All About Pocket Knives

before our society came down with affluenza knives were tools and used accordingly, untill used up. that old keenkutter has a lot of life still. most of my old really worn knives have gone to the parts bin....maybe prematurely

This is a neat thread. Since I am a greenhorn to knife collecting...only been collecting for about 5 or 6 years now...my only "relic" knife so far would have to be my very first Case Stockman I purchased in 2003. (I know, not old, but it was this knife that I first started whittling with ) The master blade was, of course, much longer when I bought it. Many hours of sharpening and use has "whittled" her down. No snap left on the master blade, by the way. The little carving in the photo was the very first thing I created with this knife. From there, I became progressively hooked on "whittlin'", not to mention knives as well! So, this knife is beautiful to me as my first Case knife and start of my "whittlin" hobby!

What a great thread. I really enjoyed looking at all the pictures of these knives.

Your whittling has come a long way Don! Nice historical photo to keep! Too bad about the snap in the blade going away. Is that a stainless knife?

Thanks upnorth,
My "relic" stockman has chrome vanadium blades, and I like them! I fear I oiled that master blade WAY too much, which may have helped destroy the snap it once had.

carvin don wrote:Thanks upnorth,
My "relic" stockman has chrome vanadium blades, and I like them! I fear I oiled that master blade WAY too much, which may have helped destroy the snap it once had.

Don,
I can't imagine that oil would do that!! Quite the opposite.
I think that improper heat treating is one of the top two causes, the other being not ENOUGH oil!
When you see the snap gone in an older knife, you will usually see the spring sitting below the back of the liner. There will usually be evidence of wear on the tang where it rubs the spring. If it's the spring that is soft, you won't see the wear directly of course, because it is hidden. If the spring temper is wrong, sometimes it will just plain relax!
If you are not too attached to the knife, send it back to Case, explaining your "excessive" oiling! Tell them you think it's the metal, which it obviously is!! Maybe they'll put new springs in it!!?? Or??

Ah! Thanks upnorth. Maybe I didn't ruin it. I notice that the spring actually sits slightly above the liner when the blade is opened. Seems to be flush when closed, but I do see a gap between the spring and the liner. Thanks for all your help, I learned something from this.

maybe you have a lump of pocket lint wadded up in there??? or a chip of wood...i'd try fussin with a toothpick and see what comes out of that case...

Gringo,
I tried, but didn't or couldn't find anything wedged in there? It's definitley possible though .

the way that spring is sitting... i would bet something is in there...that would be a strange event to bend a spring back like that, even if it went soft...
i have had good results from oiling the entire lenght of the spring..from the inside..let it soak..sometimes gunk can build up and a spring will stick

Got one more to add. I forgot about this one!!!! Beaver Falls

that beaver falls is nice

about 168 years of patina!

That's a great old knife, AKC! Who made it?? Where??

Thanks, it's one of my absolute favorites . It's unmarked, but I've been told by a number of collectors and the National Knife Museum curator that it's circa 1840 (late 1830's-early 1840's, possibly French, is specifically what I was told) because: the pique work was an 1830's early 1840's trend, hand done nail nicks, threaded bolsters, steel pin w/ nickel silver bolsters. There are details and specifics I've forgotton about why it fits this age.

I've got one older knife that I'll post later.

Two of my favorites:

A George Wostenholm IXL ivory 3 blade dated 1870 on the shield.The smallest blade I believe is the original size and has the tiniest nail mark I've ever seen.The blades have this gray patina that is characteristic of knives this age and is near impossible to fake.My first ivory scaled knife I've had for at least 30 years.

The second is a William Congreve single blade jack(sorry for the lousy pic;my digital camera is dead) circa 1840's.Beautiful stag scales with birds-eye rivets and a small piece of bone in the end to act as a blade stop when closing.

Thanks AKC! Nice REALLY old relics!! This thread is bringing out that old stuff we love, but don't show off too often. I'm enjoying myself immensely!

upnorth wrote: ...Actually, I've seen woodcarver's knives reshaped from new into smaller-bladed knives...

I believe one of Bob Dozier's popular knife patterns, the Semi Skinner, was conceived from another of his knives which had become worn down with use.

this old german made scout knife is worn but still serviceable, with nostalgia to boot

Great thread!!

Here's a couple of oldies, all have been WELL used! With the exception of the Barlow, I've been meaning to replace the blades, but keep the pocket worn scales and bolsters.

Barlow (my grandfathers EDC)
Bottom left, an old Ulster
Top Right, Old Robeson USA Cutlery
Bottom right, Smith Bros, HDWE Co, Columbus O.

this old I-XL splitback whittler has served it's time but still finds it's way into my pocket every so often

Nice to see a good old knife still serving it's purpose.

Nice evenly worn beauty, Kaleb! Looks familiar??

I bet it does

Another Knife Collector wrote:about 168 years of patina!

...AND blade loss!
First time I've seen a sharp nail nick.