Tom explains why you cowboys and cowgirls need stockman knives in your jean pockets.
This excellent article was first published on AmmoLand News in February of 2018 and appears here now with fresh updates.

Ok, it’s time to write an article on a knife for you cowboys out there, the Stockman Knives. Of course, just like any group, one knife won’t fit all. I’ve dropped out of the world of rodeoing, cowboying and raising cattle but am still a little active on the sidelines.

I’ve noticed the last decade or two a bunch of cowboys are also carrying folding lock blades just like everyone else. And why wouldn’t they? Of all people, they probably need them the most. How many times, when roping a calf, having a branding, or whatever else occurs on the ranch, does someone almost get tangled up in a rope with a mad cow on the other end?

Over 45 years ago, when I started rodeoing, an older cowboy who helped me get started told me to carry one of the first big locking folders I had ever seen. I think it was called a G96. He said I’d need it for protection while traveling. I cleaned his horse stall,s and he bought me my IRA card (International Rodeo Assn.) and talked me into jumping into the pros. I then jumped into the RCA, which is now the PRCA. I wish I had of skipped the IRA. It was pretty crooked.

So yes, cowboys carry fold-up lock blades, but today, we want to talk about a knife that all ranch cowboys use, especially in the spring for brandings and round-ups.

Stockman Knives

The Stockman knife. A stockman knife will have a traditional slip joint that has double ends. Most have three blades and two springs inside that help the blade stay closed or open.. Here are the purposes of the three different blades.

• CLIP POINT BLADE – This blade is used on the ranch for everything from cutting hay twine to punching holes in a latigo, to opening a can of beans in a line shack.
• SHEEPFOOT BLADE – This blade was designed for trimming sheep’s feet. The dull back and point allows you to apply pressure with your thumb or finger without getting cut.
• SPEY BLADE – This is the perfect design to castrate bull calves. On some of the big ranches out West, we gather all the spring cattle off the pastures and BLM land and congregate them into one big herd. In the old days they held them in a circle and roped the calves off of the herd. Now we gather them all into some powder River Chutes and open one end and cut the cows off.

We’ll set up maybe three branding irons in the opening and have cowboys and cowgirls rope a calf and drag it out to a branding iron. A group of cowboys will be at each branding iron. One will flip the calve, untie it, and two will hold it down.

In the round-ups I help with, one cowboy or cowgirl will work all three stations, cutting the bull calves. The cowboys holding down the calf will holler if they have a bull calf, and the cutter will go castrate him. If there’s a really good bull calf that the rancher likes, he’ll leave it as a bull to be a future herd bull. Usually, one cowgirl will be running back and forth vaccinating the calves.

So with all of this going on in one tight spot, it can get hectic. Invariably, while cutting a bull calf, he will get a leg loose and kick someone, a cowboy will rope a wild calf and drag him up, wiping out everyone, or something will happen. With that said, you can see why it’s smart to castrate with a spey blade. You’re not as likely to get cut when a rodeo explodes. So Spey blades are necessary in a cowboy’s life.

Then, of course, over time, small, medium, and large stockman knives have developed. To me, a small one is nonfunctional. They’re more of a gentleman’s pocket knife. I like the latter two. You’ll have to decide for yourself which you prefer. The large or the medium-sized. I could argue for either. Not that it affects the functionality one iota, but I favor the look of the old yellow-handled Stockman knives.

Case Large Stockman Knife Yellow

For this article, I’m testing two manufacturers: Case XX and Bear & Son Cutlery. Both appear to be stout enough knives to withstand a cowboy….that is, as much as anything holds up when a cowboy touches it!

My all-time favorite is the Case yellow-handled large Stockman, but in reality, the Bear & Son Cutlery Yellow Delrin, Rosewood Stockman, and Case medium Stockman with the Amber handle are all just as functional. You decide which one you need. Or maybe you’re like me—I had to have all four!

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About Tom Claycomb:

Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life. He is also an outdoors writer with outdoor columns in the magazines Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, and Bowhunter.net and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers.

“To properly skin your animal you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”