Looking for some info on this old John Primble India Steel Works

[Ridgegrass]

The knife style is an easy-open, teardrop jack. It was sold by Belknap Hardware in Louisville, KY. or through their catalog. The handle is clear celluloid over a glitter sheet. It may have been made in U.S.A. It may have been made in Germany as Belknap also imported knives. It should be marked with the country of origin somewhere on the blade tang. Try pencil lead around the mark to see it better. Won't hurt and you can erase it.
The "India Steel Works" title was used from 1890-1940 but dating it within that range would be difficult. Folks on this site may have some catalog reprints for Primble. Be patient as they may come forward. It appears to be well used but still somewhat collectable. The celluloid has shrunk considerably and could get worse and damage the metal of the knife. I'm not someone to put a dollar value on it, sorry. I'd just say it isn't highly valuable in that condition.

Good Luck with it. J.O'.

[Mumbleypeg]

Pre-1965 items made in U.S.A. for sale in the U.S.A. did not have to be marked with country of origin. U.S customs laws were changed to require the U.S.A. marking on such items beginning in 1965.

Ken

[Ridgegrass]

I should have made that clearer. I should have said ,if it was made in Germany, it would be marked with that origin, maybe on the pile side of the tang. Sorry for the confusing statement. Without a "Germany" mark its likely a "jobbed" knife by one of Belknap's American sources. J.O'.

[Reverand]

I hope that I am wrong, but I believe that the mark side handle is outgassing.
The pile side handle is golden glitter, but the front has green in the center and black around all of the pins and the shield. I believe that both are caused by corrosion from outgassing.

[just bob]

https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... p-hardware

[Reverand]

Post as you need to, KyTeamster.
As far as outgassing, when synthetic handles were made of celluloid (before plastic), over time the chemicals can break down. One of the products that is released is sulphuric acid gas. It will break down the metal in a knife. When this happens you may see the handles shrink, crack, and change colors. The steel will rust, the brass tarnish, and the silver nickel turns dark.
There is no way to predict when/if it will happen, or to stop it when it begins. The handles would have to be replaced to save the knife.
That main blade shows a lot of wear from uneven sharpening, but the knife would be worth saving, in my opinion.

[Gumshoe]

Here is a clue as to who made this knife in the USA. It is tang stamped "Imperial Providence."

[Mumbleypeg]

Btw I have a bunch of other knives I’m curious about. I just joined and don’t want to spam the forum. What’s the rules for asking about different knives? Some I’m just not sure about because the tang stamp is partially worn off. I always check eBay and anything I can find first but just was curious about posting here. Thanks again for the help.

Don’t worry about it. Anything you have a question about you’re welcome to ask. We like pictures, and in most cases that's the best (and often only) way we can help.

You can however help yourself a lot by utilizing resources right here on AAPK, such as the “Research” section (found by clicking on Research in the header at the top of this page). There is also a keyword “Search” tool, found by clicking on Quicklinks on the upper left of this thread. From the forum home page https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_forum/ you’ll find many brand-specific forums. Those are good places to find info about many brands, and a good place to post questions about those knives.

Have fun!

Ken

[Mumbleypeg]

My recommendation is to post them each individually, in the appropriate forum. If you have a question about a Case, post it in the Case Collector’s forum, Schrade in the Schrade forum, etc. The reason is because some members set their profile to subscribe to forums they have interest in, so if it’s a brand they collect they get a notification for every new post in that forum. They may only look at those posts because that’s their primary area of interest. And those folks are likely to have some expertise on the brands they subscribe to, and answers to your questions.

At the same time every new post, regardless what forum, comes to the top in “new posts”. So if that’s how you browse, you’ll see them all anyway unless your log in frequency is such that posts can come and go as “new” (not sure what the timing is on how long posts stay in the “new” category).

In any case don’t worry about “spamming”.

Ken