EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Sure, a knife is a tool — one that you can use while hunting, camping, around the yard, the office or the kitchen to make your life easier.
But to me, a good knife balances functionality with craftsmanship or even — should I dare say it — artistry.
Over the past year and the last few months in particular, I have experienced and seen up close that RoseCraft Blades resides in that sweet spot that balances function with craftsmanship.
For a few days recently, I had the pleasure of being able to carry around one of RoseCraft’s new releases – its Cockleburr Creek Trapper.
First a bit of news: I am now part of RoseCraft’s new pass-around group where I get to check out some of their new traditional releases for a few days and then pass them on to the next content creator. There are no restrictions on what I can say about them.
As for the Cockleburr Creek Trapper, this one came out in mid-January.
First some background. RoseCraft loves to name its traditionals after bodies of water. And for the uninitiated, a trapper is a two-bladed slipjoint knife (no lock).
A trapper has two blades coming out of the same end of the knife – typically, a clip point and a rounder spey blade.
This particular knife from RoseCraft comes with rosewood handles, which give every single one a unique look. The knife also has brushed steel bolsters, nickel silver pins and a rosebud shield to give it some added style.
The fit-and-finish – the pins, back springs and blade centering – are immaculate, which is what you come to expect from RoseCraft.
Both blades came razor sharp and have a nice walk and talk, but the action on the blades is not so strong where you have difficulty using the provided nail nicks to open them.
I’m always afraid of tearing my finger nail when using a nail nick, but these open nicely.
When either blade is open, you really have to try to push down on it to get it to budge even a little, giving this knife a nice secure feeling. It also has a full half-stop feature making it even safer when in use.
Some people say they don’t like slipjoints because they are afraid of the blade folding down on their hand. That is not a worry with this one.
The clip-point blade is not as aggressive as some I’ve seen on trappers but is very sharp with a nice point. That will come in handy for a lot of EDC tasks around home or office.
Now, to the sometimes derided spey blade. The one on the RoseCraft Cuckleburr Creek Trapper comes to a nicer point than some I’ve seen on other trappers. On some trappers, the spey blade almost seems like a rounded butter knife that has an edge put on it.
Not this one. RoseCraft’s version of the spey blade also has a nice belly to it and feels like it would be more useful than your typical blade of this style.
Before I forget, here are some numbers — both blades are made of D2 steel and are 3.25 inches long. The knife is a tad over 4 inches when closed, is 7.4 inches open and weighs 3.9 ounces.
My only real nitpick is one I have with all multi-bladed knives. When you are using one blade, the other – at least ideally (lol) – should be folded down.
You can feel the other, non-deployed blade when you have it in hand and are using it. It can be a potential hotspot when using a knife, especially if you need to do repeated work with it.
Otherwise, this RoseCraft version of the trapper is darn near perfect – hitting that sweet, sweet balance between function and craft.
The Cockleburr Creek Trapper can be found on the RoseCraft website for $61.99. Here is a link to the website and their version of the trapper.
You can also find this knife at C. Risner Cutlery. It is currently listed there also for $61.99.
The Knife Delights channel just did a video on trappers within the past two weeks. Here is a link.
For more information on Junkin Genius hanks, the unofficial hank of Rough Edge EDC, you can click here.
Here are some other YouTube channels on knives and EDC gear that I find fun and informative.
The Cutting Edge (Formerly Last Chance Knives)
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