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Whittlers - it's not your run-of-the-mill penknife!

left to right:

Rough Rider Sleeveboard Whittler in Black Pearl
Case Seahorse Whittler in Sawcut Bone
Rough Rider Swell Canter Whittler in Yellow Comp

A famous knife expert (who shall remain anonymous) claimed in his book that the Whittler is not a true traditional pattern but simply a pen knife that knife companies have opted to call whittlers for marketing purposes. After all you can whittle wood with just about any knife! This may in fact be technically true but if you ask people who collect whittlers what a whittler is, they will give you a very succinct description of specific knife!

While it is true Whittlers are type of pen knife and that they come in all shapes and sizes, it is also true that with very few exceptions they all share some very specific traits.

First, the whittler features three blades with the primary blade being a large blade located at one end of the knife and two smaller secondary blades located at the other end.

Second, the large main blade, when closed, will drop dead center between to the two smaller blades at the other end.

Third, the knife will normally have two back springs, with each of the smaller blades being held in place with its own spring and the main blade getting tension form both back springs. This allows the blades to by straight in the handle when closed and opened with minimal, if any blade rub.

The reason the blades are arranged in such a fashion is so that there will be less stress when on the blades when whittling and it also gives more tension on the big blade. In short it reduces the risk of blade play.

As for the exceptions – well there are canitlers, half-whittlers, and then that stockman style Boy Scout Whittler that come to mind. And in every case, these knives were designed for the purpose of whittling.

Typical blades found on whittlers, are the ever popular Coping , Pen, Wharncliffe, and Clip for secondary blades. For the primary blade the Clip, Spear and Wharncliffe lead the field however you will see the occasional sheepfoot. All of these blades are found on whittlers because of their wood working potential.

The wharncliffe is an excellent choice because it can scribe, ream and shave with the best of them. The clip and spear excellent for shaving and reaming as is the pen . Coping and sheepfoot blades are good for shaving wood and scribing but not as good when it comes to reaming.

Yes there are other knife patterns that are often associated with whittling but these particular knives were designed with whittling in mind! Thus is a stockman was designed to be used for Cattle work and Trappers were designed for use in the trapping industry, then it is somewhat pretentious of a knife expert to say a whittler is just a pen knife that has been given a name for marketing purposes.

So let’s show of our Traditional Pattern WHITTLERS and tell the expert what we think of his opinion!

6 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on April 3, 2015 at 21:28

Here is my RR 419 Black Pearl Whittler by Rough Rider. The knife features genuine black pearl scales, nickel silver bolsters, 440A Razor sharp Stainless Steel blades, brass liners and double stainless steel back springs.

The whittler is on a sleeve board frame which means the top is larrger than the bottom and is shaped something like a shirt sleeve or ironing board. some of the early Rough Riders were accused of having a nail breaker pull and this might be one such knife. The spear master blade does require a good tug to get open as the two back springs its working on are very tight. The smaller blades also have quite a bit of tension. At the same there is absolutely no wobble in the blades and they are razor sharp right out of the box!

The small blades are a pen and a coping which are my favorite small blades on whittlers. Yes I'm one of those people who can't cope without a coping blade on a whittler! The small blades have a half stop opening and closing. Walk and talk on all blades is excellent.

This whittler doesn't have a split back spring but blade clearance is still good enough to prevent blade rub!all in all it performs like a small whittler should.

Of course i bought the knife partly because of the Black Pearl scales. What I can say about them is the pictures just don't do them justice! The fit and finish is excellent. They match up perfectly with the back springs and the bolsters. And i failed to mention the mirror polished blades. These are some of the best I've seen on Rough Riders. They truly rival those found on my Case knives. (I can't say that about every rough rider i own but i can on this one!) This is one of the knives that I often carry when I get dressed up for special occasions or Church!

The knife is an enigma. It is priced so low that you won't feel bad using it. It works so well you will want to use it for your everyday whittling, but it looks so good that you don't want to do anything that might harm its beauty! When i first bought it, I had planned on changing the Spear blade into a Wharncliffe. but that changed immediately once i opened the box and saw just how gorgeous it was! It's my favorite Whittler!

Specs:

Closed: 3 3/8 inches long

Spear blade: 2 1/4 inches (1 7/8 inch cutting edge)

pen blade: 1 1/2 inches (1 3/8inch cutting edge)_

Coping blade: 1 1/2 inches (1 3/8inch cutting edge)

(right click the images to open in separate window and see full size!)

Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on April 3, 2015 at 23:08

Wharncliffe bladed whittlers, a definate favorite of mine.

Here's the introduction to "Wharncliffe Bladed Knifes" by Rod Neep. (From his old web pages)...

The Wharncliffe blade is attributed to the design of Lord Wharncliffe who was the patron of Joseph Rodgers & Sons in Sheffield in the early 1800s. The blade was designed around 1832. To this time, most pocket knives had rather slender blades. Tradition has it that Lord Wharncliffe wanted a small pocket knife with a thick strong blade. The result was a knife that was not only a whittler pocket knife, but one that could be really leant on hard without danger of it breaking. A wood splitter. Once you have handled a knife with a real Wharncliffe blade, then you will appreciate the meaning of this. It is a beast of a blade, even though it may be quite short. The high arched back only adds to its strength.

There are many modern knives that have a Wharncliffe blade profile (or something close to it), and call themselves Wharncliffes, but to be a true Wharncliffe, it must be thick and strong. Compare the thickness of the master blade on this large Stockman with the Wharncliffe (below).

There are bastardisations of the name in common use today, such as "Warncliff", "Wharncliff" or even "Wharrencliff". No. It is a Wharncliffe.

You can still view his page at http://web.archive.org/web/20071112191526/www.rod-neep.co.uk/rod/knives/wharncliffe/index.html

You may need to copy the URL and paste it into the browser window.

THAT BEING SAID -

Tobias showed one in the introduction but the Wharncliffe whittler is my favorite. The CASE Seahorse being my preferred pattern, followed by the Great Eastern Geppetto. Got a couple Bulldogs to round out the group.

Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on April 4, 2015 at 0:56

This is my EDC. Rough Rider #660, from the second generation stag series.

This is what most folks think about when the term whittler is used, large clip with small clip and pen blades as secondaries. Often called a balloon end whittler.

A whittler in this pattern, with a coping (seems that Tobias has my affinity for these) blade in lieu of the small clip, is often called a "Carpenters Whittler", as the coping blade makes an excellent scribe for use on wood.

Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on April 4, 2015 at 1:02

Tobias's appreciation with the RR sleveboard whittler is justified. This is the pattern that I had Brad O'Brien scrimshaw for my Uncle Wiskers knife display.

There are some folks, on carving forums, that did what Tobias said he was going to do, modify the main into a wharncliffe.

Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on April 4, 2015 at 1:17

How about a Cigar Whittler?

Long and thin, smaller on the secondary end. Not the best choice for serious whittlin, but a nice one to have around...

Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on April 4, 2015 at 2:25

Rough Rider Knives probably produced more different whittler patterns than anyone else'

I've got these 11, (3 blade whittler) patterns.

Panel 1 - Swell centers; Standard whittler (top), Tuxedo whittler (bottom left), Swell Center whittler (bottom right)

Panel 2 - Congress Whittlers; Congress whittler (front).Small Congress whittler (rear).

Panel 3 - Dogleg whittler.

Panel 4 - Large and Small; Big whittler (front), Mini Canittler (rear).

Panel 5 - Sleveboard whittler.

Panel 6 - Locking Canoe whittler.

Panel 7 - Boxcar whittler

Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on April 4, 2015 at 2:37

Here's a letter I wrote to the guys on Knives Live, back in 2008.

Guess you can say I really like whittlers...

Hey Guys,

Hope you had a great Labor Day, up there in East Tennessee. We’re looking forward to a great show tonight, (as always).

There was a discussion, on Sharpfans, in the last day or so, concerning Rough Rider Whittlers. We know that Rough Rider has 9 (3 blade) whittler patterns, 1 Half Whittler, and the Whittlin Buddy.

How about designing a 12th pattern?

I thought on this, and would like to see something from Rough Rider in the form of a Wharncliffe Whittler. Rough Rider “needs” a Wharncliffe pattern whittler. Using the Sleeveboard frame, lengthen it to 31/2 inches and add a good, stout, wharncliffe blade, keeping the pen and coping, secondary blades. It would be a great knife and a super addition to the Rough Rider whittler line.

While rough Rider is working on the 12th pattern, how about putting out a “Special Rough Rider Whittler Family Set”. All 12 patterns (fits nicely in a Knives Live knife pack), with a special handle.
1 - Handle material: Brown Saw-cut Bone. That is some of the nicest bone in the Rough Rider line, and is always consistent in its color. It can’t be beat.
2 - Shield: The new Rough Rider “propeller” shield would be great here.
3 - Bolsters: Double (or triple) ringed and “pinched” bolsters, for a classic, old time look. The fluted bolsters on the original Saw-cut were nice, but not for everyone.

Put it all together with a Rough Rider or a Knives Live knife pack.

Set this up as a collector’s special, on Knives Live, for say around $200.00. Bet they’d sell, and sell good.

Thanks guys, have a great show.

Big John, aka: “whittlinjack” (sharpfans #105)

Well, they did a Trapper series, but never got around to a Whittler series.

Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on April 4, 2015 at 2:47

While on the Knives Live train of thought, SMKW had Queen make up some Robeson Mastercraft Humpback Whittlers. Picked up this one in 2008...

Permalink Reply by tim payne on April 4, 2015 at 3:34

awesome humpback stag Robeson JJ

Permalink Reply by tim payne on April 4, 2015 at 3:38

nice scrim work by Brad, and a super display JJ

J.J. Smith III said:

Tobias's appreciation with the RR sleveboard whittler is justified. This is the pattern that I had Brad O'Brien scrimshaw for my Uncle Wiskers knife display.

There are some folks, on carving forums, that did what Tobias said he was going to do, modify the main into a wharncliffe.

Permalink Reply by tim payne on April 4, 2015 at 3:40

terrific trio of whittlers JJ

J.J. Smith III said:

Wharncliffe bladed whittlers, a definate favorite of mine.

Here's the introduction to "Wharncliffe Bladed Knifes" by Rod Neep. (From his old web pages)...

The Wharncliffe blade is attributed to the design of Lord Wharncliffe who was the patron of Joseph Rodgers & Sons in Sheffield in the early 1800s. The blade was designed around 1832. To this time, most pocket knives had rather slender blades. Tradition has it that Lord Wharncliffe wanted a small pocket knife with a thick strong blade. The result was a knife that was not only a whittler pocket knife, but one that could be really leant on hard without danger of it breaking. A wood splitter. Once you have handled a knife with a real Wharncliffe blade, then you will appreciate the meaning of this. It is a beast of a blade, even though it may be quite short. The high arched back only adds to its strength.

There are many modern knives that have a Wharncliffe blade profile (or something close to it), and call themselves Wharncliffes, but to be a true Wharncliffe, it must be thick and strong. Compare the thickness of the master blade on this large Stockman with the Wharncliffe (below).

There are bastardisations of the name in common use today, such as "Warncliff", "Wharncliff" or even "Wharrencliff". No. It is a Wharncliffe.

You can still view his page at http://web.archive.org/web/20071112191526/www.rod-neep.co.uk/rod/knives/wharncliffe/index.html

You may need to copy the URL and paste it into the browser window.

THAT BEING SAID -

Tobias showed one in the introduction but the Wharncliffe whittler is my favorite. The CASE Seahorse being my preferred pattern, followed by the Great Eastern Geppetto. Got a couple Bulldogs to round out the group.