All About Pocket Knives

Here is an unusual old shield...........








M.B.

An early Empire shield.

Love that shield, Dimitri! It's The Bomb!
Charlie Noyes

Thanks Charlie!

It is most unusual and very classy for a working man`s knife.

Just goes to show the pride in workmanship these old knife companies had

That is a beauty Charlie!

Dale

Well now....I got one you won't see too often.

On a 3-3/4" dogleg from Eagle, Phila., known for selling seconds, but why was this shield inletted perfectly into the cocobolo handle ?

Fran

Sauconian wrote:a 3-3/4" dogleg from Eagle, Phila., known for selling seconds, but why was this shield inletted perfectly into the cocobolo handle ?

Fran,

A question not easily answered!

Let me start by saying that when I first started collecting old knives three things drew me to them: 1-Bone handles, 2-Larger sizes, and 3-Shields. I like big bone handle knives with a nice shield! With that said, I now wondered how the shield was inletted so precisely on many of the antique knives I was buying.

Being this is KNIFE LORE, this is a good place and time to reveal how this was done in the old days. I recommend everyone that is interested visit this web site for a very informative explanation of the tool, called a PARSER, that was used to inlet shields in knives. It is very low tech but a brilliant idea for a tool to do the job.

SEE HERE http://www.watchman.dsl.pipex.com/two-l ... arser.html

Now Fran,

Back to your question, whatever company made that knife had to have a template like the ones shown in the Parser article to inlet the ebony. The template had to be an exact cut out of the shield, so whoever made the template made it in that shape and then the shield was stamped out of nickle silver to match the template. It must have been a new guy on the job, or he was having a bad day??

In any case that is why it was sold to Eagle as a second.

M.B.

M.B.,

A very informative link you posted. I really enjoy learning how knives are made. That was an interesting bit of info. Wish I could see one of those parsers in use.

Phil

Phil,

Check out this link and see the master Stan Shaw use a Parser like they did over a hunderd years ago!

WATCH THE VIDEO

http://www.mylearning.org/playback-vide ... urceid=498

No video, of course, but I think Geoffrey Tweedle discusses and has serial photos on a parser in use in his Sheffield Knife Book.
Charlie Noyes

Here's an Ebay auction photo for an old ebony handled Robeson coke bottle stabber, with sabre-ground master blade, and a nice crisp bomb shield.

There was another knife like this with bone handles posted on AAPK some time ago. I do not think that knife had a pattern number. This one does. It's 122149.

This is the second one of these I've seen on Ebay. Neither one has had a decent pen blade. Actually, the other one had a small clip in place of the pen, and I'm sure it wasn't original to the knife.

I'd sure like to find one of these in better shape! It's a classic pattern.

This shield is not nearly so nice as that on Dimitri's Empire above.

Charlie Noyes

M.B.,

Thank you for the video link.

Phil

I love these old time shields like the one on this Friedmann & Lauterjung pick lock

Pocketknives on Ebay are an almost endless source for interesting shields.

Here are two I came across today. Both these knives were put up by "Mosh45".

The pearl whittler is reportedly a Waterville, and the bone handled one a Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett.

Interesting shields.

Not my knives, not my auctions, and I'm not bidding.

Charlie Noyes

Phil,

Your welcome!

Mike,

Nice knife and shield

Here is another Friedmann & Lauterjung Celebrated Cutlery knife with an unusual and attractive gold backed tortoise shell shield.

The handles are genuine ivory, the front side has a silver rope inlaid around the outer edge and of course the tortoise shell shield. You don`t see too many knives with an inlaid horn, mother of pearl, or tortoise shell shield. It`s a very attractive combination!

M.B.

Ka-bar Dogs head shield.............

Anyone framiliar with this shield? Mapl-Flake
Is on a 3 5/16" Hibbard Spencer Bartlett and Co. splitback whittler with double pulls

Mapl-Flake. Cereal?
Charlie Noyes

MM,

A quote from a 1914 magazine:

"The Maple Flakes are presumably Mapl-Flake, a direct contribution of the Kellogg family’s Battle Creek company, who invented the whole concept of breakfast cereals in the first place. They are, according to the advertisements of the time “simply the Flakes of the finest Washington white wheat, flavored with pure Vermont maple syrup’ (takes 96 hours to make)”, also conveniently made and served in “leading hotels, clubs and dining car systems” in “‘dainty one-portion package, wrapped in embossed onion-skin paper and sealed with gold seals.”

A picture of the old factory, the knife must have been a giveaway premium.


http://www.willard.lib.mi.us/historical ... 8_4708.htm


M.B.

well i'll be dipped. Thank ye kindly fellers. Awful well made promotion item . first time I can recall double pulls on such a short knife

MM,

Can I see a picture with the blades open?



Thanks

certainly.

MM,

Thanks, nice old knife and an unusual shield


Here is a Miller Bro`s Burr Oak Cut plug acorn shield, every shield was hand cut a differs slightly from the others I have seen.

A very attractive old shield!



M.B.

Nice shield, Dimitri.
There was a Burr Oak MB listed on Ebay this past week.
Charlie Noyes

Beauties!!

Great Stuff!! How about a full frontal on that Burr Oak, lift her skirt and let's see her blades too!! LOL

EDIT: Never mind, I just saw that pretty over in the next post.. THAT is truly GORGEOUS!!