Imperial Mexico

[New_Windsor_NY]

Today this knife becomes the latest addition to my "South Of The Border" collection.....

Nice one . Now that you've got more Cumosas than anyone else, I have a question for you. The EDGECOs were sold as kits and put together by the buyer. I don't believe Mexico had the same laws against automatics as the US so it's more likely the Pastor Aleman was assembled at the factory. Have you noticed any differences between them?

Ahhh......but I don't have them all, yet. The only difference(s) between the four knives is just between the PASTOR ALEMAN and the EDGECO knives. All the EDGECO knives have wooden handles, the PASTOR ALEMAN handle is "plastic." Obviously the tang stamps are completely different. One EDGECO knife has a different tang stamp from the other two EDGECO knives. That is it! They all measure the same closed and open, 4 3/8" closed and 7 5/8" open. The blades are all shaped exactly the same. I put all four on top of each other closed and open. I looked straight down on them and not one stood out over the others. They were all perfectly lined up. So basically it's just the handle material and tang stamps that are different.
Click on a picture to ENLARGE.

[New_Windsor_NY]

This morning this knife became the latest addition to my "South Of The Border" collection. It's another PASTOR ALEMAN (German Shepherd), 2 blade with bottle opener/cap lifter, pocket knife. This knife "brand" is part of the Imperial and Colonial, Mexico story/connection. I gave the blades a gentle cleaning. I left the handles alone as I didn't want to chance ruining the graphics. Here is the knife, as jxr1197 (Jason) says the pattern is called, "Ticket To Dance."

[New_Windsor_NY]

I purchased this knife yesterday. Another, soon to be, member of my growing "South Of The Border" collection. It's an Imperial "HECHO EN MEXICO," single blade, 2 tools pocket knife with bail. It looks like it's in pretty decent condition. When I receive it, I'll check it out. Pictures will be taken and posted in the appropriate location(s).

[jxr1197]

I purchased this knife yesterday. Another, soon to be, member of my growing "South Of The Border" collection. It's an Imperial "HECHO EN MEXICO," single blade, 2 tools pocket knife with bail. It looks like it's in pretty decent condition. When I receive it, I'll check it out. Pictures will be taken and posted in the appropriate location(s).

Neat! That knife connects a lot of dots. Bowman opened in 1927 and that's a 40th year knife so 1967. Why would an American company go all the way to Mexico to buy knives? They didn't go anywhere - they were already there. Bowman is a division of Barnes Group and Barnes bought Cuchilleria Imperial in 1964. Nice catch

[New_Windsor_NY]

I purchased this knife yesterday.....

Neat! That knife connects a lot of dots. Bowman opened in 1927 and that's a 40th year knife so 1967. Why would an American company go all the way to Mexico to buy knives? They didn't go anywhere - they were already there. Bowman is a division of Barnes Group and Barnes bought Cuchilleria Imperial in 1964. Nice catch

Thank you Jason. It may connect some dots for you. For me, it just adds to the confusion. But, it's a nice confusion.

[New_Windsor_NY]

This knife arrived today. The newest, to me, member of my growing "South Of The Border" collection. It's an IMPERIAL "HECHO EN MEXICO," single blade, 2 tools pocket knife, with bail. It's in GREAT condition and needed no cleaning at all. Here it is.

[jxr1197]

I was inspired by that Bowman you found Skip. I looked around and it didn't take long to land one. This is a Barnes-Imperial knife with a non-sensical tang stamp. I think they may have been trying to make a stamp to look like their logo but it went horribly wrong. The pattern doesn't match up to any of the earlier Hechos that I'm aware of and the quality is markedly lower. There are burs on the edge of the handle and rivet heads that are sharp enough to draw blood. ¡Este no es amigo!

[New_Windsor_NY]

I was inspired by that Bowman.....

I don't get that tang stamp either. But, it's still a member of the familia. It's still a nice looking knife. It's that Uncle that nobody wants to talk about. That tang stamp..........

[New_Windsor_NY]

Here are pictures of the Bowman logo and the, what the is it, tang stamp. Was it a badly executed attempt at stamping the Bowman logo or the other logo?::shrug::
I made the pictures black & white to clear them up a bit.

[jxr1197]

Here are pictures of the Bowman logo and the, what the is it, tang stamp. Was it a badly executed attempt at stamping the Bowman logo or the other logo?::shrug::
I made the pictures black & white to clear them up a bit.

The closer you look at this hot mess the more it looks like someone just let their kid design it. I have no idea what it's supposed to be. It's not even round - it's an amorphous dent in the tang with some other stuff in it. If that's what they were going for, they nailed it!

[New_Windsor_NY]

Here are pictures.....

The closer you.....

Jason, are you positive that your Bowman is the same company as my Bowman? I think yours is a different company.
Google Bowman Barnes and select "images", see what you get.

[jxr1197]

Jason, are you positive that your Bowman is the same company as my Bowman? I think yours is a different company.
Google Bowman Barnes and select "images", see what you get.

I didn't look it up until I read your comment but it turns out Bowman Products Division of Associated Spring (Barnes) became the "new" name for The Bowman Products Co which seems to have changed over sometime in the mid 1960s. I haven't found when it changed to Bowman Distribution, but it seems overwhelmingly likely it's the same company. A neat thing about learning this means you can really nail down the date of your knife to somewhere in the '64-'66 range. Take a look at this excerpt from the Federal Register, Volume 33:

https://books.google.com/books?id=NvFIy ... co&f=false

[New_Windsor_NY]

Jason, are you positive.....

I didn't look it up until.....

Thank you Jason, I looked at it.

[New_Windsor_NY]

I just acquired these three knives from the same vendor. All three are part of the Imperial and Colonial, Mexico connection. They are all PASTOR ALEMAN (German Shepherd), multi-blade & tool pocket knives. It looks like all three are going to need some degree of cleaning. When they arrive, sometime early in July, I'll do what's necessary. Pictures will be taken and posted in the appropriate location(s). Not my pictures, here they are.

[jxr1197]

I just acquired these three knives from the same vendor.

You got three nice Colonials there. I'm curious about the advertising knife, I can't quite make it out. I'm guessing you already noticed that falcon head pastor aleman over on the' bay. That's not from any of the makers we already associate with the mark. It's a classic Mexican design I'm sure made by some other company south of the border.

[New_Windsor_NY]

I just acquired these three knives from the same vendor.

You got three nice Colonials there.....

Thank you Jason. I haven't seen the falcon head pastor aleman. This one is still there though.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-PASTOR ... Sw1G1ZtDbW

[jxr1197]

here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pastor-Aleman- ... SwHjxe58Um

[New_Windsor_NY]

I purchased this knife this morning. It will be added to my "South Of The Border" collection. It is an IMPERIAL, 2 blade, 1 tool (corkscrew), "HECHO EN MEXICO" pocket knife. It also has a "Deer Head" on the handle, this qualifies it for zoo residency. This knife "brand" is part of the Imperial and Colonial, Mexico story/connection. It appears to be in good condition. When I receive it, I'll give it the once over, take some pictures and post them in the appropriate location(s).

[New_Windsor_NY]

Today, these 3 pocket knives join my "South Of The Border" collection. First up, a PASTOR ALEMAN (German Shepherd), single blade, 3 tool pocket knife. It had advertising on the handle, I can't read what's left. This knife is part of the Imperial and Colonial, Mexico connection. It required a good cleaning, I did what I could. Next is a PASTOR ALEMAN (German Shepherd), 2 blade, 1 tool pocket knife. This knife is part of the Imperial and Colonial, Mexico connection. It required a good cleaning, I did what I could. Finally, a PASTOR ALEMAN (German Shepherd), 3 blade, 2 tool pocket knife. This pocket knife has two tang stamps. It looks like it had a fourth blade or a third tool, only the stub remains. This knife is part of the Imperial and Colonial, Mexico connection. It needed a massive cleaning, it got one. I took some pictures and here are the knives.

[jxr1197]

Here’s one that threw me for a loop. The knife was sent to me from a friend down under who knows how much these Hechos fascinate me. It’s a common moose pattern that they used a lot and this one has one black and one white scale – again very familiar and normally seen with dominoes stamped on both sides. This knife doesn’t have the dominoes – maybe they faded. The weirdness is in the bolsters because it shouldn’t have any. Every Imperial Hecho in this pattern I have seen is a shadow. That is true of the Imperial Hecho, The Barnes Hecho and the Monterrey Hecho. Now that I got my hands on it the mystery is partly solved. The knife is a shadow. Those bolsters are ON TOP of the scales instead of being in lieu of the scales at the ends. The bolsters were fit over the ends and then pinned back together. The bolsters float a little and can be easily moved making it feel flimsy but the knife is actually pretty tight. My first thought was the knife was modded on someone’s kitchen table but where would you find hollow bolsters that exactly fit this knife? In looking at Skip’s knife above (which I originally thought was a Colonial) it seems this is not a one off. How ‘bout it Skip – are those bolsters the same, snapped over an existing shadow scale? Or are they regular solid bolsters attached to the liner with the handles fit in between them?

[New_Windsor_NY]

..... The knife is a shadow. Those bolsters are ON TOP of the scales instead of being in lieu of the scales at the ends. The bolsters were fit over the ends and then pinned back together. The bolsters float a little and can be easily moved making it feel flimsy but the knife is actually pretty tight. How ‘bout it Skip – are those bolsters the same, snapped over an existing shadow scale? Or are they regular solid bolsters attached to the liner with the handles fit in between them?

You got yourself another nice one. With mine, it's the same story. All 4 bolsters are on top of the scales and can be moved/wiggled. Three of them quite easily.

[New_Windsor_NY]

Today this knife gets added to my "South Of The Border" collection. It is an Imperial, 2 blade, 1 tool (corkscrew), "HECHO EN MEXICO" pocket knife. It also has a "Deer Head" on the handle, this qualifies it for zoo residency. This knife "brand" is part of the Imperial and Colonial, Mexico story/connection. It didn't require any cleaning. I took a few pictures and here it is.

[Meridian_Mike]

Nice one Skip....
I see that deer peeking back at me.

[New_Windsor_NY]

Nice one Skip....
I see that deer peeking back at me.

Thank you Mike.

[New_Windsor_NY]

This morning I'm adding this knife to my "South Of The Border" collection. It's a PASTOR ALEMAN (German Shepherd), single blade, pocket knife. It measures 5 3/8" closed and 9 1/2" open. This knife "brand" is part of the Imperial and Colonial, Mexico story/connection. I gave the blade a gentle cleaning. I left the handles alone as I didn't want to chance ruining the graphics. I took a few pictures and here it is.