All About Pocket Knives

Pretty nice John.

wlf wrote:Pretty nice John.

Thanks Lyle, I do like these old ones, lots of character.

Very nice John ... really an every day workman's knife... tough to find a vintage barlow that not well used... and why I have only one which also is of lower grade condition until something better comes along... been years and still waiting...

Nice old barlow, John!

I picked up a few Keen Kutters at the OKCA show this year.

A few more.

Awesome KK scores at OKCA Dan ... They are all beauties in super condition but the Physician’s Knife is a stunner and really caught my eye - The KK stamp on bottom of rear bolster is very cool ... nice full blades on the EO too ...

That's quite a haul you obtained there Dan!!! That must have been some show!!!

Thanks Lee and Ken. It was quite a show!

I looked and looked for this thread when I got this Keen Kutter back from Muskrat Man and couldn’t find it. Here is the before and after. I know the main blade is too short but it was all I could find w/ the same St Louis tang stamp. This is a solid knife and feels great in hand. The handles and bolsters were in such good shape I thought it was worth saving. Need to sharpen it and clean up that edge and it will be ready for anything.
SSk

danno50 wrote:A few more.

Danno, Those are some of the finest pearl KK’s I have ever seen. Marvelous.
SSk

danno50 wrote:I picked up a few Keen Kutters at the OKCA show this year.

Congratulations, Dan, on your beautiful knives.
And thanks for all the pictures from the trip to Oregon.

Looks like you had a great show Dan, love that easy open jack!

Great stuff Dan but the English Jack oh baby!!

Nice haul Dan!I'm partial to the English Jack also.That's the kind of knives you go to knife shows for.

Thanks for the kind comments Joe, John, Mike and Roger. Missed you at the show, Mike.

Thanks Dan, missed not being there for sure. Glad you got some gems.

Dan you certainly made a good decision in making Keen Kutter brand your collecting focus. They are well made and the variety of patterns is very wide. There will always be ones you have yet to find.
Please excuse my 'confusion' but did E.C.Simmons manufacture these knives or are they contract knives ?
kj

kootenay joe wrote:Dan you certainly made a good decision in making Keen Kutter brand your collecting focus. They are well made and the variety of patterns is very wide. There will always be ones you have yet to find.
Please excuse my 'confusion' but did E.C.Simmons manufacture these knives or are they contract knives ?
kj

E.C Simmons Hardware Co. was a hardware company who sold pretty much everything. However, they took knives very seriously, having salesman who were dedicated to selling knives specifically. Prior to 1902, a lot of their knives were made by the Walden Knife Co. and likely some other manufacturers as well? In 1902, Simmons bought the Walden Knife Co. From that time until sometime in 1922 the vast majority of their knives were manufactured by Walden. The name Keen Kutter had been use since the beginning and the wedge and bar logo was adopted in 1905. In 1922 Simmons merged with Winchester. Winchester took over manufacturing of the knives and Simmons looked after the distribution. In 1929, Simmons and Winchester went their separate ways. From then until July 1940, when Shapleigh bought out Simmons, knives were manufactured by Winchester and Camillus, and maybe some other manufacturers?
Sorry for the longwinded answer to a simple question. However, to me, Simmons was more than just a hardware distributor of knives, as knives were important enough to the company that they bought a cutlerly company and subsequently merged with another one.

There is more information on this on page 23 of this thread.

and maybe some other manufacturers?
Schrade made knives for them as well. More recently Bear has made Keen Kutters.
SSk

SSK, sorry, forgot to comment on your posted knife. Great that you found blades for it, looks good!
Yes, Schrade did make Keen Kutters, but not for Simmons. The Schrade made KKs are from the 1950s after Shapleigh took over the name. I focus on the pre 1940 Simmons Keen Kutters.

danno50 wrote:SSK, sorry, forgot to comment on your posted knife. Great that you found blades for it, looks good!
Yes, Schrade did make Keen Kutters, but not for Simmons. The Schrade made KKs are from the 1950s after Shapleigh took over the name. I focus on the pre 1940 Simmons Keen Kutters.

Thanks Dan, I lost my book on Keen Kutters and couldn’t remember the time frame for Schrade.
I wish the blades had been the correct size, but it’s hard to find the exact right blades for this one. There are no “donor knives” out there to choose from on this model.
I’m still awed by the pearls that were posted, those are incredible.
SSk

Here is a Walden letter dated 1926 showing they were the sole makers of KK knives.

Good info Dan, just for the record Simmons did not actually buy Walden knife. When George Weller, a principle share holder retired Simmons purchased his stock in the company. They gained a controlling interest in the company. This was pretty much how Simmons did business. When possible they would gain control of the quality and availability of the products they sold. Many if not all of the reference books state that Winchester moved all the equipment out of Walden and that production in Walden ceased but that is simply incorrect. Mikes letter here is dated 1926 and the auction papers are dated 1928. I’ve read that worked actually ended in 1927. What knives were actually made there Is anyone’s guess. I spoke on the phone not long ago with the Walden historian and she told me that Enders was making knives in there for a time. I’ve read where Enders worked for Simmons and had a unique relationship with them.

Dan & others thanks so much for these E.C.Simmons/Keen Kutter details. It is a bit complex: Simmons owned the knife company that was making their knives but they did not run the knife company. Depending on how you look at the business end E.C.Simmons might qualify as the manufacturer of the K.K. knives. The relationship between E.C.Simmons and the knife manufacturing companies adds intrigue to collecting these knives. There is a lot to figure out for the beginning collector.
kj