Empire Knife Company

[tjmurphy]

Well, I must say you did very well. Very nice display. You may have cornered the market on Empire knives.

[upnorth]

Back in the 19th century, Ivory-handled knives were more common than they are now. I suspect for a few cents more, you got Ivory instead of Ebony. It shows in the old brochure pictured above, actually, if not too clearly.
Mark Zalesky had this aged jack in his sales case at the Oregon show.
A wonderful old, fully functional, snappy thing, showing cues of the early Sheffield ways of doing things.
Arguably my favorite find of the show.
Nearly 3 3/4" long, and less than 7/16" thick with nicely rounded handles, I suspect it was a favorite carry. I don't mind its relic-ey appearance; it maintains all the goodness a beautifully made knife should. Behind the slightly extended bolsters, the joint is clean and square. The swedges are full length, easing it in the pocket.
A simple knife, with a nail nick like a pen blade, and a "bare head", it was not meant for royalty, but the working slob like me!
I'll take it, thanks!

[tjmurphy]

Very nice, congratulations. My appreciation for those old soldiers increases every time I see another one. I still enjoy looking at and handling the "Radio Knife"? that I have. Thanks for sharing.

[ratlesnake75]

Empire Harness Jack--don't laugh at it , because its not mint its a RARE junker!!!! I thought it never hurts to show another EMPIRE, and yes its the same one thats on the bay right now(rusty and with cob webs, uncleaned)--thx Mark

[orvet]

Mark Zalesky had this aged jack in his sales case at the Oregon show.
A wonderful old, fully functional, snappy thing, showing cues of the early Sheffield ways of doing things.
Arguably my favorite find of the show.

Charlie,
That is nice!!
I don't remember seeing it at the show when you showed me your new finds. I must have been half asleep..
I think it's a keeper!

Let me know if you ever need the handles replaced.
I have a fair amount of ivory.

Dale

[upnorth]

Mark found it somewhere in his boxes, and put it out in the last couple of hours of the show, Dale.
Happily, I was there!

[ratlesnake75]

Hellllo EMPIRE LOVERS, I gonna bumb this thread UP, with a JUMBO DOG LEG 3 3/4 inches closed--MIGHTY FAT KNIFE--Thx Mark

[upnorth]

Nice Dogleg snakey!
Did you know they made that big fat dogleg with a clip blade also?

[ratlesnake75]

Thanks Charlie, Funny you should ask that!! Right after I got this knife, My wife and I rushed to AAPK and pulled up your Empire Knife Display and we both stared at it, till we found your dogleg and right beside it was the clip blade version. I appreciate you posting them together and in the up close version. My wife was surprised to find it on your display, I WAS NOT(LOL). Now all we need to do is find the BONE and STAG version(do you believe they made them??)---Thx Mark and Shana

[Miller Bro's]

Now all we need to do is find the BONE and STAG version(do you believe they made them??)---

Mark,

They made them in Jigged Bone, Cocobolo, Ebony, Pearl, and Tortoise Shell.

No stag on these

[upnorth]

What Dimitri said!

They put Pearl on a lot of unlikely knives, besides the usual Pens and Lobsters. I have a Scout that has it, though the blades are pretty beat up.

[Miller Bro's]

Here is a knife I normally would not even look at let alone buy.

It is an all steel Empire pen knife. No bolsters, the handles are the same thickness as brass or steel liners would be, in fact they probably are steel liners that would normally be used under bone or wood handles. You can`t make a knife much cheaper than this in it`s day.

The thing that caught my attention was the acid etching on the front handle, "Compliments of C. L. Alvord".

Who was C. L. Alvord you ask?

He was the president of Empire Knife Company from 1890-1920.

He must have given these out to people as gifts during his involvement with the company.

An interesting piece of history with a name attached to it.

[upnorth]

Nice bit of history, Dimitri! I am envious!
Here is an actual Empire skeleton to compare it to. A bit of a double strike on the tang.
The screw point tucks nicely into the liners. And everything moves and snaps like a fine machine.

[Miller Bro's]

Thanks Charlie

Here is another interesting knife by Empire.

It looks like the usual pen knife, but a look closer tells a different story.

The manicure blade is stamped Empire, but the pen blade is stamped England and a letter "S" with a sword down the middle. I use to know what company used that mark but I cannot think of it right now

So the question is: Did Empire Knife Company make the knife?
Was it made in England on contract? Did Empire make knives and ship them to England for other companies? You decide.

I can tell you one thing this knife is all original and has never been taken apart or had any blades replaced. It is in basically unused condition, the pen blade has some chips out of it from improper use and it was put away for the last 80+ years.

[edgy46]

Heres one, a hawkbill with a tapered backspring, and enough snap to have bitten me twice.

[Miller Bro's]

Bill,

What does the blade look like

[edgy46]

It is a shortened hawkbill. I assume it was broken and reprofiled. I will try and get a picture taken and posted, but my roundtuit is often missplaced.

[cattaraugus57]

Some very nice examples there,great display also!

Here is the only Empire I own..so far.

[edgy46]

Bill,

What does the blade look like

Here are some more photos of my Empire hawkbill.

[johnnierotten]

I finally have a knife to post on this thread. ....this is my Empire Winsted CT. Scout knife...with jigged bone scales.
Thanks Paul.

This one has the super rare and highly sought after... short (broken) leather punch...

[Owd Wullie]

NICE one JohnnieR!!!

Now I'm envious.

[johnnierotten]

Thanks Wullie......Shes in good condition accept for the short awl.

[edgy46]

Nice one Johnnie
Knives like that are what keeps me looking.

[johnnierotten]

Thank ya , Bill.

[Owd Wullie]

Thanks Wullie......Shes in good condition accept for the short awl.

It's not the length of your "awl" that matters. It's how you use it.