In this article, I am going to focus specifically on traditional pocket knifes. Traditional pocket knives come in many different distinct designs such as the English Jack Knife, the Pen Knife, the Barlow, the Stockman, the Sow Belly Stockman, the Congress, the Whittler, the Canoe, the Coke Bottle, the Gun Stock, the Sunfish, the Trapper, the Muskrat, the Peanut, the Copperhead, and the Texas Toothpick, ect., in addition to several specialty patterns such as the Electrician’s knife, the Doctor’s knife, the Fruit Tester’s knife, the Boy Scout Knife, and the Swiss Army Knife.Whew! That was a mouthful! But, what truly defines each of these designs is the shape of the handle in addition to the shape of and number of blades the knife has. For instance, a Barlow is immediately recognizable because it always has a Swell End English Jack handle with long bolsters whereas, a Stockman always has a Serpentine handle with a Clip Point blade, a Sheep’s Foot blade, and a Spey blade. However, these many pocket knife designs were originally influenced by their intended purpose. For instance, a Pen Knife is a pocket knife that is smaller than an English Jack knife and which has a Clip Point blade on one end for general purpose use and a Pen blade on the other that was designed specifically for sharpening quill (feather) pens. Consequently, before the invention of metal ink pen nibs, anyone who had a need to write on a regular basis such as clerks, bankers, and lawyers inevitably carried a Pen Knife. Ranchers and Cowboys on the other hand had need of an entirely different type of knife for their day-to-day needs and thus, the Stockman was invented to satisfy those needs. Therefore, a Stockman always consist of a Clip Point blade on one end for general purpose use, a Sheep’s Foot blade for trimming animal’s hoof’s, and a Spey Blade for spaying and gelding animals (ouch!) on the other end.
So, in order to determine what the best type of pocket knife is for your particular needs, you first need to determine what types of jobs you will be asking it to perform on a day-to-day basis and how large the knife needs to be to enable you to comfortably perform those jobs. Next, you need to determine what type of blade steel is most suitable for those jobs. So, let’s examine each of these aspects in greater detail:
What type of jobs will you be using the knife for?
Of the three questions I posed above, this one is by far the most important and thus, it should be considered first. So, what types of jobs do you intend to perform with your pocket knife? For instance, do you need a Gentleman’s Pocket Knife to carry in your dress pants at the office? If so, then you would likely want it to be both small so that it is non-threatening to your co-workers and decretive so that it is aesthetically pleasing. In addition, you will likely want a Clip Point blade for opening envelopes and other such general purpose jobs and a Pen Blade for removing staples, ect. Thus, a Pen Knife or a Peanut would be an excellent choice for this purpose. On the other hand, many knife aficionados consider the Barlow to be the best possible general purpose pocket knife design because it similar to the Peanut in that it too has both Clip Point and Pen blades but, features a larger handle than the Peanut so that it does a better job of filling the user’s hand. However, if you are an avid outdoorsman, then a Copperhead, a Trapper, or even a Stockman would all be excellent choices. However, let me state that in my personal opinion, the Stockman is without a doubt the best general purpose design ever invented because its Clip, Spey, and Sheep’s Foot blades will allow you to perform most any cutting task you are likely to encounter either in the office, in your home, or in the outdoors.
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How large does the knife need to be to perform these jobs?
Your second consideration when choosing a pocket knife should be how large a knife do you need? For instance, Gentleman’s knives are generally small and non-threatening whereas, a Barlow is generally a little larger and thus, it makes an excellent general purpose knife that is also non-threatening but is still large enough to perform most daily tasks around the office or around the house. Stockman’s knives on the other hand, are generally available in small, medium, and large sizes depending on the needs of the user. So, if you are only performing light cutting tasks, you don’t need a knife that provides a lot of leverage. However, if you work in an environment such as a warehouse, a hardware store, a feed store, or on a carpentry crew, ect., then you will likely be using your pocket knife for much heavier cutting tasks throughout the day and thus, a large Stockman or a Copperhead would be an excellent choice.
What type of blade steel is best?
In addition to the above mentioned considerations, the type of steel your pocket knife’s blades are made from is also important. So, while the subject of blade steels truly deserves its own article (published previously on this blog), I will attempt to provide a short synopsis here. First of all, blade steels are divided into two categories; high carbon, non-stainless tool steels and stainless steels. Furthermore, a stainless steel is defined as a steel that has more than 12.5% Chromium by mass (depending on which definition you choose). In addition, high carbon tool steels will take an extremely sharp edge, will hold it reasonably well, and are relatively easy to sharpen but, they are also more prone to corrosion than stainless steels. On the other hand, some stainless steels will also take a very fine edge and hold it extremely well but, they are somewhat more difficult to sharpen and, of course, they are far more resistant to corrosion than high carbon tool steels. But, they are generally not as tough a blades made from high carbon tool steel. However, stainless steel blades are also more expensive than high carbon steel blades. Thus, I have listed some of the more popular blade steels according to their hardness, toughness, abrasion resistance, and corrosion resistance starting with some non-stainless, high-carbon, tool steels, and progressing to the very best stainless steel blade steels:
- 5160
- 1085
- 1095
- 420J2
- 420HC
- 8Cr13MoV
- 8Cr14MoV
- AUS6
- AUS8
- AUS10
- 440A
- 440B
- 440C
- ATS34
- 154CM
- BG42
- S30V
A Description of the five most popular types of traditional pocket knives:
- The Pen Knife:
As I mentioned previously, a Pen Knife is a small to medium sized folding knife with two springs, a slipjoint locking mechanism, and a Clip Point blade on one end and a Pen blade on the other.
Case Smooth Ebony Wood Bose Lockback Whittler
- The Peanut Knife:
A Peanut is a small to medium sized folding knife with one round end and one square or round end with two springs, a slipjoint locking mechanism, and a Clip Point blade on one end and a Pen blade on the same end.
Case Knives Antique River Logs Peanut, SS, Smooth Wood Handle
- The Barlow Knife:
A Barlow is a medium to large sized folding knife that usually features a Swell End Jack handle with long, metal, bolsters, two springs, a slipjoint locking mechanism, and either a Clip Point blade or a Spear Point blade with a Pen blade on the same end.
Queen Daddy Barlow 85th Anniversary, Jigged Emerald Green Bone
- The Stockman’s Knife:
A Stockman is a small to large sized folding knife with two springs, a Serpentine handle, a slipjoint locking mechanism, and a Clip Point blade and a Sheep’s Foot Blade on one end with a Spey Blade on the other end.
- The Trapper’s Knife:
A Trapper is a medium to large sized folding knife that usually features a handle with a round end and a square end, two springs, a slipjoint locking mechanism, and a Clip Point blade with an extra-long Spey blade on the same end.
However, regardless of the purpose you intend to use your pocket knife for, a simple perusal of such manufactures as Case, Buck, Queen City Cutlery, Hen & Rooter, Boker Tree Brand, ect. will surely reveal the perfect traditional pocket knife for your every day needs.
