EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – I am a big fan of small pocket knives.
That is certainly not a surprise to anyone who regularly reads this space or any of my friends who are knife collectors too.
Let’s take a look at a couple of new offerings from RoseCraft Blades that definitely fit that “small knife” category perfectly.
The Tennessee-based knife company released its new Piney River Peanut this past week. The knife comes with two cover variations. More on that in a bit.
First a little background: A peanut is a traditional knife pattern that is not named for its shape, but for its size.
Typically, a peanut is a small knife about 2.5 to 3.5 inches when closed. Traditionally, a peanut comes with two blades – a clip point and a pen blade.
The new RoseCraft version of the peanut, however, has just a single blade in a modern update on an old classic.
To me, that is a huge plus. I love single-bladed knives because you get a more natural grip on the knife’s handle than with a multi-bladed knife.
Here are some details on this new release.
The Piney River Peanut is small, I mean really small. It has a 2.1-inch D2 clip-point blade. It is 2.9 inches when closed and 5.1 inches when open, about the size of a ballpoint pen.
The RoseCraft interpretation of the peanut comes in two different flavors – a stag version and a limited edition blue bone.
The blue bone is intentionally dyed to give it an old, distressed look. It is made to look like a knife that has been well-used and loved.
The stag version – which RoseCraft makes with natural red deer material – gives this version of the knife a great nostalgic feel. RoseCraft has a reputation for making quality stag knives, and the peanut is no different.
No matter what handle you pick, you will get a knife that is truly unique to you. No two knives will be the same.
The RoseCraft peanut also features a slight “s” curve to its handles, which also contributes to that natural feeling in your hand.
Besides the handle coverings, the knives are virtually identical – with the same dimensions listed above.
The blue bone version weighs just a tad over 1.5 ounces while the stag weighs just 2 ounces.
The other difference – the blue bone version features the “rose bomb” shield, while the stag version comes with no shield.
As you come to expect with anything from RoseCraft, both knives have a great fit and finish. Pins, bolsters and backspring all merge seamlessly together.
Both knives can be opened with a nail nick on the “show” side of the knife and have a half-stop, always a good safety feature on a slipjoint knife (no locking mechanism).
The knife has a nice snap when it is being closed.
Opening it up, the knife seems to have about the perfect amount of tension, giving it a well-made feel. But it is not too difficult to open, which is a frequent complaint of mine with some traditional knives.
Both of these knives would be perfect to throw into your fifth pocket of your jeans or in a secondary pocket of your cargo pants.
For the women out there, it is small enough to throw into your purse without weighing yourself down.
To me, I would recommend getting a slip to carry it around, so you don’t end up scratching that beautiful finish – whether blue bone or stag.
Here is my verdict: These peanut knives are well made like anything from RoseCraft.
Despite the diminutive size, the RoseCraft peanuts are a fully functional, well-crafted knife that comes razor sharp out of the box.
They would be perfect for the office for opening letters or cutting a frayed strand on a sweater, shirt or jacket.
You would be surprised at how much work you can get done with a small but sturdy knife like this.
The blue bone version is listed for $51.99 at the RoseCraft website and at C. Risner Cutlery, an authorized RoseCraft dealer. Here is a link to the blue bone version at RoseCraft and to the same knife at C. Risner Cutlery.
The stag version is listed for $69.99 at both websites. Here is a link for the stag at the RoseCraft site and a link to it at C. Risner, also known as TraditionalPocketKnives.com.
You can use the code ROUGH10 for 10 percent off at the RoseCraft site for non-sale items. Use BIGRED10 for 10 percent off at C. Risner.
Note: The blue bone version is a limited run. It will not be available after this run sells out. If you are interested in this one, I’d buy it now.
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