This forum is dedicated to the discussion and display of old knives. The rich history of all the many companies that made them through the early years will be found here as well as many fine examples of the cutlers art. Share pictures of your old knives and your knowledge here!
Impressive guys once again I have not looked in in a while. I have alot going on but I am not much getting accomplished. That is only the second CO OP box I have ever seen they are as rare or rarer than the knives here are some of my humble offerings that I grabbed quickly. These were I believe the brands mentioned if you show others I might just get lucky and have one to show you when you run out of different ones let me know I will see if I can produce one or two you never heard of. Perhapes you will surprise me any way he are a few. LT PS Mike let me know if you ever want to sell any of that stuff they are to me like cocaine to a drug addict. Oh but you knew that. LT
Here is a Chip a way with an etch it ( not a great etch but still seeable) it also has the Wardlow cutlery company Walden NY tang. It was a Simmons brand made at Walden knife . Walden COO was in business for 6 years before be coming Walden knife. Ellenville COOP began when some of the cutlers who got pissed off at NYK and began Walden Knife got pissed off at each other and left to begin Ellenville COOP . Which soon became Ulster . There is rumor that there are knives marked Ellenville COOP. I have never seen one I have seen knives marked Ellenville Knife CO which I have heard people take for a co op tang. Hudson Valley knife was not made in the Hudson valley they were made in NYC ( actually I do not believe NYC ) I believe they were made in Germany and sold in NYC. The name Hudson Valley knife was used to give the impression that these were from one of the well known companies from this area. This is not unusual Catskills were not made in catskill and Cornwalls were not made in Cornwall. However the Hudson Valley knife company is rare it is just not from the Hudson valley. LT
I keep reading through this and finding more and more fallacys. ( er areas of needed clarification) Orange knife was started by an employee from Walden knife who got some of the machinery from Walden knife when they went out of business I was just talking to Dave Swinden about him the other day but I cannot remember the guys name. He had been with Walden for years. His shop was a small building more like a large shed about 150 feet from where I lived in the fiftys ( for the 2 good years of my childhood) however by then he and the equiptment were gone. I did not know until many years later I have been in that building which still exists. Dave Swindens father used to take the Orange knives ( Named for the county ORANGE ) where Walden is and sell them at a factory producing WWII items for the war effort in Poughkeepsie to fellow workers. TheY had nothing to do with Walden COOP and were after they went out of business not in 1870. Where do you guys get this stuff??? ( ie needed area of clarification ) Anyway Dave grew up right in the same area infact about 200 or 300 feet in the other direction than where I lived he is about 15 years older than me. However we are both old. If you think this is confusing wait till you see some of the more obscure markings. PS Mike I also have the Walden box I just did not post a pic. PPS For anyone who does not know the Swinden name he is probably the most knowledgable person alive today regarding Schrade he started working for them after School went to Korea came back and rose to vice President of Schrade he is also the inventor of the Swinden Knife Keyhole a device which hides the rivit and prevents wear to the bolsters and was used by Schrade. Dave still works in an advisory position with Canal Street Cutlery. I guess I will go back and see what else I missed in this thread. LT PS great knives guys keep digging .
OK OK I made a mistake take it easy . The knife I posted in the picture with the COO box was not a COO . I grabbed the wrong one . I am attaching a pic of the correct knife with tang. The one I posted was A mere MATTEWAN NYK ( the cutlers who formed NYK when they broke with Waterville moved to Mattewan NY across the Hudson river. ( Mattewan was later combined with fishkill to make the town Beacon. So named for the fires which would be lit when the English were coming up river to attack during the revolution). This was NYKs first home not Walden. they were there from 1852 until 1856. Then they moved to Walden actually the people of Walden were so glad to get the factory they came by boat and wagon to help them move. They were in Walden from 1856 until around 1930. Needless to say this is a pretty rare marking as well. Sorry for the mistake. LT
It is to me since it is a viable part of the Simmons story yours is among the earliest Chip away under the original hardware line that it was associated with. Simmons purchased the brand name. Your knife most likely was made in Germany as were the earliest Simmons knives. It is a dandy find. LT
Found this knife in antique store today. I wasn’t familiar with the tang stamp so I researched “Wardlow” and up came this thread.
Knife is 3 5/8” long closed and I’m going to assume the pattern is a sleeveboard jack. Nice info in this thread if you read back through it. Steve B.
Attachments
Steve B.
Keep your edge sharp, otherwise you just can't cut it.
Looking for Carrier Cutlery and early Robeson with Elmira tang stamps.
I had not seen this thread before. Was buried before I joined. Thanks bladebuddy for bumping it back to life. Lots of great information and great knives from Eric, Mike and LT!
Old thread I see,
if anyone who is still around I would be posting a recently purchased yet haven't received in hand knife that would fit in here nicely. I will post in a few days. Till than happy knife hunting and have a great day!
Clark23 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 29, 2025 8:52 pm
Old thread I see,
if anyone who is still around I would be posting a recently purchased yet haven't received in hand knife that would fit in here nicely. I will post in a few days. Till than happy knife hunting and have a great day!
As soon as you post it's not an old thread anymore. I look forward to you post when you get the knife.
Came in much earlier than expected,
Have here is what’s a E.C. Simmons Brand Wardlow Cutlery Co. Walden, NY Pearl congress. When I purchased this originally I was not told it having any salesman ink, it caught me by surprise and Full intact Chipaway etch. This is most definitely one of my favorite purchases. Hope you all enjoy, and hope to see many more knives posted on this thread.