All About Pocket Knives

Did anyone see the article in the Dec 2018 issue of Knife Magazine that Courtney and Ryan Daniels still have the rights to the Tuna Valley name, and they plan to continue making new releases under this brand. I am excited to see what comes out in 2019.

Do you know who will be making them.
I talked to Ryan Daniels this summer at the Indiana Knife Collectors show in Anderson IN.
He said they would be making Tuna Valley, but he didn't know who would be making them, or at least he wasn't saying.

He said he has a small sized custom maker who is geared up to handle 25-50 piece production runs. He didn't say who, or where, other than saying they are in the US. Once I see him in person, and after a new one has been released, I'll talk with him about it more.

Also, his new website has a very thorough photo gallery of all prior Tuna Valley knives. http://www.danielsfamilyknifebrands.com

I missed out on a beautiful Tuna Valley stag humpback
whittler this morning on eBay.
My high bid was $202.00 and it went for $240.00.
I believe there were 2 other bidders.
That's a pretty lofty price and lots of last minute action, in my opinion, considering that
it sold on a weekday at 11:30am. I know that the bids were not automatic.
I'm a sucker for Tuna Valley Knives.
I bought a nice mammoth-handled Cattleman from Frank's Classic Knives this week and can't wait to receive it.
I especially like the mammoth handled knives with the
engraved bolsters. But I love their stag-handled knives, too.
I'm surprised that there doesn't seem to be much interest on this
message board. Are TV knives still being made or did
the company go out of business?

TV are the main focus of my collection. But you are correct, there is not a lot of buyers for them it seems on AAPK or BladeForumes. However, on Facebook they bring very high prices, even higher than on Ebay.

Tuna Valley is a brand name owned by the Daniels Family. Previously, the knives were being made by Queen Cutlery, since the Daniels also owned that factory. However, since Queen closed their doors in January 2018, there haven't been any new releases of the Tuna Valley brand. But Ryan Daniels still owns the rights to it, and is attempting to relaunch the brand again sometime in 2019.

They have a new website up with a lot of information and history about the Tuna Valley name.

http://www.danielsfamilyknifebrands.com

I spoke to Ryan at the SVCC show and he is working on some stellar folders. He showed me an example, the fit and finish were off the charts

Rookie wrote:TV are the main focus of my collection. But you are correct, there is not a lot of buyers for them it seems on AAPK or BladeForumes. However, on Facebook they bring very high prices, even higher than on Ebay.
http://www.danielsfamilyknifebrands.com

Here is how I see it.

A Tuna Valley knife is kind of expensive for someone who is not a dedicated collector to choose to buy. But if you never buy one, or even handle one, how do you become a fan and want to collect them? Well, GEC somehow broke through that barrier so I guess there is hope for smaller brands.

I do not have any Tuna Valley knives. I would like to come across someone at a Gun and Knife show who had a couple of Tuna Valleys to examine, but I have never even seen one other than on the Internet. I will be interested to learn who TV gets to make the next generation.

Which are considered more desirable, collectable, or valuable, the Queen made Tuna Valley knives, or the earlier GEC made Tuna Valley knives ? Or does it make any difference ?

Dinadan wrote:A Tuna Valley knife is kind of expensive for someone who is not a dedicated collector to choose to buy. But if you never buy one, or even handle one, how do you become a fan and want to collect them? Well, GEC somehow broke through that barrier so I guess there is hope for smaller brands.

I do not have any Tuna Valley knives. I would like to come across someone at a Gun and Knife show who had a couple of Tuna Valleys to examine, but I have never even seen one other than on the Internet. I will be interested to learn who TV gets to make the next generation.

I completely understand that. I think that is true with a lot of the more expensive knives, and especially getting into custom knives, or even the Tony Bose knives. It makes perfect sense to want to see it in person before buying. The Tuna line has quite a few dealers lined up for the new release, so hopefully they will be around at more shows in the future for customers to be able to see them in person.

philco wrote:Which are considered more desirable, collectable, or valuable, the Queen made Tuna Valley knives, or the earlier GEC made Tuna Valley knives ? Or does it make any difference

The first year of the resurgence after Perry Miller passed, which was 2012, seem to bring the highest prices. Sometimes nearly 2x what the original selling price was. The cotton samplers and sunfish were made by Queen, and the lockbacks made by GEC. So it doesn't seem to be dependent on the maker, but more on that they are older, fewer in number, and harder to find.

I've been trying to complete my collection, and there are quite a few from 2012 and 2013 that I just can't seem to find (or they are asking too much money). I keep whittling away at the list though. There are over a dozen ones I'm still hunting for, not including the Time-Keeper theme ones. There were 5 patterns of those also made, but they didn't appeal to me like the stag, bone, wood, ivory, or horn did.

philco wrote:Which are considered more desirable, collectable, or valuable, the Queen made Tuna Valley knives, or the earlier GEC made Tuna Valley knives ? Or does it make any difference ?

I am a casual Tuna Valley collector so my opinions are probably even more uninformed than usual. From a serious TV collector perspective I would think that the examples with the fancy engraved bolsters are the most desirable/collectible because there were so few of them made. I tend to like the earlier knives better, more from a pattern perspective than any other reason. I don't like the smaller patterns that TV produced. The mammoth handled examples are amazing... and prohibitively expensive for me to pursue broadly. In many cases, I find the Queen made TV stag handled knives to be too "chunky" for my taste. The GEC made stag knives are preferable to me.

Here are pictures of 2 of my favorite patterns that occasionally go for ride in my pocket. I have 2 of the EO Tear drop in buffalo, the one in the picture is the put away example not the carry example. My opinion is that these 2 compare equal or better to the GEC/Northwoods and CSC that I have.

The mammoth Railsplitter pictured below shows both Mammoth and the fancy engraved bolsters.

I'm looking forward to TV producing some new knives.

Dang Jerry! That Railsplitter is stunning!

RalphAlsip wrote:I'm looking forward to TV producing some new knives.

I do too! Rumor has it they are being worked on right now. If I hear of an expected release date, I'll pass the info along.

BTW, those are wonderful photos of some great looking knives. The EO Teardrop is one of my absolute favorite patterns that TV has released so far.

Keep us posted Rookie! Thanks,

The new Tuna pattern ad is on the Daniels website. Releasing in July! Swayback wharncliff style called the "Phoenix Jack"

http://danielsfamilyknifebrands.com/

Rookie wrote:The new Tuna pattern ad is on the Daniels website. Releasing in July! Swayback wharncliff style called the "Phoenix Jack"

http://danielsfamilyknifebrands.com/

I like the looks of that and the price seems more reasonable.

Rookie wrote:The new Tuna pattern ad is on the Daniels website. Releasing in July! Swayback wharncliff style called the "Phoenix Jack"

http://danielsfamilyknifebrands.com/

Glad to see this. Would you happen to know the closed length?

Under the 2019 Tuna gallery, it has the length listed at 3 5/8 inches closed.

Thank you. I found it. For those interested in reading the text, you will probably need to enlarge the picture by clicking on it. http://danielsfamilyknifebrands.com/tuna2019/. It is pretty much the same information as before (date, quantity, steel, etc.) but does include the length of 3 5/8 on this image.

I took some pictures of the 2012 ones I have, they are really gorgeously made knives.

Awesome RedRider, I love the stag on those. And that dimpled bolster redbone is one I'm still on the hunt for. They don't come up for sale very often.

Rookie wrote:Awesome RedRider, I love the stag on those. And that dimpled bolster redbone is one I'm still on the hunt for. They don't come up for sale very often.

Thanks!

I wasn't initially wild about the dimpled bolster look but it actually looks better to me after it has a little age (patina?) on it.

Found this posted on the Daniels website-

Has anyone seen the new model in the wild yet??

It looks like the release date is now end of September 2019. Don't know why it moved from mid-July.

Yeah, from July 20th to September 31st. (insert thumb twittling emoji here)