Farmer's Jacks

[wlf]

ULSTERS
Left to right
1.Old dark jigged bone ULSTER KNIFE Co
2.Old ULSTER NKIFE Co
3.Old brown jigged bone ULSTER KNIFE Co

Below ULSTERS are C+X LOCKWOOD BROS
left to right
1.Stag square bolster C+X LOCKWOOD BROS
2.Horn covered round bolster C+X LOCKWOOD BROS
3.Stag square bolster C+X LOCKWOOD BROS
4.Stag round bolster C+X LOCKWOOD BROS

Below C+X LOCKWOOD BROS
is an AERIL CUT MFG CO MARINETTE WIS jack similar to the farmers jack

[wlf]

I think this is all except a couple parts knives.

Lastly the 2009 Queen made TITUSVILLES I still need the Red fire oak ,ivory,and pearl.Someday,Lord willing.
Left to right
1.Winterbottom bone TITUSVILLE
2.Stag ATS34 TITUSVILLE
3.Green worm groove TITUSVILLE
4.Stag TITUSVILLE

[Miller Bro's]

Thanks for the update Lyle

That is an awesome collection

[junebug]

WOW....JUST AWESOME
THANKS FOR SHOWIN'

[RobesonsRme.com]

Beautiful knives Lyle.

You've done well with that endeavor.

Charlie

[wlf]

Thanks Dimitri,Josh,and Charlie it means a lot to me when respected knifemen like my knives.

A couple I got at the Central KY Knife Show,very nice show,lot of knives.I would have bought a couple more scratted knives,if I had the resources ( fancy way of expressing poverty ).. My Historical Knives Leroy got them,I hope he decides to sell 'em someday when I have some bills paid off.

1. Queen 2009 SFO Titusville pearl farmers jack. Again these were made with stag(2 ,1 with ATS 34 steel other with Queen stainless as all the rest ),winterbottom bone,fire oak bone,green worm groove, pearl,and mastodon ivory.

[wlf]

CROWN CUTLERY CO arched over NEW YORK over MADE IN USA stamped on both blades. Levine says made in WWI c.1916-1919

The other CROWN CUT CO Levine says were German contract.c. 1910s-20s .Only those marked MADE IN USA were WWI stateside contract made.

The handles are mismatched in color but the pattern of jigging seems consistent.

I thought the pruner pin had been replaced,but seller said he thought it had revolved in place.I thought he was wrong,but now I know he was right.Upon magnification you can see the pin has turned in place.The striations on the pin(file marks left in the rat tail groove)are at a 45 degree or better angle to the marks in the bolster.I think you can see that when the image is double clicked or enlarged.Even the dark rust stains would puzzle match.Sorry MD.

These grooves(rat tails) are apparent on most knives of this pattern,and most all their blades are secured with pins that are in that groove. A flaw in design,as there is no meat(thinnest place in the bolster),and the taper that allows the swelling of the pin(thus anchoring the blade)when peened; is almost removed.Therefore it leaves an almost round pin,which would allow the blade to pivot.A very weak spot for a knife that is used to bear down on tree limbs and such.Of my knives ,I have two IXLs made later with no grooves(maybe to correct the weak spot,but probably only less detailing). Notably; the pins in the Schrades and the old Empire were engineered to have that pin in the meat of the bolster(thicker part,not the groove) "Yankee ingenuity".

[Miller Bro's]

CROWN CUTLERY CO arched over NEW YORK over MADE IN USA stamped on both blades. Levine says made in WWI c.1916-1919

Very nice example, I like knives by Crown Cut. Co., here is one I have.

[Beechtree]

Nice one MB, that is in fantastic shape!
Great knives wlf. That is really interesting information regarding the rat tail bolster and the placement of the pin.

[wlf]

Thanks MB and Bt.Very collectable ensemble MB,long pulls and that beautiful handle is staying put.A treasure at almost 100 years old. ::tu::That pen blade looks as if it has no kick.......? Could you give a picture of the paperwork? I'd like to read it all.Wish ours had that nice Celebrate etch,huh...

[1967redrider]

More sweet finds, Lyle. That pearl is gorgeous!

[Miller Bro's]

Could you give a picture of the paperwork? I'd like to read it all.

Yeah, when I can find it!

Here is a 1921 Western catalog cut, they misspelled Wharncliffe

[wlf]

And the kick MB???

[Miller Bro's]

Down at the very bottom

[wlf]

Gotch ya. Thanks

[Miller Bro's]

Lyle,

Did you study that Western catalog cut I posted above?

[wlf]

Enough to know I'd like to have one like it.Other than Worncliff???

Tell me more.

[Miller Bro's]

You do have one exactly like it, check your collection

[wlf]

I'm looking,don't know if I have the incite though.
The Crown and the Jordan,St Louis I believe are made by the same manufacturer.The pin below the shields looks to be under the corner of the shield on these ,but a little to the left on the Western???

The Western does have the right size shield.Without an actual copy of the cut,I can't measure anything,but that may be it.??

[Miller Bro's]

I`ll make it easy for you, go back to page 7 of this thread 5th post up from the bottom, see it?

[wlf]

Could you give a picture of the paperwork? I'd like to read it all.

Yeah, when I can find it!

Here is a 1921 Western catalog cut, they misspelled Wharncliffe

Here's a cut for Enderes.May be same knife."Whorncliff pattern"................

[wlf]

Some new ones for me ,one is a re post Mike Losicco was gracious to sell me,actually two.

[wlf]

The second from Mike.You've seen this one before.Thanks Mike.

[Jacknifeben]

Lyle, you have a very good friend. I still wish I had my Catt back.

[wlf]

This one's special. A great gift of a rare knife from David Anthony.These were handled with a material called Fibestos,as David stated it resembled that old black sewer pipe material.I'll let Rich Langston describe it in this post he made in another forum.I have asked his permission and he was gracious enough to let me use it.

" Rescue and return of Farmer Jack

As I have said in the past Rarity and condition are two of the biggest factors to be considered by the collector. Often times if a knife is very rare the condition is not as important as it would be on a model or pattern not as unusual or as difficult to obtain. Once in a while you will find a knife which is both rare and in excellent condition. Even more rare is to find an example to which you can validate with a history or provanance. In the past this was not as difficult to do as it is today. In the past people did not know what they had. In todays market the public is much more informed and growing more so each day. The exception to this is when a knife is so rare that people do not recognize it or you know something about that is not generally known or understood. Then once in a while a knife will ( so to speak ) fly under the radar.

I recently received a knife that I purchased on ebay. It is a S7309F (see pic catalogue ref) which is a 4,1/8" Budding and Pruning knife. These were also called farmers jacks, farmer knives, and Wharncliff jacks. These knives had an unusual patterned budding blade with a bark loosener and a pruning blade. This model was handled in Fibestos. This was a very early step up from celluloid and more stable. They also made this knife in a bolstered, shielded bone stag version # S7303 as well as an imi ivory cell version #S7304W. While celluloid and jigged bone can be replaced the original Fibestos is and never will be available again. The fact is that ( relatively ) very few of these were made, as well as this materials property of getting brittle over the years ( it was a form of early plastic) and breaking, means that very few examples in good condition even exist and most of those are in more common patterns that these materials were used on.

While years ago I did own a jigged bone version. I was forced to trade it to another collector as part of 8 knives I traded for a Press Button Guardian. I needed the knife for a book I was writing and really had no other choice. Since then I have seen a couple they were part of the Schrade collection. The only one I have ever seen in fibestos was the one in this collection and it was in pristene condition. When it was announced that Schrade would be selling its collection piece by piece at auction upon liquidation. A 30 page individual listing of these knives was put out. I still have that copy and on page 6 it lists the knife to which I refer. I had noted it to bid on it. ( see pic actual listing from originaly listed pieces ) . As we all know the auction never happened Smokey cut a deal bought it all and has been selling it.

I remembered seeing the knife and it was listed on page 6 of 30 on panel #7B. Because of my affialiation with Schrade I had taken pictures of these panels but since Smokey was on the way to pick them up at the time I was a bit rushed and did not number the panels. Now looking through I cannot find the exact knife however I included a pic of the bone version in the collection which was also on a panel just to show how they were displayed. ( see pic). Schrade made many variations of budding knives most were quite common this model was not.

This knife was apparently sold to a ( well known dealer ) who put it on ebay. He lists it as coming from the Schrade collection and having been bought from Smokey. A couple of well known names bid on it and i sniped it . Sniping is about the only way I seem to be able to bid anything since as soon as I bid early usually other bidders jump in ( from all over). I do not know if it is because of me or everyone has that problem but sniping is fair as far as I am concerned. In this case I paid 130 plus shipping. I was amazed and would have gone much higher ( higher than any sane person would have). The knife is perfect it is like holding a piece of living history. A truly rare pattern in a rare material in Near mint condition. To me this is a treasure.

I have related this story only to show that these items are out there, and present, to the modern collector one of the last opportunitys to save these bits of history and in some cases find items at flea markets and garage sales worth many time what they pay for them. It like any field requires study and determination. I would strongly suggest any reference books available. References aside from informing the reader whet the appetite. This old farmer is back home surrounded by its contemporarys, in a 80 year old Schrade Cutlery display case ( the way it should be ). "


While searching the internet for information about this pattern ,I came upon this post.It inspired me more to collect this pattern and specifically look for this knife and the bone version with the flat blades .I've only seen the Fibestos one Rich has and the one I now own, this gift from David. Although the handles deteriorated,it is unused and rare.It is also the only farmers jack I know of with double springs.Notice also the very thick brass liners,which Schrade advertised in their 1936 cut.

And to beat it all ,it has custom wood (?) handles done by David himself.Thank you