Winchester Brand

[JMH60]

Hey what do y'all think about Winchester knives, are they pretty good quality? I've got my eye on a nice trapper by Winchester and would like to hear some thoughts on them. Thanks.

[woodwalker]

I like the original winchesters alot. From 1919 to 1940 date range. I typed in winchester in the search bar at the top of the page and you will get alot of different previous posts on winchester knives. I will show a couple of original winchesters I have after I take a pic of them for you.

[woodwalker]

Here are 2 original winchesters I have. One is a gunstock whittler and the other is an assortment toothpick.

[robbobus]

The old ones are nice but hard to find. The Black Box Winchesters were commissioned by Blue Grass Cutlery and made by Queen, 1987 through about 1992. They used original Winchester dies reportedly and were very well made. Available in vintage bone, there are also pearl and stag versions of some patterns. 1095 steel. Of note, to me at least, Bill Howard of GEC was a big art of Queen when these were made. Here is a stag gunstock.

[JMH60]

Wow looks good to me man!

[Mumbleypeg]

There are a lot of different variations of the Winchester brand knives. Winchester Arms Company at one time owned a cutlery factory. In 1919 Winchester bought out both Eagle Pocket Knife Company and Napanoch Knife Company and moved their combined machinery to the Winchester factory in New Haven, Connecticut to make cutlery marked with the Winchester name. Then in 1922 they merged with E.C. Simmons Hardware to form Winchester-Simmons. Simmons owned several cutlery factories already so the merger put all these under one control and they made Winchester Trademark, Simmons, Keen Kutter and other brands for Simmons Hardware. Knives from the period 1919 to 1942 are the oldest, and also frequently counterfeited knives.

Winchester stopped making cutlery in 1942 to focus on producing arms for WWII. Since that time there have been authorized reproductions made by other companies, mostly through license of Blue Grass Cutlery which has the rights still today. Most of these knives were made by Queen, but some were also made in Germany.

Here's in interesting and somewhat confusing one I have, generally known as a "Case Winchester". Conceived by James Parker when he owned Case, stamped both Winchester and W.R. Case, made by Queen through arrangement with Blue Grass Cutlery. And sold by Parker through his Case Classics line. Hope I got all that right - makes my head hurt!

Ken

Case Winchester 62091 Cigar, honey bone

[woodwalker]

There are a lot of different variations of the Winchester brand knives. Winchester Arms Company at one time owned a cutlery factory. In 1919 Winchester bought out both Eagle Pocket Knife Company and Napanoch Knife Company and moved their combined machinery to the Winchester factory in New Haven, Connecticut to make cutlery marked with the Winchester name. Then in 1922 they merged with E.C. Simmons Hardware to form Winchester-Simmons. Simmons owned several cutlery factories already so the merger put all these under one control and they made Winchester Trademark, Simmons, Keen Kutter and other brands for Simmons Hardware. Knives from the period 1919 to 1942 are the oldest, and also frequently counterfeited knives.

Winchester stopped making cutlery in 1942 to focus on producing arms for WWII. Since that time there have been authorized reproductions made by other companies, mostly through license of Blue Grass Cutlery which has the rights still today. Most of these knives were made by Queen, but some were also made in Germany.

Here's in interesting and somewhat confusing one I have, generally known as a "Case Winchester". Conceived by James Parker when he owned Case, stamped both Winchester and W.R. Case, made by Queen through arrangement with Blue Grass Cutlery. And sold by Parker through his Case Classics line. Hope I got all that right - makes my head hurt!

Ken
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Thanks for the great information Ken! I like the original ones made in the 1919 to 1942 range. Do you think these knives make people a ltitle leary of collecting them because of the counterfeit aspect? They would be hard to spot for novices like myself. The few I have seen sure are nice though. I like your Case Winchester! Looks great! Again thank you for the outstanding info!!

[JMH60]

Yes that is pretty and great info thanks!

[Mumbleypeg]

I'm not sure about others but personally I am skeptical of any old Winchester knives, because I know there are a lot of counterfeits and I don't know enough about them to spot them. However if you like Winchester and want to spend the time to learn how to tell the fakes from the legit ones, they would make a great focus for a collector.

Some people feel the same way about old Case knives and with good cause. There's a lot of counterfeits there too. To me in some ways learning to spot them is part of the enjoyment of collecting them.

Ken

[LongBlade]

Nice knives all – woodwalker those are 2 nice old Winchesters especially the lobster pattern ....

Some great points about Winchester Ken ... No doubt not easy to find "real" Winchesters and overall I think they didn't produce near the amount of knives compared to Remington as a major manufacturer (often those 2 CT makers are referred to as "national" major manufacturers with guns as their primary focus)... both desirable brands for sure. Recognizing counterfeits can be tricky but the usual red flags will “usually” tip you off… I think recognizing a Case counterfeit in some cases may be harder as the cobblers were better ...

Anyway I have 2 Winchesters - a swell-end bone jack #2911 and a faux horn celluloid Jr Stock Whittler #3046 which is how it was described (both with model numbers stamped on pile side) - both no doubt "true" Winchesters of the 1919-1942 date range and not counterfeit... The jack was from an estate where the knife was in a drawer for the last 70-80 years.. The other was a local find .. I need to get some new photos of these knives with the light box setup…

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

Speaking as a novice collector and long-time fan of the Winchester brand, I steer clear of Winchester knives for pretty much all the reasons Ken provided. The pre-1942 originals are probably not within my budget (and if they are in my budget, I'm very suspicious of them), and after 1942 it is all too confusing for me to feel confident enough to make a purchase. I prefer to just purchase Queen & Camillus branded knives rather than the contract knives they made - it just feels "safer" (regardless of whether it really is or not) because there is usually more information available to help me feel good about the purchase.

[woodwalker]

Nice knives all – woodwalker those are 2 nice old Winchesters especially the lobster pattern ....

Some great points about Winchester Ken ... No doubt not easy to find "real" Winchesters and overall I think they didn't produce near the amount of knives compared to Remington as a major manufacturer (often those 2 CT makers are referred to as "national" major manufacturers with guns as their primary focus)... both desirable brands for sure. Recognizing counterfeits can be tricky but the usual red flags will “usually” tip you off… I think recognizing a Case counterfeit in some cases may be harder as the cobblers were better ...

Anyway I have 2 Winchesters - a swell-end bone jack #2911 and a faux horn celluloid Jr Stock Whittler #3046 which is how it was described (both with model numbers stamped on pile side) - both no doubt "true" Winchesters of the 1919-1942 date range and not counterfeit... The jack was from an estate where the knife was in a drawer for the last 70-80 years.. The other was a local find .. I need to get some new photos of these knives with the light box setup…

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Winchester Whittler 3046 Blades Etch DSCN6097A-2 .jpg

Lee: your Wichester knives are awesome!! I will continue to look for the original Winchesters! The toothpick came from my father in law who had it for decades and was 80 when he passed. My wife who is 55 remembers it as a little girl. The Gunstock Lobster came from a well respected AAPK member. I guess it's where the knives came from that you can feel comfortable about them. Lee your knives are just awesome! I just like the original winchesters and will continue to look for them but make sure I purchase them from trusted sources. I also like Case, Queen and Robesons alot too! I'm just an accumulator. Thank you all for showing these old winchesters and thank you Lee for your comments on my winchesters. It's always nice to get positive comments on our knives. Have a great weekend everyone!!

[LongBlade]

Thanks woodwalker ... Now that I know the story behind the toothpick being your father-in-law's knife that makes it even more valuable ..