Yesterday, I started to narrow down my list of possible knives to represent the USA. After eliminating some largish fixed blades, I was left with the following list:
1. Slipjoints
2. Buck 110/Lockback Hunter
3. Leatherman/Pliers Multitool
4. Spyderco
Various Stockman patterns are popular suggestions online for The Great American Knife. A slipjoint is a knife that's held open/closed by the pressure from a "spring" (a piece of metal, but not the traditional coil shaped kind.)
Case has made all the knives I'll be looking at tonight.
Most other knives are either locking (using one of a variety of mechanisms) or "friction" folders (held open/closed by the user's hand). But I think it's important to pick a specific pattern of slipoint, because both Germany and the UK have a rich history of manufacturing slip joints and, especially with contemporary knife laws, carrying them. But, if a pattern is popular in America and developed (or significantly refined) here, it's eligible. As a reminder, the three criteria I'm looking at are:
1. Age: The older the better, minimum 20 years.
2. 'Merican: Was it developed in America?
3. Popularity: It has to have been widely carried by Americans in all walks of life.
I've identified four patterns that could fit this criteria:
1. Stockman
The Case 6347 the
archetypical Stockman.
There's some debate about whether this is a US or UK pattern, but it's a cowboy knife, so I'm inclined to give it a pass. It originated sometimes in the 1800s, making it (possibly) the oldest of the candidate knives. Certainly popular, this is the "grandpa knife."
Stockmans (Stockmen?) have three blades. A large clip point (the pointy one, all purpose) and smaller sheepsfoot (the flat one, for trimming hooves) and a spey (for speying cattle). Occasionally the third blade is replaced with a punch or other tool.
2. Trapper
The Trapper is a refinement of popular two blade jack knives. Previously, most jack patterns (like the popular Barlow) had one larger "master" blade and a smaller secondary blade. But that's just a waste of space, so in the early 1900s either Case or Union Cutlery (the predecessor of KA-BAR) debuted the Trapper. Unlike the Stockman, where the blades other than the clip have to be scaled down, both the clip and spey are full length. This is inarguably American, reasonably old, and quite popular.
3. Congress
The pocket knife Abraham Lincoln was carrying when he was shot
The Abe Lincoln assassination knife is pretty American. The Congress's pedigree is similar to the Stockman's being maybe American or maybe British. The more reliable sources seem to lean American, and either way it originated in the 1800s. The most popular configuration contains four blades, and always leads with a large sheepsfoot. This is usually followed by at least one pen blade (a small pointy blade for sharpening quills), a coping blade (similar to a sheepsfoot but smaller and more angular for wood working) and a second large blade. A second sheepsfoot is popular, but not guaranteed. The Congress knife is sometimes called a tobacco knife, since it was often used to trim tobacco for sampling. It's bent "backwards" compared to most knives, to make it easy to make "pull" cuts towards the user.
It doesn't quite have the popularity to be the Great American Knife, never being as popular as the Stockman or Trapper, and largely limited to the southern (tobacco) knives for most of its history. Cool knife though.
Eugene Shadley made this Congress with an impressive six blades, including a nail file/cleaner, supposedly based on Lincoln's knife. 4. Russlock
In true American fashion, the Russlock isn't really a slipjoint. But what's more American than taking something old fashioned and making it cooler?Rounding out the list tonight, here's something a little revolutionary. Case's Russlock debuted in 2000, making it barely old enough for the criteria. It's not really a slipjoint, it has a liner lock (a piece of metal on the inside that holds the blade open) but the slipjoint style in undeniable. The little lever under the thumb in the picture above allows one handed opening (impossible with most traditional slipjoints). It was developed by WR Case & Sons Cutlery in Bradford, PA, loosely based on one of their older patterns. Like the Congress, I think this one has to give out to the Stockman and Trapper simply for being a niche knife. It's sort of modern and sort of traditional in a way that's very American, but not very popular.
I went back and forth between the Stockman and the Trapper a bunch. In the end, I think I give a slight nod to the Stockman. While it's not confirmed American like the Trapper, I think it's a bit more popular, and the fact that it's a rootin' tootin' cowboy knife gives it some extra Americana.
Stockman Score:
Age: ***** The oldest knife in the lineup.
'Merican: **** Probably American, very cowboy.
Popularity: *** Probably the most popular slipjoint pattern, but somewhat pushed out today by other more modern knives.
Total: ***** ****** ** 12/15
Will the Buck, Leatherman, or Spidey beat it out? Got a favorite slipjoint pattern? Let me know!
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