Two of the knives we get asked about most could hardly be more different. The Cheetah Cub is a one-blade lockback with a swing guard. The stockman is a three-blade slip joint that grew up on ranches. Both have deep roots in the Case line, and both are easy to carry every day. Here's where each one came from, what sets them apart, and how to pick the right one for your pocket.
Cheetah Cub history
Where the Cheetah came from
The Cub's big brother, the Case Cheetah, goes back a long way. Its 11 1/2 pattern has been around since the Case Brothers era (1896 to 1915), and the earliest record of the name "Cheetah" being used is from the early 1970s. Collectors know the older ones by the stamp 6111 1/2L: the 6 means bone handles, the first 1 means one blade, the 11 is the pattern number and the L means lockback. In Case's numbering, the "1/2" points to a clip master blade.
Over the years the Cheetah was made with and without a swing guard, and with and without a lock. After roughly a 20-year break, Case brought the pattern back in 2002 with a redesigned knife.
When the Cub came out
The Cheetah Cub followed in 2005. It first went out as the Case Collectors Club Life Member knife, offered to club members only, and then showed up in the second edition of Case's 2005 catalog in handles like Pocket Worn Peach Seed Jigged Caribbean Blue Bone, Smooth Red G-10 and Corn Cob Jigged Bright Green Bone. Since then it has been made in a long list of bone, wood and synthetic handles.
The Cub's pattern is 1 1/2L, so a bone-handled Cub is stamped 611 1/2L. It keeps everything people love about the Cheetah in a compact 3.5-inch closed knife that weighs about 1.9 ounces, with a 2.5-inch blade.
Lockback and swing guard
The Cub has one clip-point blade that locks open. Behind the blade sits a nickel silver swing guard that pivots into place when the knife is open, giving your fingers a stop in front of the edge. That pairing, a locking clip blade plus a swing guard, is what made the Cheetah line popular in the first place.
Blade steel
Most Cheetah Cubs are Case Tru-Sharp stainless, and each listing names its blade steel.
Stockman history
Built for cattlemen
The stockman grew out of the older cattle knife, which dates to about the 1870s. Around 1890 the "premium stock" knife appeared as a less bulky, dressier take on the cattle knife. It was made as a rancher's pattern, so it was first sold mostly in the American West. You can usually spot a stockman by its serpentine, gently S-shaped handle and its clip master blade. A cattle knife usually has straight, equal ends and a spear master blade.
Three blades, three jobs
A classic stockman has three blades on two springs:
- Clip: the main blade, with a point for general and detail cutting.
- Sheepfoot: a straight edge with a rounded tip. It was first meant for trimming hooves and is good for controlled cuts.
- Spey: a curved, blunt-tipped blade named for spaying livestock. These days it's handy for skinning and careful slicing.
Case medium, large and sowbelly stockmans
Case makes the stockman in more than one frame. The medium stockman is the everyday choice, and the large stockman gives you longer blades and more handle to hold. The sowbelly is a stockman with a bold, exaggerated belly on the handle. It keeps the clip, spey and sheepfoot blades, and Case's sowbellies run 3 7/8 inches closed.
Stockman or trapper?
People mix these two up all the time. A trapper is a jack knife with two full-length blades, a slender clip and a long spey, and both open from the same end. A stockman has three blades, with the clip on one end and the other two on the opposite end. If you want a sheepfoot, get the stockman.
Choosing between them
Pick the Cheetah Cub if you want one blade that locks open and a swing guard to keep your fingers back, in a knife that rides light in a pocket. It's a good choice for opening boxes, cutting cord and any job where you want the blade to stay put.
Pick a stockman if you like having options. Three blade shapes cover most chores on a farm, at the workbench or in the woods. Because it's a slip joint with no lock, it also suits anyone who likes a traditional pocket knife.
Handles we carry right now:
- Cheetah Cub: smooth natural, red, yellow, antique and Caribbean blue bone, pocket worn red bone, Crandall, Platts and Barnboard jigs, Burnt PB&J bone, blue sycamore wood, Dark Red Burlap Micarta and SparXX jigged white synthetic.
- Stockman: amber (jigged and peach seed jig), chestnut, natural, antique, old red, navy blue, Mediterranean blue and Gator jig bright green bone, plus 6.5 BoneStag, black curly oak, Dark Red Burlap Micarta, Seafoam Green G-10, Blue Pearl Kirinite, and navy, black, orange and red synthetic.
A few of our stockmans, like 00079, 00039 and 12272, have carbon steel blades. Each listing names its steel.
Quick answers
What is the Case Cheetah Cub pattern number?
611 1/2L for bone handles. The L means it's a lockback.
When did the Cheetah Cub come out?
In 2005, first as the Case Collectors Club Life Member knife, then in Case's catalog that same year.
How many blades does a stockman have?
Three: a clip, a sheepfoot and a spey.
What's the difference between a stockman and a trapper?
A stockman has three blades split between both ends. A trapper has two long blades, a clip and a spey, that open from the same end.
What is a sowbelly stockman?
A stockman with an extra-rounded belly on the handle. It has the same three blades.
Find yours
Browse every Cub we have in stock in our Cheetah Cub collection, or look through our stockman collection for medium, large and sowbelly patterns. Each listing names its handle, shield and blade steel, and we ship anywhere in the US.