More often than not, when we see a knife carried by anyone in the law enforcement community, it’s got a clip on it so it can be “hung” in a pocket and accessed quickly. MOST of them only have one blade although they might have other tools such as a window punch, seatbelt cutter, etc. So when I received the Patriotic Stockman knife from W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company, I had to wonder: why did I get this for review? In the end, WHY didn’t matter. I was glad to have it to test and impressed with it overall.
With a closed length of 4.125”, it’s just a little bit big to be an everyday pocket knife. That’s not to say that it can’t be, but when I dropped it into my pocket with other items, the knife overwhelmed the space. That said, I like the knife so much I’m still searching for a belt sheath to carry it in because it’s a good tool to have with you.
The Stockman has three blades: a clip point, a sheepfoot and a spey blade. The clip point is the main blade with a cutting edge that measures just under three inches long. For general utility cutting, it’s quite handy, sufficient and of decent strength. The blade width is 3/32” which is good for a folding knife meant for general utility purposes. The sheepfoot blade has a cutting edge just under two inches long and is excellent for cuts that you want to really push into or that require fine cutting work with the tip of the blade. The spey blade also measures just under two inches and is good for cuts that you need to sweep the edge through, almost like a very small skinner.
With an overall weight of just over four ounces, the knife sports grip slabs made of kirinite – a material publicized as smooth but never slippery, with a grip that improves after each polishing. The slaps are red, white and blue and the bolsters are all brass pins. The blade material is described as Tru-Sharp surgical steel and throughout testing they certainly did hold an edge well.
Speaking of testing, as much as it pained me to do so because the knife is actually a very “pretty” knife, I had to take it out for some cutting tests. As I mentioned earlier, carrying the knife isn’t uncomfortable in a pocket, but it’s on the big side of being a pocket knife. The grip length, however, is plenty long enough to fill a hand (mine are medium sized, so it might be just a bit small if you have big hands) and provide good grip for heavier cutting chores.
Out to the shed I went, Patriotic Stockman in hand, to find a bunch of stuff I could cut up. The usual assortment of “junk” was available and is now in smaller pieces. Everything from ½” cotton rope to that ugly yellow rope junk, 1” nylon webbing, twine, string, #120 fishing line and some 550 paracord fell to the main blade. The sheepfoot blade worked wonders scoring plastic and cutting leather. The spey blade helped me strip some laminate vinyl off of a piece of metal.
The knife and all blades performed as expected. After the fact I came in the house, washed and cleaned the main blade and then used it to cut up a ripe tomato. As anyone knows, a dulled blade plays hell trying to cut through tomato skin. This one sliced right through and cut through the meat of the tomato without any issues or challenges. I cleaned it once again, dried it and set it on my shelf (where I keep all my daily carry items).
I give this knife two thumbs up both for function AND for appearance. The red, white and blue trim really stands out and almost makes me think the knife is better suited as a collectible than as a working tool. Since I’m not one who is much on collectibles, the large Patriotic Stockman will end up in my pocket more often than not – until I find a suitable belt sheath for it.
Online I’ve found the knife priced in the $50-$60 range with $52 being the best price so far. $59.95 has been the high end. For a knife of this quality and appearance, not to mention performance, that’s a darn good deal. For more info check out W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company online.
Stay safe!
