Did Marbles ever produce a knife with the stacked leather handle and a leather guard as well?I

Webster Marble formed Gladstone Mfg. Co. in 1892. That company created the first folding Axe in 1893 which lead to the incorporation of Marble's Safety Axe Co. in 1898. The company became Marble Arms & Mfg. Co. in 1911 & enjoyed years of success until succumbing to a shut down of production in 1974. The brand was brought back to life in 1994 & enjoyed a grand rejuvenation that later gave way to another shutdown in 2009. Many great knives & tools were crafted over the company's storied history.
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bonezcustoms
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Did Marbles ever produce a knife with the stacked leather handle and a leather guard as well?I

Post by bonezcustoms »

I have an old knife that I bought on eBay. It was cheap, old and cool... those are my 3 factors when buying lol. I have some trouble uploading a pic to this site sometimes, hopefully these come through.Anyway, there are plenty of factors that any Marbles guy would probably know pretty quick. First, this knife has no markings. It does appear to be old but no grinding marks or anywhere near enough wear to remove a maker's Mark completely. Second is the leather guard. The handle is stacked leather, the pommel is metal of some sort and the finger guard appears to be leather as well, though it is sturdier, it's still slightly pliable like leather. Overall this knife is beautiful, nice patina, no real damage other than a few dings on the handle etc. It looks well made enough to be a Marbles blade. I thought maybe a war time knife that was shipped in a hurry by any number of manufacturers... no time to stamp? I just know this odd knife is not hand made, it's just too perfect. It boggles my mind that it isn't marked. Thanks for any help. I will attempt to upload pics to help. Obviously hard to identify without seeing but I hoped I had a few tell tale signs to either lead me into or away from this being a Marbles knife. I would be very happy if it was! Thanks in advance.
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bonezcustoms
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Re: Did Marbles ever produce a knife with the stacked leather handle and a leather guard as well?I

Post by bonezcustoms »

I have not soaked the handle in oil by the way. It was dry, but not cracked or terribly shrunk. So I just rub some neatafoot oil on in the evenings, let it soak in overnight and put on another coat the next day. The leather is just about ready for it's final rub with lanolin and a good polishing before getting put up! Looks good to me no matter what it is lol!
stagman
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Re: Did Marbles ever produce a knife with the stacked leather handle and a leather guard as well?I

Post by stagman »

Although Marble's was the 1st knife co. to put the stacked leather
handle into wide spread use in America, I do not believe that
your knife is a Marble's...1st glance, blade has that KA-BAR look
to it...most of all the old outfits put there stamp on everything
someone mite have did that knife themselves before you saved it

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Re: Did Marbles ever produce a knife with the stacked leather handle and a leather guard as well?I

Post by Gunsil »

That blade is neither a Marbles nor a KA-BAR blade. No, Marbles never made a knife with a leather guard. The knife here is either home made from a kit knife or a knife that somebody modified.
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Miller Bro's
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Re: Did Marbles ever produce a knife with the stacked leather handle and a leather guard as well?I

Post by Miller Bro's »

Let's see the butt cap.
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bonezcustoms
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Re: Did Marbles ever produce a knife with the stacked leather handle and a leather guard as well?I

Post by bonezcustoms »

Here is the buttcap. Looking at it more, I feel this knife is actually missing whatever gaurd it had. I believe there had to be some type of metal up there with all the room between the blade and handle. I want to say it's homemade, but I haven't seen any hobbyist knives like this, it's very well made, the grinds are perfect and it just doesn't have that homemade feel. I have to guess this was a skilled maker and I can't believe it's not marked! Does anybody have a guess as to age? Not much to go on and too many variables but maybe something sticks out to one of you more seasoned fellows? This thing has me stumped. I'm almost positive it would have had a brass or otherwise gaurd at some point. I also had not thought about a possible kit knife, but aren't those usually marked too? ::hmm::
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