The Mini TrapPER DIEM -- Your Daily Mini Trapper

[Drukai]

My only mini trapper this one started its life with jigged white delrin and a "Sparxxly" Case shield had it redone by a fine forum member. Redone in un dyed woodland jigged bone

[QTCut5]

DAY 118

Excellent choice of handle material, and a beautiful custom mini mod, indeed.

I love the clean, uncluttered look of today's Mini TrapPER DIEM. It has a smooth white bone handle, which, while not the same thing as ivory, is the next best thing...and way more affordable. This Parker-Edwards also has a lot of "5s" in the pattern number, so it ticks a number of boxes for me (I'm partial to the number "5" because of my name.)

~Q~

[QTCut5]

DAY 119

I don't know what the weather's like where you're at today, but I do know that today's (and yesterday's) Mini TrapPER DIEM is as close as I'll get to having a white Christmas. (And, to be perfectly honest, as far as I'm concerned, a couple of smooth white bone mini trappers is so much more preferable than cold white snow any day of the year...Christmas included!)

Today's Mini TrapPER DIEM is the fraternal twin to yesterday's...the only difference between them is the spay blade on today's Mini T. Interestingly, the addition of an extra blade doesn't change the pattern number, so, apparently, number of blades isn't part of the Parker-Edwards pattern numbering system.

Here they both are together (to prove I didn't use trick photography or Photoshop just to extend the Mini TrapPER DIEM thread an extra day).

See, they both have exact same pattern number

~Q~

[Jporter1974]

Found another one hidden in with a couple of 49 patterns. Good EDC XX ~ Jon

[QTCut5]

DAY 120

Like the last dying ember of the Christmas Yule log, I present my final Mini TrapPER DIEM of 2018. Yup, this is it--after 120 days and untold numbers of beautiful mini trappers...I'm all out, kaput. We'll see what mini trapper treasures 2019 has in store.

Cheers & Aloha,
~Q~

[Lansky1]

It's been quite a run Q ... good way to wind up 2018 - that chestnut bone mini-T is

[QTCut5]

Thanks, John.

After some reconsideration, I have decided to end 2018 on a slightly different note. I know not everyone (incliding GEC) would consider these #48's "Mini Trappers", but they measure 3 7/8" which is right at the top of the size limit for Mini Trapper classification, so I'm going to allow it. Besides, two other GEC #48's have been previously shown in this thread; one by big homer and one by Tsar Bomba, so the precedent has already been established.

I would like to invite anyone who has a GEC #48 to go ahead and post it now (even if you've already posted it here before). Let's end the 2018 Mini Trapper year with a BANG!

2013 Smooth Ivory Bone

2010 Ram Horn

Happy New Year, Everybody!
~Q~

[jerryd6818]

The 48 really took my fancy and I ended up with three of them. I'll post two today and the last one tomorrow.

[QTCut5]

New Year's Day seems like a good time to tally up inventory and take stock, if for no other reason than to establish a baseline for comparison a year from now.

White

Stag

...more Stag

Queen Schatt & Morgan

Blue

Orange

Red

Wood

Club

BSA

~Q~

[QTCut5]

...just a few more (OCD much?)

Big Minis

Yellow

Amber

Rainbow

~Q~

[Doc B]

BEAUTIFUL collection Q!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here's to 2019!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jerryd6818]

~Q~ that is just a splendiferous pile of Mini-Trappers. Excellent my friend.

The other 48 as promised.

[Lansky1]

Q !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[QTCut5]

Apparently, seeing jerryd's beautiful GEC Stag 48 gave the OCD Mini Trapper Monkey "Stag Fever" which gave him the strength to overpower me and escape from the cage in which he was locked at the end of 2018, crawl up onto my back and force me to buy this Stag Carl Schlieper Mini Trapper. At least he's going after ones I don't already have; he has a well-documented, notorious predilection for accumulating multiples of certain knives he really likes, but this is my first German Eye Brand Mini T. At 3 3/4" closed length it's kind of an unusual size compared to the rest of my collection which measure 3 3/8", 3 1/2" or 3 7/8".

When it comes to Stag, it's all about the "gnarl."

~Q~

[jerryd6818]

That right there is one fine example of the cutlers art.


I would be remiss if I didn't post the Case Mini-Trapper that Mike dropped on me. She's no safe queen but she is quite the beauty. She's also in excellent condition for her age (1972). Mike is probably experiencing some "gifter's remorse" right about now. I feel for ya buddy but ya can't have her back.

[jerryd6818]

As Gene Autry sang, "I'm back in the saddle again", at least for a short while. There are four but I'm going to stretch 'em out and just post one a day.

I'm not overly fond of lock backs but I bought it anyway, just for the Black Cherry Bone handles.

Seller's stock picture. Maybe I'll get inspired today if we get some sunshine and take my own pictures.

[QTCut5]

As Gene Autry sang, "I'm back in the saddle again", at least for a short while. There are four but I'm going to stretch 'em out and just post one a day.

I'm not a fan of lock backs on Mini Trappers, either, jerryd, but I sure do like the look of that Black Cherry Bone...nice choice.

The suspense of waiting to see your other three new acquisitions was killing me (I'm sure it must have something to do with a lack of solar cooperation in IL for taking photos), so I guess I'll have to fill in the gap and pick up the slack (as you've done so many times for me) and post this Made In China Buck 382 that I recently picked up to temporarily satisfy my insatiable Mini T appetite. Not a bad little knife for less than $15.00.

~Q~

[jerryd6818]

I rather like that Buck, ~Q~. I like the handles better than the wood handles on mine. Soooo, click, click, click, I bought one. MSMD

Speaking of Monkey See - Monkey Do, today's contribution to the thread is another one you influenced me into buying. Mom says you're a bad influence and I can't hang around with you anymore.

[Meridian_Mike]

Nice minis guys!....
Glad to see y'all got this thread going again!

Mike

[QTCut5]

Mom says you're a bad influence and I can't hang around with you anymore.

Between your Mom and my wife it's a wonder we manage to maintain our Mini T addiction at all.

Although the Case 107W is still my favorite Mini Trapper design, the Queen Schatt & Morgan model #51 runs a very close second. (More of both of those will be posted later.)

For today's Mini TrapPER DIEM I present this 1982 Queen Fish & Wildlife Service Special Agent SFO. I'm generally not particularly fond of blade etching, but the deep, gold-colored etch on this one I do find somewhat interesting...Who knew that 1982 was the year of the eagle? Well, now you do. Anyway, blade etch notwithstanding, I also love the bone on this one, and, as everyone knows, I'm a sucker for unusual tang stamps, too.

~Q~

[QTCut5]

Here's another one with a unique tang stamp; an SFO from 1984 for the Virginia Division of Wildlife Management.

~Q~

[jerryd6818]

My contribution for the day. At this point there's only one left in the queue.

[QTCut5]

This one was already posted in another thread, but being that it's a Mini Trapper, I think it deserves a showing here as well.

~Q~

[QTCut5]

Ahh, so good to be back in the Mini Trapper saddle again...even if it's just for short spells at a time. But, hey, I'll take 'em whenever I can for as long as I'm able.

Now, today's Mini TrapPER DIEM is another one with illustrious gray/grey bone (see DAY 114, page 35, if you're wondering why the seemingly unremarkable color gray might be considered noteworthy). But, I must admit that this one comes with a bit of a backstory.

It seems that once-upon-a-time, an arrogant and (semi) affluent mini trapper collector recklessly boasted that he "pitied the fool" who bid against him on a knife he was determined to own. As time went by, circumstances altered the fortune of the arrogant collector; his house deteriorated and required extensive and expensive repairs and then his health also took a turn for the worse which led to costly medical bills. Suddenly, the poor collector was indeed poor and found himself unable to afford even the cheap mini trappers made in China, which caused him great shame and distress in addition to the agonizing symptoms he was already suffering due to withdrawal from his mini trapper addiction.

To make matters even worse, one of his very good friends and fellow knife collectors alerted him to a mini trapper for sale that the previously affluent yet now penurious collector passionately coveted. Impoverished though he was, the poor mini trapper collector was determined to possess the knife at all costs. So, he devised a plan whereby he would use a sniping app to enter an outrageously high bid that would ensure a certain victory and win him the knife he so desperately desired. What he didn't expect was that he was not the only mini trapper collector who had thought of and was employing the same strategy.

Long story short: He won the knife...for exactly $1.00 less than his "outrageously high bid."

Moral of the story: For a true addict, no price is too high to pay for the object of his desire. Also...always bid way more than you think is "outrageously high" since there are a lot of addicts out there all vying for a limited supply. And, lastly, who is the real fool deserving of pity in this scenario, the so-called "winner" who vastly overpaid, or the ones bidding against him, aka, the losers, who went home empty-handed but with full pocketbooks?

Although this (apparently) highly desirable Case 6107W is clad in what might otherwise be considered rather mundane jigged gray bone, for the price it sold for, it may as well be ivory, gold or platinum. But, the main thing is...I got it!

Nothing worthwhile is gained without some degree of sacrifice.

~Q~

[jerryd6818]

You probably think you're the only one to pull a shenanigan like that but you're not. Mine was the final piece of a set of eight Family Tree Doctor's Knives (see below, on the end to the left). I knew it existed but had never seen one for sale. When it popped up on eBay, I was determined to have it and complete the set so I set a price in my mind that was more than double what I had paid for any of the others. This was before Gixen so I was sniping manually. When the time counted down to three seconds I hit the go-giddy button and won the knife. For exactly what I had bid. I just sat there and stared at it being unable to believe that it had gone for that much. It didn't put me in the poor house but it was a whale of a lot more than I thought I was going to have to pay. Taught me a lesson. If you don't want to pay that much, don't bid that much.

Today's contribution to the thread.