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When is a Trapper NOT a Trapper?

What do you serious Trapper collectors think................

Waaay back, many, many moons ago when I was getting into knife collecting in a serious way and learning the ropes, all the serious collectors always made the argument that a Trapper is a Trapper only if it has a clip and spey blade!! Anything else is a Jack Knife! Especially if it's a single blade....it's a single blade Jack Knife!

So what say you all? Are you as hard nosed over the terminology for a "Trapper"? Or does anything go nowadays?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steven Matthew on December 15, 2012 at 23:47

No spey blade, No trapper.
I agree with what James said about the Knife. It's not called a trapper for No reason at all. A
Skinned me many rattle snakes, and trapping game. The spey blade is the way to go.

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Craig Henry on December 16, 2012 at 0:59

It's what the old timers hit me over the head with all the time. Clip and spey, clip and spey. They even used to get so fussy about what a "true" trapper is, they'd say the mini-Trapper wasn't a "real" Trapper.....it had to be a "standard" size of around 4 inches closed. Now that's fussy. And I'm talking about old timer southern guys that had grandads and dads and themselves that hunted and trapped.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on February 10, 2013 at 15:18

I always liked this discussion! LOL

FeaturedPermalink Reply by Craig Henry on February 10, 2013 at 16:15

Got Trappers Hog?

Permalink Reply by Chuck Parham on April 27, 2013 at 5:21

I'm newer to collecting than most but my history with Trappers goes way back to my younger days when I ran a trap line. A Trapper has a clip blade and a spey blade, in my humble opinion. The spey was the only blade made that could quickly separate a pelt from it's owner. When you're running a line, speed is critical. Any small nick that made a hole in the pelt would definitely cost you money. Even if it wasn't in the usable part of the hide, the buyers would knock it down anyway. Their logic was to teach you to skin properly without damaging the pelt.

The clip blade did the balance of tasks. Sharpening points on stakes, cutting small branches for guide sticks, cutting bait, and just about any other cutting job that was too small for the small hand axe that you had strapped to your pack. I carried a Trapper for years and talked with many trappers. Discussions always led to knives. Not a single trapper, in those days, carried a Trapper that had a different design. There were no 5 bladed Trappers. No Moose. No vairiations. Just a plain 2 bladed Trapper. Anything else showed a sign of improper training as a trapper. Just my take on this.

Permalink Reply by Chuck Parham on April 27, 2013 at 14:56

You could call it anything you'd like but not Trapper.

Steve Hanner said:

Well as you know we were discussing a trapper but with a clip blade and a wharncliffe blade.From a function standpoint it would be fantastic, allowing for all your cutting chores on one and all your whittling chores on the other. I guess you could call that a Jack?

Permalink Reply by Chuck Parham on April 27, 2013 at 15:04

The spey blade is the only practical balde for skinning animals. Try skinning with any other blade in the time a trapper needs and you're gonna bring home lots of pelts with holes from your blade. Your buyer is going to just love you. You can skin with just about any blade, BUT when you're running a line that is several miles long you'd like to be home for dinner the same day you went out. The longer your line the faster you have to skin.

Craig Henry said:

But is it really a "Trapper" without the spey blade? Most of the old timers would say no!

Permalink Reply by Steve wells on August 8, 2015 at 19:59

I go buy the Pattern Number----54 LG ---07 small ----154 tiny and the are all Trappers know matter the blade---yall forgot to mention the Muskrat blade Trapper and the Panama Trapper

http://s248.photobucket.com/user/stevee_bucket_2007/media/CaseTrapp...

http://s248.photobucket.com/user/stevee_bucket_2007/media/CaseMiniT...

http://s248.photobucket.com/user/stevee_bucket_2007/media/Stevesbon...

and here are the Rat Trapper and Panama Trapper

http://s248.photobucket.com/user/stevee_bucket_2007/media/CaseRatTr...

http://s248.photobucket.com/user/stevee_bucket_2007/media/CaseTrapp...

I think it is the shape of the Frame of the knife that makes it a Trapper as you can see in these pics---so I don't think the blade figuration has to do with calling it a Trapper or not-----this is only my opinion