I Left My Hearth in Sparrows Point

 

Mighty Bears From Little Cubs Grow

               My girlfriend’s on a roll, she gifted me a Bear & Son PB&J Lockback for Valentine’s and then a Rough Ryder (RR) Tortoise Shell Cub for my birthday, all without prompting. She liked the tortoise shell motif almost immediately, after being assured it wasn’t real turtle. This is my second RR Cub, a knife that could easily be mistaken for a useless novelty, but it’s a real knife.

Rough Ryder Cub

     It is not an original design, Tobias Gibson points out that it was sold as “The Squirrel Hunter” by Edge Mark, back in the day. I don’t hunt squirrels, but it seems logical. The lockback on my first Cub, the “Tuff Stag,” was a little stubborn, but fell into line after some use. 

    

    They make good 5^th pocket knives (FKA Watch Pocket). I have kept a mini Bic lighter in the watch pockets of my jeans these past several decades and the Cub is very similar in size. (My rule of thumb is anything the size of a regular Bic or larger, is probably too big. I’m a little skeptical of many of the knives touted as “5^th pocket” these days. Maybe somebody’s making pants with enormous, billowing watch pockets? Clock pockets? I don’t know.)

               The knife features a 1.5” stubby spearpoint blade, is 4" when opened, and 2.5” closed. Both were sharp on arrival.

Cubs are made with the same characteristics and care of my larger Rough Ryders: good looking scales, nickel silver pins & bolsters, brass liners, and oddly, this time, 440B steel. Thanks to the finger choil, one can get a three fingered grip on the handle or hold it like a pencil for fine work. Again, this is a real knife that can be used in the real world. While it won’t replace a D-Guard Bowie, it has its uses.

Cubs are available in all the usual places. Oh, and the tortoise shell model features a medallion in the likeness of a turtle shell on the front handle, in case you want to get your Donatello on.

 

Your Grandfather Stored his EDC on a Kangaroo

 

Photo via Picclick

        If you’re going old school, you’re gonna need a kangaroo, a ceramic one. Back in the 50’s and 60’s these figurines were very popular with men. The Kangaroo caddy would hold the contents of a man’s pockets overnight and be ready for him in the morning.

               My dad’s would be festooned with his watch on the tail, change and matches in the pouch, wallet and pocketknife in the side, and Saint Chrstopher Medal around the neck. It was a clever idea, and people seemed to like having a boxing kangaroo on their dressers.

The one I knew is pictured above, though there were other colors and makes out there. I remember these from when I was very young in the late 60’s, through the 70’s, and I never saw another one after that. The caddies were of great interest to us little kids as they were often piled with valuable pocket change. I never stole any, but they made a good counter when dad would say he was all out of money. His St. Christopher medal had a Model-T on it, like I said, old school.

EDC Worthy

 

Steve walks warily down the street, brim pulled way down low *

What’s that Steve up to? Well, if he’s carrying a gun, he’s probably up to no good. If he’s carrying a knife, he’s probably going to clean some fish or peel an apple. You see, Americans just aren’t very stabby, we’re shooters.

We weren't always this way, Ken Burns reminds us that we used to like the “cold steel,” but that was during the American Revolution when guns were just awful. By the Civil War, with the notable exception of Terry’s Texas Rangers, the cold steel had been replaced almost entirely with hot lead. 

Natty Bumppo

I’ve been ruminating on these things because I saw a piece on YouTube today that mentioned “EDC worthy” knives. “Worthy of what?” I wondered. Defense? Nah, we love guns. Skinning large animals? Maybe, if you're Natty Bumppo. Building shelter, starting fires, fighting orcs? Unlikely. So, with that in mind, what makes a knife EDC Worthy? Can it cut through the skin of an orange? Can it slice Scotch tape in a single bound? Yes? Then it’s probably worthy. We are not talking Excalibur here. 

Watery tart lobbing a scimitar 

I have only met one person in my life who carried a knife unworthy of him. We were on the Mazaruni River (sounds like something from a Marx Brothers movie, but it’s a real river), way up there, on what passes for mass transportation in the rain forest, a long dugout with an outboard motor. We stopped at a residence straight out of Gilligan’s Island and out walks a young Tarzan (What, you don’t know Tarzan? How ‘bout we make him Rambo? O.K.) out walks a young (late teens, early 20’s), Native American Rambo. He produced a bottle of homemade hot sauce to pay his fare. (Guyana produces phenomenal hot sauce.) Nice kid. While we were headed down the river, he pulled a knife from his gym shorts, the saddest looking knife you can imagine, it looked like something straight out of the 99 cent bin of a low-end discount store. This man’s knife was unworthy of him. I had, buried in my pack, a Ka-Bar Marine Knife, which I wasn’t even remotely worthy of. A well-meaning friend had given it to me when he heard I was traveling to the rain forest. So, I gave him the Ka-Bar. Not because I’m a good person, I’m not so great. I gave it to him because it was wrong for me to have such a great knife while he had such a crappy one. Let’s call it a win for utilitarianism. Anyway, I still had my Swiss Army knife, which I used a lot, down there. 

Terry's Texas Rangers employed revolvers, short shotguns, and long knives to great effect during the Civil War. Their methods had been developed, over the years, by their predecessors back in Texas.

The question's not if your EDC is worthy of you, the question is: Are you worthy of your EDC?  

What's 14C28N Steel and Should You Care?

 

Pouring Steel
(Library of Congress)

               I’m not a big premium steel guy and I don’t spend a lot on my knives. I see people out there calling two-hundred-dollar knives “budget.” To me, a Rough Ryder is a standard priced knife, Rosecraft is a premium brand and budget knives come from the thrift shop. I noticed the other day that Rosecraft Blades has switched from D2 steel to 14C28N. My first thought was, “well I’ll never remember that.” My second thought was, “let’s look it up.” So, I perused a bunch of web pages and watched a bunch of videos and discovered what I needed to know. I then looked through the few oddball knives in my collection to see if I had any of this alphabet soup steel.

I have to confess that every once in a while, under the cover of darkness, I will sneak out and buy a modern knife, and that’s where I found some 14C28N, in my Vosteed Corgi. Even better, I had recently done something stupid with it. I had to cut a security cable and moronically thought I’d use the Corgi. It didn’t work and the whole time I was trying to cut the cable I was thinking “I’m ruining my knife edge.” Why do I do such things? Anyway, the Corgi was sitting in a drawer, ruined for all I knew. I took it out and did the old paper test and it was pretty dull. I pulled out my trusty Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener and ran the edges over the ceramic hone and the leather strop. I was sure it wouldn’t be enough, but that Corgi was sharp again and that’s what I know about 14C28N.

My research bears this out (and yes, I’m aware of confirmation bias). Rosecraft says, “First and foremost, our customers asked for a stainless steel, and 14C28N fit that bill perfectly. It’s a stainless steel with high corrosion resistance which means you don’t have to be as careful about getting it completely dry like you might with D2. It also takes a very sharp edge and is easier to sharpen than other steels like D2.” Which is all true. They left out the part about how D2 keeps an edge significantly longer than 14C28N. However, I’m not sure that it will be a big issue with many knife users. The guy over at Neeves Knives cut cardboard 185 times with a Civivi sporting 14C28N before it got dull and the guy over at Cedric and Ada got 225 cuts through rope.

I do wonder, why do people have so many rusty knives that they need stainless steel? Growing up near the very humid Chesapeake Bay, with no AC, we never had any of our knives rust. Maybe it was all the antioxidants we ate, or our dry wit. Don’t get me wrong, I like stainless, mostly because I’m not crazy about patinas.

To answer the question: No, you shouldn’t be worried. It may even be fun to compare the two steels over time and wear. If you are interested in doing a little more research, there’s a good number of videos and articles out there on both steels.

Nigh On Perfect Barlows

 

We live in a golden age of manufacturing. Between the knowledge and capability supplied by science & technology combined with the oversite of a zillion observers on the WWW, it’s hard to make a bad product and stay in business very long. Of course, that doesn’t keep us from arguing about what’s the best. With that in mind, I would like to point out a few Barlow knives that are almost perfect, knives most anyone would be very happy to own. I’m going to start with a high bar and work my way up:

My first entry for consideration is the “Rough Ryder Reserve Red Jigged Bone Original Barlow Folding Knife RRR017RB.” This knife almost has it all, handsome red bone handles, one of the best blades for all round use, the spearpoint, and sturdy D2 steel. The action and feel of the thing screams quality. Any flaws? Just one, it only has a single blade. I can go a long way on a two bladed knife (one larger, the other smaller), before I have to deploy every folder’s more capable brother, the Victorinox. Of course, I knew it only had one blade when I bought it, but it seemed good enough to ignore that fact, and it is. One would be hard pressed to point out a better single blade Barlow.

May be the best looking traditional out there.

Two is the “RoseCraft Beaver Creek Barlow RCT006.” I think Rosecraft’s bourbon bone handles were a real homerun with most folks and they wrap some truly grand knives. I like the way Rosecraft can work within a traditional knife’s parameters and still come up with something that looks unique. Once our plumber asked me if I had a knife he could use. I handed him my Rosecraft Barlow, he looked distinctly unimpressed. Later, he asked me, “Do you still got that razor knife on you?” D2 will get you through. So what’s wrong with this one, besides the single blade? Nothing really, I’d just rather it was a different blade, I’m not crazy about the sheepsfoot.

A real looker.

Which brings us to the “Rosecraft Otter Creek Barlow RCT020.” So very close, I really wanted this one to be the best Barlow ever, and it almost is. The sandalwood handles serve to show off a great knife with a practical D2 Clip Point blade, and a front bolster with an otter paw print, just for giggles. So what’s wrong with this one, Mr. Picky Guy? The nail nick is too far back, I feel like a shorter swedge would have made for an easier opening blade. If you have occasional trouble with nail nicks, I’d look at this one in person before you buy. It could have been the GOAT.

Coulda been a contender.

This may raise some hackles but the “Rough Rider Bluegill Barlow Jigged Bone Folding Knife RR2632” and many of the other RR Barlows are nigh on perfect. Preserving that classic style, these two bladed 440 Barlows do everything a Barlow should do and do it in style. This is the point where I’m supposed to say it’s great “for its price.” I’m not going to say that, these are objectively good knives. (If you don’t like the low price, you can send me some money every time you buy one, that way we’ll both feel better.) Flaws? Just one: The models without nail nicks on the opposite sides can be very difficult to deploy. I hear they are changing that, but they won’t update the catalog pictures, so you’re buying at your own risk. (You know, once you buy a digital camera, the pictures are free.) I think anything new, like the Bluegill is a safe bet. And really, “you need a magnacut Barlow?” Why?

Named for another tiny powerhouse, the freshwater bluegill.

Finally, and this one may really be The Perfect Barlow. The Bear & Son Yellow Delrin Barlow with stainless steel blades is my nominee for perfection: classic scales, two 440 blades, and made in America. So what could be wrong about that? Just that I bought one from Red Hill Cutlery, about a hear and a half ago and haven’t seen any since. That may have been the last USA made Barlow for under 20 bucks in history. Good news though, the carbon steel version is readily available, though I can’t call it perfect because I have never used one. I suspect it may be the real deal.

Where is that bear? This is the carbon steel version.
The stainless model has a B&S medallion and "Barlow" written across the front bolster.

 

EDC for the OAG

 

Photo by John Vachon, Library of Congress

So, EDC stands for “Everyday Carry,” it’s a formalized term for the stuff men have been carrying in their pockets for the past 300 years. Did it need a name? Probably not, but it’s a hobby now, so it’s gotten a name. OAG stands for “Ordinary Average Guy”, a phrase made popular by Joe Walsh, God bless him. The question is: Do OAG’s need an EDC? I am now, and have always been, an ordinary average guy, so let’s see.

Most EDC kits are centered around a pocketknife. Do you need a special knife for this? No. You know that Pakistani Buck Knife clone you’ve got in your pocket, the one you traded a kid for your Stretch Armstrong in the 3^rd grade? Yeah, that will do fine. I know, the guy at work next to you has a two hundred dollar knife from a company you’ve never heard of, made from a steel you’ve never heard of, and says you need one too. You don’t. If that Buckastani does what you need it to do, save your money. That guy next to you is a knife enthusiast and that’s fine too, he just gets a little carried away. No matter how old we get, we’ll never get over Show and Tell.

How about a first aid kit? Keep one at home, one in the car, and they probably already have one at work, so you don’t need to carry one around.

How about paracord?  I have no idea how this could be useful. Once I used some twine to make a leash for a stray dog I took home. It turned out he was happy to follow me anywhere, leashed or not.

Multitool? If your life is plier-centric I say “yes, absolutely.” My boss loves to say “get the best cheapest,” sound advice. It seems like there’s two kinds of men in this world: pliers or knife. (I’m a knife guy, but I admire multitools. So far, I have only been able to justify a Gerber Dime.)

And all the rest: mosquito netting, flint & steel, sandpaper, sharpener, ipecac, oil of squibb, camp saws, flare gun, whatever, it’s all the same, if you need it fine, if you don’t, leave it home.

Sometimes you may need to carry some special, though temporary, EDC gear and that can be interesting. Once, while visiting a third world country, way out in the middle of nowhere, an odd item helped me. My hammock failed and I used unwaxed dental floss to sew it back up. The only reason I had floss is because a friend told me, years before, that every camper should carry some. Go figure.

What if I want to upgrade my EDC? Yes, that’s great. I have a bunch of knives etc., some of them a little pricey, they make me happy. I’m just saying that nobody should feel it’s mandatory.

Buckastani Uber Alles!

Photo by Marion S. Trikosko, Library of Congress

Roper is Worth a Look

 

Photo by A G Russell Knives

               Roper Knives make some interesting traditional folders. The models are the usual suspects: trapper, stockman, and the like. They are moderately priced and made in China, nothing too exciting there. Where Roper shines is in its handle designs. While not a radical diversion, they do represent a welcome departure from other knife companies’ offerings. Typical is the one pictured above using two varieties of micarta. They also make a Viper Series, one of which is bumpy and one of which is inverted bumpy. The designs are inspired by the Old West/Southwest and also feature a series of Native American motifs. They all get pretty good reviews and sell in the 20+ dollar range. They offer a line of modern and sheath knives, neither of which I can speak to with any authority.

               Roper also makes some fusion knives, combining modern features with traditional looks. One, the Pecos Linerlock (RP0011), sports a creamy yellow Delrin handle with a copperhead top bolster and a powder horn bottom. Looking every bit the traditional, a closer look reveals a thumb stud and a pocket clip. The steel is 1065 carbon. The blade is a practical clip point. They claim a 3.5” blade, but personally I think of it as 3” with a 2 3/4” cutting edge. The thumb stud is not accompanied by bearings but can be easily opened entirely with a fluid motion of the thumb. The linerlock is easily disengaged.

               Those are the facts, but on the subjective side I can proclaim this as one of the two most companionable knives I own. I’m not entirely sure what I mean by that, but it’s what comes to mind when carrying this knife. It looks great, is easy to open and close, and it cuts stuff.

               The other fusion knives by Roper are the Buffalo Warrior and Buffalo Scout, which I do not own. They are both traditional looking flippers with wood scales and brass bolsters. I see one in my future.  Anyway, look ‘em up and see what you think.

Roper Pecos Linerlock
Photo by Walmart

"5 Pocket Knives I'd Buy First if I Had to Start Over" - in America!

 

Ute knife baabee! Ute knife, baby ute knife...
(Wikipedia)

So I was watching Slipjoint Sawyer on the YouTube and it was pretty good, as is all his stuff. But this one was problematic as he’s in England, so his list may be a little different if he was in the U.S. of A. So here’s my version of Mr. Sawyer’s starting over list.

               First off, America is pretty much a sink or swim state, so if you're down, well good luck buddy. Let’s say your apartment building burnt down and you didn’t have insurance. Or you wife got sick and you had lousy insurance. Or your wife got better and ran off with her lawyer who got her everything. Everything? Even my knife collection? Yup, everything. 

And while all this was going on at home that pretty good job you had disappeared when your company moved to Upper Volta, and you won’t get any unemployment because you’re a dirty Democrat, or even worse, a cat eating Britisher! So you need a job and you need it fast and you take the first thing you can get, and it’s minimum wage, federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour and you want to buy some knives (for comparisons sake a big mac combo in America runs between $8 and $13  nationally). Here’s what you do.

               Your first paycheck: “Hyper Tough Retractable Utility Knife with Blade Storage, Model 6832, 7.75 in” $3.92 from Walmart. It even comes with 3 disposable blades, because all the best blades are disposable.

               Your second paycheck: Well you're really cooking with gas now, you got a fiver to spend! How about the Rough Ryder Yellow Mini Trapper Folding Knife at $4.99? It’s almost a real big boy knife!

Your third paycheck: Wow only six weeks in and you got a sawbuck left over, good job! Splurge on a “Frost Cutlery Black Hills Steel Dakota Blue Bone Peanut Folding Knife” for only $9.99. What, you don’t have anything for taxes and shipping? Well. You’ll get another paycheck in a mere two weeks. Hang in there.

Your fifth paycheck: Hey, you got raise after they found your shift leader hanging in the break room, now you’re the shift leader! Yay! It’s 20 more bucks a week and it’s off to Roper town, no pun intended. The “Roper Liner Lock Pecos Delrin Knife” is a nice midsize old timey looking knife with some modern touches. The 1065 steel blade and yellowish Delrin handles are making you feel like a human again! It’s pricy, like 20 bucks, but you’ve earned it.

Your sixth paycheck: That $7.75 an hour just keeps gushing in and you want something swanky. How about a Marble's Exhibition Grade Brown Checkered Bone Barlow” At only $17.99 this stylin beauty will make you look like a ten dollar an hour man. The sky’s the limit! Now go buy a shovel because you still got a lot of digging to do. 

Bear & Son Peanut Butter & Jelly Lockback (PBJ05)

 

I received this knife as a Valentines Day present. It was a real surprise. I asked my girlfriend, “Did I tell you about this knife?” “No,” she said. “How did you decide on this knife?” She said, “I went on that site you like, and it was on the home page and I know how much you like peanut butter.” Which is true: pb&j, pb&b, pb&h, pb&p, it’s all good.

As far as I know, Case was the first to make a pb&j themed knife, though it’s limited to the color scheme, still, it always brings a smile. Bear & Son has gone it one better by making scales that actually look like peanut butter and jelly. My girlfriend says it looks just like Jiff, though I think it’s more like Peter Pan. That’s in low light, turn up the light and you get sparkles coming from the “mica pearl,” something I had to look up.

Knifewise, the series comes in a Barlow, two sizes of trapper, a fixed blade, and if you like peanut butter and booze, a beer tender. The series is a collaboration between Bear & Son, Smokey Mountain Knife Works, and custom knife designer/maker Michael Prader. The Lockback, is typical of its type (they are all cousins of the Buck 110), and features a “high carbon stainless blade.” I find the lock to be a bit tough to use, but I have found most lockbacks to be stubborn. The key is to press on the lock lever with your thumb and thumbnail at the same time, going as far down as it will go, which works great. It’s not something you’ll want to do 30 times a day but is fine for casual use. 

Though heavy on novelty value, the lockback version is close enough to a gentleman’s knife to go in the pocket of my sportscoat. The blade came sharp enough for me, but the pivot needed a little oil, and I threw some on the springs and the lock lever, more for good luck than anything else. (I use Hoppe's Number 9 Gun Oil on my knives and you’ll never talk me out of it.)

So there you have it, a good knife with whimsical scales, win win.