Can anyone put a year on my OVB Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett Co. knife?

[Bigs1972]

I just recently got this Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett Co. OVB pocket knife. I was wondering if there's anyone that can tell me when it was made. Thank you in advance!

[Mumbleypeg]

Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. was in business from 1855-1950. The company was a hardware distributor, they did not make knives. They contracted with several cutleries to produce knives stamped with various company-owned brands. OVB (Our Very Best) was their top-of-the-line brand. Unfortunately for us collectors, they rarely if ever changed their stamps, making it very difficult to determine a knife’s age from its stamp. Maybe if someone has reprints or copies of old HSB & Co. catalogs they might be able to find one like yours. Otherwise just from its appearance my semi-educated guess is 1920-1950s. If those are iron bolsters, possibly WWII era.

Welcome to AAPK. Wish I had a better answer.

Ken

[Paladin]

Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. was in business from 1855-1950. The company was a hardware distributor, they did not make knives. They contracted with several cutleries to produce knives stamped with various company-owned brands. OVB (Our Very Best) was their top-of-the-line brand. Unfortunately for us collectors, they rarely if ever changed their stamps, making it very difficult to determine a knife’s age from its stamp. Maybe if someone has reprints or copies of old HSB & Co. catalogs they might be able to find one like yours. Otherwise just from its appearance my semi-educated guess is 1920-1950s. If those are iron bolsters, possibly WWII era.

Welcome to AAPK. Wish I had a better answer.

Ken

Good answer and I agree with your estimate on the age of the knife. I think Case created unreasonable expectations about the age of knives when they introduced the dot system in 1970. Most knives cannot be 'aged' like a Case is 'aged'.

Ray

[Ridgegrass]

Are those handles some kind of composite? Can't tell from the pics. Maybe that could narrow it down a bit? Good luck with it. J.O'.