good as the one I'm holdin' in my hand. It would be a big disappointment if they didn't keep makin' em like the workhorse I have now.
Note: do not push on the bolster in the above centering procedure!
The only thing I think I would miss from tactical knives would be spyderco's awesome ergonomics. Does anyone know a pattern that is very comfortable in hand?
Was in a blade shop, 3 walls of Taticool crap that ALL looked the same. Give us a break. What sucks is that. Give me bone, stag, wood, ivory, horn and knives that DON'T LOOK TACTICAL. Give me art, not soulless machines. Give me traditionals or give me knife death. Never will carry a tacticool, ugly, black, grey, man made plastic, with corners and crap.
Glad someone else is tired of the "Tacticool" knife scene enjoy your blades!!
Modern knives are sterile. I love old traditional knives. They have warmth.😊
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
The procedure to make the blade pin invisible is more detailed and is too much text for these comments. If your interested, feel free to contact me at thehighadvisor@hobnob.net
a pocketknife didn't cost $100 plus back in the day