Tuna Valley Cutlery Co., Excelsior Knife Co., & Napanoch Knife Co. are three popular brands currently controlled by The Daniels family. These are old names that went dormant for years, but have since been brought back to life with modern offerings. This forum is here to discuss & show off knives & related items with brand names under the Daniels Family umbrella.
Rookie wrote: ↑Tue May 09, 2023 6:26 pm
Here is another prototype knife from 2022. This is the Old Man Norman pattern, with handles again by Mammoth Mike. These are blue crosscut ivory.
David
"Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife" Meat Loaf
During the Queen era of Tuna Valley knives (2012-2017) they had jeweler Damon Soileau of Oiseau Metal Arts do hand engraving on the bolsters for all their mammoth ivory releases, along with hand fluting the ends of the ivory itself. Pretty unique. I'm not sure anyone else does that with ivory other than maybe a few custom makers.
The new Phoenix Jack knives had a series of different prototypes to try different options, grinds, handles, etc. This one is a sample from early 2020 that had jigged Bourbon Bone handles with Raindrop Damascus blade.
USN 2000-2006
Adaptable and (usually) affable knife enthusiast, unsure of his knife collecting destination but enjoying the journey
Case taste, Rough Ryder budget
Rookie wrote: ↑Sun May 14, 2023 1:10 pm
This unique one is a prototype of the Phoenix Jack, but with copper bolster, ironwood handle, and blade cutout instead of a nail pull. Made in 2021.
I would break my current no-knife-buying vow in 2.2 seconds for that one; so, it's probably a good thing it never went into production. Love everything about it. Beautiful.
USN 2000-2006
Adaptable and (usually) affable knife enthusiast, unsure of his knife collecting destination but enjoying the journey
Case taste, Rough Ryder budget
The one that started it all for me. Original 1906 Tuna, made in Germany and sold by Case. My grandfather came across this one, and eventually it passed down to me.
USN 2000-2006
Adaptable and (usually) affable knife enthusiast, unsure of his knife collecting destination but enjoying the journey
Case taste, Rough Ryder budget
This prototype knife was a proposal for a group knife. The final version ended up being giraffe bone instead of blue sawcut, and instead of a spear blade it had a lambsfoot and a caplifter secondary. It also ended up carbon steel from the Napanoch knife brand, instead of the CM154 from the Tuna Valley brand. So really almost ever part of it was changed from the original prototype!
Rookie wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 11:57 pm
This prototype knife was a proposal for a group knife. The final version ended up being giraffe bone instead of blue sawcut, and instead of a spear blade it had a lambsfoot and a caplifter secondary. It also ended up carbon steel from the Napanoch knife brand, instead of the CM154 from the Tuna Valley brand. So really almost ever part of it was changed from the original prototype!
A shame. The blue bone and spear point make for a good looking knife.
David
"Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife" Meat Loaf