Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
WB
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
A few more from the same era.
These date to around 1910-1930.
I have quite a few more that I'll post later.
WB
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Its funny i never wanted anything from my parents belongings...but i kept my Grandfathers little bone handled knife...the blade says "wild turkey hand made". I should sharpen it one day !
Login to Like
this post
I don't know if it's a southern/northern thing or a country/city thing, but I (southern, country) am at a loss without my pocket knife - a small, Buck two-blade knife. How do people open packages/cut cords/clean fingernails/tighten loose screws and many other tasks without a good knife?
Login to Like
this post
We were in Holland last year and one of my brother in laws
gave me a REAL Swiss army knife...i can not believe i put it in my carry on bag !!! Good bye Swiss army knife when i went through customs !
Login to Like
this post
Phil, do NOT alter the blade. It will kill the value of the knife. I found a knife like that in a storage locker that I bought. Looked it up, and it had a very nice value. But, the owner had sharpened the blade. Sold it for a mere fraction of what I could have gotten if the blade had not been touched. Collectors don't want the knives to be altered.
Login to Like
this post
My father-in-law (from Texas) gave me a lovely knife as a Christmas present many years ago but demanded $1 in return. Without question I pulled a one dollar bill out of my wallet and gave it to him, and he said that was good, because you can only buy a knife. If you gift one to someone, that will cut your friendship. How quaint!
Lars
Login to Like
this post
Cool WB,
So are those four separate sales display boards? They look like a contemporary competitor of Case knives.
Login to Like
this post
In my father's generation (born, say, a century ago) a man often carried a 'penknife' - a slim, one- or two-bladed all-purpose knife easily carried in a jacket pocket, sufficiently light not to distort the hang of the garment. He used this as a paper-knife for opening envelopes, a single-blade scissor for cutting twine (far more frequent 70 years ago than now), a pencil sharpener, or even for cleaning fingernails!
In the 1960s, at boarding school, at the age of 17 and during a dangerous period, I carried a miniature sheathed knife with a 2-inch blade for 'self-protection', although it was more likely a pathetic attempt at bumping up my bruised masculinity. I never used it in anger (thank goodness) but felt I might have done if cornered.
Since then I have owned the heavy, chunky and deliberately macho 'Swiss Army' knife in a number of its many guises. It is not easily carried about on one's person - mine now remains in my desk and is used rarely. At a Jewish commemoration of the Holocaust some years ago it was temporarily removed from my bag during the event and returned afterwards.
In Britain today the carrying of a knife has uneasy overtones most usually associated with young men living in areas where the necessity of self-defence is seen as vital. The large army-issue multi-purpose monster I picked up abandoned on Woodbury Common (an army training ground) had a useful built-in compass and what I later realised was a garrotting wire! I would not be legally permitted to carry that around today - the blade is too massive.
Knife-carrying among young British men certainly has an element of pathetic bravado, but is far too serious a matter in terms of fatalities to ignore, which is why there is strict, though barely enforceable legislation against it.
Another contrast, I am thinking, between suburban Britain and rural USA!
Login to Like
this post
WB,
Neat collection. Do you display them? I like the advertising. Advertising is another area I like to collect. Where do you find these knife displays? Since you have quite a few I wonder if they came from the same source or do you search them out.
This has me thinking about all my other collections. I am a collector by nature I guess.
Vince
Login to Like
this post
Oh, you would never catch me out and about without a knife!
I have a large rotation of "carrying" knives, depending on what I see as the days tasks. But, knives are "tools" and in my opinion would only make, at very best a poor weapon, and then only as a last resort. Even the automatic's that I carry are for the ease of use, not because I want to grease my hair back and roll a pack of cigarettes up in my sleeve. They're just handy!
Phil, I have both my maternal and paternal grandads last knives. I even have the kitchen knives both of my grandmas last used. They have very little value other then I wouldn't take any amount of money for them.
Ernie/Vince, I have 5 of the Sportmaster displays, one is an original, the others I had replicas made from it. They are marked as such on the back. I have a couple of other original countertop displays from the same era, but haven't had reproductions made of those. One is a Jackmaster from the same company, the other is a display for miniature vest pocket knives. It was common in the 19th century for gentlemen to attach one to there watch chains, as a fob.
Oddly enough, the origins of both "pocket" knives and stamps can be traced back to about the same time frame and countries. Some of the earliest pocket knives were produced in Sheffield around the middle of the 19th century.
As far as a north/south thing, it's true, us southern boys do like our knives. But the fact is, most of the major knife manufacturers are or were established along the river systems in the northeast. In fact, it was a key element during the civil war. The south ended up depending, primarily, on knives imported from Germany and England and as you might guess, shortages were common. Many southern soldiers even carried knives from their mamas kitchen!
Here's a few Scout/camp knives from my collection. Some are BSA authorized and a few date back to the turn of the century.
WB
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
White Buffalo:
As a Canadian Rover Scout, all I can say is "Wow"!
David
Login to Like
this post
Thanks guys!
David, I thought you might have a heightened appreciation for the Scout knives.
Here's one that's near and dear. It was customized by Navajo jeweler/artist, David Yellowhorse. It's decked out in genuine Turquoise, Onyx, Ebony, sterling silver and highly detailed blade engravings. The White Buffalo handle shields were hand cut and fully inlaid. Even the leather sheath with rattlesnake insert was handmade.
WB
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
I built this display out of a gutted 1949 Admiral radio. It houses about half of a collection I've been working on for well over 30 years. The complete collection consists of one of every knife produced by Imperial Schrade Knife Company in the pearly handles. That includes every tang stamp, handle shield and blade configuration. If I'm missing any, they must have been made in extremely low quantities.
These were commissioned by the company to be hand painted by a local artist in Providence RI. They were sold through resort gift shops in Arizona and New Mexico.
The miniature switchblade is a tough one to find in mint condition, but the fishermans knife is the only one I've ever seen.
Believe it or not, I DO have more stamps then I do knives.
WB
Login to Like
this post
When it comes to knives, pattern collectors are sort of the equivalent to a topical stamp collector. You sort of land on a pattern or topic that suits you and build from there.
As you might have guessed, the toothpick/powderhorn pattern is mine. About half of these you come across, are built with the fisherman in mind. Fish scaling blades, hook removers and a long slender blade for cleaning fish. Bear in mind, when these knives were created, very few fisherman would fillet their catch. The norm was to scale, gut and behead the fish and fry it whole. My grandpa would've had it no other way!
Here's a few more from the collection.
Yellow was a popular color,
So was black,
But they came in all different colors too,
and there's always an exception to the rule,
WB
Login to Like
this post
I have a knife I inherited from my grandfather. He had very large hands, so normal knives were fiddly and small for him. He took a pocketknife, took of the casing and put it between two larger, longer pieces of steel. For the part of the new steel grips that extended beyond the length of the pocket knife, he filled with a whittled piece of wood. Then he bolted it together with copper rivets.
It's the weirdest looking thing you have ever seen, The blade is about 35% the length of the grips, but it fits well in my large hands.
Login to Like
this post
Awesome! I love owner modified knives, I have a few too.
...but, there are other solutions to the big hands/small knife problem.
These come in at about 8-1/2" to 9" long(closed) and about a pound apiece.
Best be wearing suspenders when you carry one of these.
WB
P.S. Their actual intended purpose was for store front displays.
Login to Like
this post
I'm amazed at the variety of knives that you have collected!
I love your Admiral radio display! What a wonderful way to re-purpose!
Login to Like
this post
Thanks KZ!
Here's one for the modeling crowd. These were contract built for Strombecker(slotcars)back in the 60's, at a time when slotcar racing was at a peak. I bought this one at a local track in my hometown around 1965. I've wondered lately, if model railroading ever had a similar knife, or any need of it? I've never come across one.
WB
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
WB,
Neat knife. If I ever come across one of them I would definitely have to add it to my collection of odds and ends. I was big into slot car racing as as kid.
I imagine there are other "specialty" knives around made for particular applications
Vince
Login to Like
this post
Thanks Vince.
My brother and I raced 1/32 scale and I eventually got into 1/64(or HO) scale toward the end. It all fizzled out when the local track closed down in the early 70's.
Almost all knives, when first designed, were made with a specific purpose in mind. But in the end, very few were actually accepted as specialized tools within a given trade or hobby. The "stockman" and the "whittler" are good examples. Both were designed for their named purpose, but neither are actually carried solely by cowboys and wood carvers.
Anymore, most people that carry a pocket knife settle for a cheap knockoff that was made in one of the pacific rim countries and don't realize that quality is even an issue. Over the past decade, the U.S. has seen the closing of over a dozen knife companies that had been around for well over a hundred years and played a huge role during both WWI and WWII, as well as, Korea and Vietnam. Then, to add insult to injury, many of the trademarks from those companies have been bought by foreign interests, manufactured in those countries and are now marketed here America. Another sad chapter in American industry.
WB
Login to Like
this post
Whitebuffalo, maybe a suggestion for your next holiday.
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170425-europes-surprising-knife-capital
You could even sample the local wines.
Login to Like
this post
Excellent article, but no pics?! Really?!
I would love to tour the knife capitals of the world, Thiers, Sheffield, Solengen, etc...Maybe after I retire.
I've had the good fortune of touring many of the U.S. knife factories over the years, always fun to see how it's done. All too many have had to close their doors. While most would see a knife as just a knife, it is surprising how the methods of production vary from one company to the next. I've also visited several custom makers, their methods are just as varied and awe inspiring to boot!
Thanks for posting that sheepshanks, it was a fun read!
WB
Login to Like
this post
You're welcome, cutting edge technology, fascinating.
Login to Like
this post
"cutting edge technology"
WB
Login to Like
this post
I've been collecting all manner of knives since my grandpa gave me my first one when I was about 8 years old, I still have that old knife. My main focus has always been knives used for hunting, fishing and camping. Generically refered to as "Sportsman Knives". Here are a few I've gathered over the years, most of these first ones date to between 1936 and 1968. Some may remember the countertop displays from their local hardware stores, or in my case the local bait and tackle shops.
WB
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Knives-Another Hobby
A few more from the same era.
These date to around 1910-1930.
I have quite a few more that I'll post later.
WB
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
Auctions
re: Knives-Another Hobby
Its funny i never wanted anything from my parents belongings...but i kept my Grandfathers little bone handled knife...the blade says "wild turkey hand made". I should sharpen it one day !
Login to Like
this post
09:17:27pm
re: Knives-Another Hobby
I don't know if it's a southern/northern thing or a country/city thing, but I (southern, country) am at a loss without my pocket knife - a small, Buck two-blade knife. How do people open packages/cut cords/clean fingernails/tighten loose screws and many other tasks without a good knife?
Login to Like
this post
Auctions
re: Knives-Another Hobby
We were in Holland last year and one of my brother in laws gave me a REAL Swiss army knife...i can not believe i put it in my carry on bag !!! Good bye Swiss army knife when i went through customs !
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
Phil, do NOT alter the blade. It will kill the value of the knife. I found a knife like that in a storage locker that I bought. Looked it up, and it had a very nice value. But, the owner had sharpened the blade. Sold it for a mere fraction of what I could have gotten if the blade had not been touched. Collectors don't want the knives to be altered.
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
My father-in-law (from Texas) gave me a lovely knife as a Christmas present many years ago but demanded $1 in return. Without question I pulled a one dollar bill out of my wallet and gave it to him, and he said that was good, because you can only buy a knife. If you gift one to someone, that will cut your friendship. How quaint!
Lars
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
Cool WB,
So are those four separate sales display boards? They look like a contemporary competitor of Case knives.
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
In my father's generation (born, say, a century ago) a man often carried a 'penknife' - a slim, one- or two-bladed all-purpose knife easily carried in a jacket pocket, sufficiently light not to distort the hang of the garment. He used this as a paper-knife for opening envelopes, a single-blade scissor for cutting twine (far more frequent 70 years ago than now), a pencil sharpener, or even for cleaning fingernails!
In the 1960s, at boarding school, at the age of 17 and during a dangerous period, I carried a miniature sheathed knife with a 2-inch blade for 'self-protection', although it was more likely a pathetic attempt at bumping up my bruised masculinity. I never used it in anger (thank goodness) but felt I might have done if cornered.
Since then I have owned the heavy, chunky and deliberately macho 'Swiss Army' knife in a number of its many guises. It is not easily carried about on one's person - mine now remains in my desk and is used rarely. At a Jewish commemoration of the Holocaust some years ago it was temporarily removed from my bag during the event and returned afterwards.
In Britain today the carrying of a knife has uneasy overtones most usually associated with young men living in areas where the necessity of self-defence is seen as vital. The large army-issue multi-purpose monster I picked up abandoned on Woodbury Common (an army training ground) had a useful built-in compass and what I later realised was a garrotting wire! I would not be legally permitted to carry that around today - the blade is too massive.
Knife-carrying among young British men certainly has an element of pathetic bravado, but is far too serious a matter in terms of fatalities to ignore, which is why there is strict, though barely enforceable legislation against it.
Another contrast, I am thinking, between suburban Britain and rural USA!
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
WB,
Neat collection. Do you display them? I like the advertising. Advertising is another area I like to collect. Where do you find these knife displays? Since you have quite a few I wonder if they came from the same source or do you search them out.
This has me thinking about all my other collections. I am a collector by nature I guess.
Vince
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
Oh, you would never catch me out and about without a knife!
I have a large rotation of "carrying" knives, depending on what I see as the days tasks. But, knives are "tools" and in my opinion would only make, at very best a poor weapon, and then only as a last resort. Even the automatic's that I carry are for the ease of use, not because I want to grease my hair back and roll a pack of cigarettes up in my sleeve. They're just handy!
Phil, I have both my maternal and paternal grandads last knives. I even have the kitchen knives both of my grandmas last used. They have very little value other then I wouldn't take any amount of money for them.
Ernie/Vince, I have 5 of the Sportmaster displays, one is an original, the others I had replicas made from it. They are marked as such on the back. I have a couple of other original countertop displays from the same era, but haven't had reproductions made of those. One is a Jackmaster from the same company, the other is a display for miniature vest pocket knives. It was common in the 19th century for gentlemen to attach one to there watch chains, as a fob.
Oddly enough, the origins of both "pocket" knives and stamps can be traced back to about the same time frame and countries. Some of the earliest pocket knives were produced in Sheffield around the middle of the 19th century.
As far as a north/south thing, it's true, us southern boys do like our knives. But the fact is, most of the major knife manufacturers are or were established along the river systems in the northeast. In fact, it was a key element during the civil war. The south ended up depending, primarily, on knives imported from Germany and England and as you might guess, shortages were common. Many southern soldiers even carried knives from their mamas kitchen!
Here's a few Scout/camp knives from my collection. Some are BSA authorized and a few date back to the turn of the century.
WB
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Knives-Another Hobby
White Buffalo:
As a Canadian Rover Scout, all I can say is "Wow"!
David
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
Thanks guys!
David, I thought you might have a heightened appreciation for the Scout knives.
Here's one that's near and dear. It was customized by Navajo jeweler/artist, David Yellowhorse. It's decked out in genuine Turquoise, Onyx, Ebony, sterling silver and highly detailed blade engravings. The White Buffalo handle shields were hand cut and fully inlaid. Even the leather sheath with rattlesnake insert was handmade.
WB
3 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: Knives-Another Hobby
I built this display out of a gutted 1949 Admiral radio. It houses about half of a collection I've been working on for well over 30 years. The complete collection consists of one of every knife produced by Imperial Schrade Knife Company in the pearly handles. That includes every tang stamp, handle shield and blade configuration. If I'm missing any, they must have been made in extremely low quantities.
These were commissioned by the company to be hand painted by a local artist in Providence RI. They were sold through resort gift shops in Arizona and New Mexico.
The miniature switchblade is a tough one to find in mint condition, but the fishermans knife is the only one I've ever seen.
Believe it or not, I DO have more stamps then I do knives.
WB
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
When it comes to knives, pattern collectors are sort of the equivalent to a topical stamp collector. You sort of land on a pattern or topic that suits you and build from there.
As you might have guessed, the toothpick/powderhorn pattern is mine. About half of these you come across, are built with the fisherman in mind. Fish scaling blades, hook removers and a long slender blade for cleaning fish. Bear in mind, when these knives were created, very few fisherman would fillet their catch. The norm was to scale, gut and behead the fish and fry it whole. My grandpa would've had it no other way!
Here's a few more from the collection.
Yellow was a popular color,
So was black,
But they came in all different colors too,
and there's always an exception to the rule,
WB
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
I have a knife I inherited from my grandfather. He had very large hands, so normal knives were fiddly and small for him. He took a pocketknife, took of the casing and put it between two larger, longer pieces of steel. For the part of the new steel grips that extended beyond the length of the pocket knife, he filled with a whittled piece of wood. Then he bolted it together with copper rivets.
It's the weirdest looking thing you have ever seen, The blade is about 35% the length of the grips, but it fits well in my large hands.
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
Awesome! I love owner modified knives, I have a few too.
...but, there are other solutions to the big hands/small knife problem.
These come in at about 8-1/2" to 9" long(closed) and about a pound apiece.
Best be wearing suspenders when you carry one of these.
WB
P.S. Their actual intended purpose was for store front displays.
Login to Like
this post
02:18:51pm
re: Knives-Another Hobby
I'm amazed at the variety of knives that you have collected!
I love your Admiral radio display! What a wonderful way to re-purpose!
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
Thanks KZ!
Here's one for the modeling crowd. These were contract built for Strombecker(slotcars)back in the 60's, at a time when slotcar racing was at a peak. I bought this one at a local track in my hometown around 1965. I've wondered lately, if model railroading ever had a similar knife, or any need of it? I've never come across one.
WB
1 Member
likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: Knives-Another Hobby
WB,
Neat knife. If I ever come across one of them I would definitely have to add it to my collection of odds and ends. I was big into slot car racing as as kid.
I imagine there are other "specialty" knives around made for particular applications
Vince
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
Thanks Vince.
My brother and I raced 1/32 scale and I eventually got into 1/64(or HO) scale toward the end. It all fizzled out when the local track closed down in the early 70's.
Almost all knives, when first designed, were made with a specific purpose in mind. But in the end, very few were actually accepted as specialized tools within a given trade or hobby. The "stockman" and the "whittler" are good examples. Both were designed for their named purpose, but neither are actually carried solely by cowboys and wood carvers.
Anymore, most people that carry a pocket knife settle for a cheap knockoff that was made in one of the pacific rim countries and don't realize that quality is even an issue. Over the past decade, the U.S. has seen the closing of over a dozen knife companies that had been around for well over a hundred years and played a huge role during both WWI and WWII, as well as, Korea and Vietnam. Then, to add insult to injury, many of the trademarks from those companies have been bought by foreign interests, manufactured in those countries and are now marketed here America. Another sad chapter in American industry.
WB
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
Whitebuffalo, maybe a suggestion for your next holiday.
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170425-europes-surprising-knife-capital
You could even sample the local wines.
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
Excellent article, but no pics?! Really?!
I would love to tour the knife capitals of the world, Thiers, Sheffield, Solengen, etc...Maybe after I retire.
I've had the good fortune of touring many of the U.S. knife factories over the years, always fun to see how it's done. All too many have had to close their doors. While most would see a knife as just a knife, it is surprising how the methods of production vary from one company to the next. I've also visited several custom makers, their methods are just as varied and awe inspiring to boot!
Thanks for posting that sheepshanks, it was a fun read!
WB
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
You're welcome, cutting edge technology, fascinating.
Login to Like
this post
re: Knives-Another Hobby
"cutting edge technology"
WB
Login to Like
this post