5 Blade Anglo Saxon Whittlers

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Adog
Posts: 130
Joined: Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:04 am

5 Blade Anglo Saxon Whittlers

Post by Adog »

Does anyone know if there were actually any of these made with the Spiderweb Mastodon Ivory handles?
I have been told that they were never made with this type of material. That the COA's were made and the first of the knives were sold but they could not find the Spiderweb Mastodon for the knives, if anyone has one could you please post a picture, or if anyone can verify that they were or not made, thanks Adog
Targetman
Posts: 138
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2018 6:15 pm

Re: 5 Blade Anglo Saxon Whittlers

Post by Targetman »

Hello Adog, I will post here for all to see instead of a PM to you only.
Back in 2004 when Jim Parker released the 5 blade Anglo Saxon whittlers, I was at his June 2004 knife show and was purchasing these knives from him.
I do remember seeing 1 Spider web bark mastadon ivory 5 blade whittler that was displayed in a case that was separate from his regular stock 5 blades. I actually held it in my hands and inspected it. If memory serves Jim had a price of $295 on it. I remember thinking how ugly it was because instead of a network of small spiderweb cracks, it had deep cracks that appeared to make the handles look like it would fall apart if you touched it.
I'm sure it had been treated with stabilizers to prevent any more cracking, but to me it was plain ugly and I didn't even consider buying it. I just bought the bark and interior mastadon ivories he had. Now, after saying that, I never saw or heard of anymore spider web 5 blades offered again...whether in his catalog or his fall show.
I looked in all my monthly catalogs he sent me and there is no mention of spider web ivories for sale in any catalog from 2004. Also nothing after Nov 2004 when Jim passed away and his son "Buzz" took over. In Jim's knife collecting guides #7 and #8, he mentions the spider web 5 blades with a production of 8 examples but there were no pictures.
I don't recall, when I held the spider web in my hands, if it was marked prototype or not, or if this was a unique piece due to the difficulty of possibly finding quality handle scales. It may just be a unique 5 blade knife that is in someone's collection out there in the collecting world. Good luck in your collecting endeavors and I hope my experience with the 5 blade whittler helps you somewhat.
Totally unrelated to the above, in Jim Parkers 2004 catalog, page 3, he lists without pictures, some 5 blade Anglo Saxon whittler prototypes in bonestag. When I called him he had sold all but a wormgroove example, so I bought that. So, there are a few bonestag examples out there also. Thanks for letting me ramble on.
Adog
Posts: 130
Joined: Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:04 am

Re: 5 Blade Anglo Saxon Whittlers

Post by Adog »

Thanks for your help with this information, I am also not a fan of fractured Mastodon Ivory, but if one would come up for sale, I would have to try and get it. Thanks again for your help, Adog
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