All About Pocket Knives

researching for a knife buddy. swell center whittler.
according to ferguson's, stamp used 1895-1900. ROBESON over CUTLERY CO. in straight lines on all three blades. i think the handles are horn. tentativly id'd as (X)32225. no pattern #. 3 5/8" closed.

johnnie, Nice!

Stockman

Most of our collection is old and worn, this is my absolute favourite.



Closely followed by these, Eye witness pruners.

David, you sure find some nice old knives over there. That horseman's is a beauty !

Fran

Here's one to add. This one gets used by me, after serving someone else for many years. I can only surmise its history.
Made just after WWII, it was a cattle knife! Its smaller blades used up or broken, they were taken out along with the double end spring that held them. The main blade and its spring still snap and function nicely, and the knife goes on ticking!! Pocket time has worn the deeply dyed Greenbone nearly smooth. I think the small blades were worn out rather than broken, given the handle wear.
It is such a nice slim knife, but sturdy; maybe Case should have made one like it (a 6145 1/2 for you Case guys!).
I pick this knife up almost every day, from where it sits on my bedroom bookshelf, because it reminds me of faithfulness, and soldiering on, despite what life throws at you.
In semi-retirement, just like me, it goes for a walk with me occasionally (along with its younger brother, my Tony Bose Wharcliffe Trapper; but that's another story!).
Here is the old guy (maybe Tony's WT will resemble this one some day!! );

Charlie,
That is what I call aging gracefully.
Nice old Case.

Phil

Here is another Case, a Tested green bone Stockman. This knife stood up to everything it was meant to do and here it still is, worn completely smooth from years in the pocket, shield missing (I assume there must have been one way back?), blades down + no snap--- but with a lovely mellow gray patina. Might actually be one of my favorites knives, for all that.

Ray

Cool old Tested semloh. If there are no pin holes in the original handles, then it never had a shield. They pinned them on those days, but some were made without.

Thanks, upnorth. Makes sense about the pins/holes, but I wasn't sure that they'd ever produced these without shields. This is, btw, my one and only Case.

Ray

Looks like an edc candidate to me. Honest old used knife.

I know most would over look these relics of beauty, and think of them as used up old has beens (yes I used to be one of those, please forgive me) but not to me, I wish they all could talk. If they could, I would listen.


Please keep the relics coming fellas

This is an OLD Schrade. It's got the arched SCHRADE (over) CUT CO (over) WALDEN,N.Y. stamp. The punch has PAT'D (over) APL'D FOR stamped on the back - strange abbreviation.
Picked bone handles and hammered steel pins. The bone is flawless - musta been one tough cow! But the main backspring is broken (sniff). The blade has lots of life left in it. I have a knifemaker friend, and I am going to see if he will tutor me a little, and help me make a spring for it! Worth saving I figger!

cool thread... heres a Miller Bros. w/ captive spring

Great Old Schrade Charlie! What is the date for that old arched tang stamp? tmwsly- very interesting Miller Bros. nice to see that captive spring! Well here are two of my relics - an old Camillus Balloon Jack and what i believe to be a Miller Bros.

Here's another relic. A Coquanoc Works jack from Philadelphia c. 1876.

It's amazing how narrow a blade can get, and still be useful!!
Those last few are astounding!

christmas in november. santa made an early delivery of knives for parts. several of the old girls had enough blade to be useful for a lot longer. in both of these examples, the handle pins had been pushed into the channel and would not let blades close properly. a little adjustment and behold. two relics of beauty, the pocket worn smooth handles of the old belknap crusader and the beautiful old remington r783. these have gone from parts knives to my edc rotation. thanks santa!

Now, who would send you a bunch of Harness Jacks, hmmmmm??

Paul, purely conjecture, I think pre-WWI for that curved stamp, and the other clues on that knife.
Typically, a war changes technology, and I think that war changed knives subtley, just like WWII changed them again.
A guess would put the knife in 1903-1914, or maybe slightly after the war, using up dormant parts etc. so 1903-1920.

Just found this thread.
I hate to throw away any old knife, I have accumulated lots of old worn/broken ones.

Here are just a few.

#1 Challenge Cutlery, one of my favorites, look how the previous owner even patched the bone handle with lead!

#2 Western States

#3 Joseph Rodgers Sheffield, Coffin Bolsters

#4 Wester Bros. New York

Posted this one before, it isn't pretty but whoever owned and modified it thought it was worth the effort








It's been sittin since I bought it, maybe some of the rust will come off it now.
I oiled it up with KROIL and pitched it in a semi dark dark place.

KROIL is great stuff for gettin stuck metal pieces unstuck from each other but surely does STINK!

Second thought, maybe I ought to spruce it up on a buffing wheel and invent some BS story and consign it to murdle?

Nah.. LOL

Great Thread. And I thought no one wanted to see anything but a perfect blade. Here are mine that have served their owners well. DonT know if the Fleam qualifies, but added it anyway. Here's what they say?

1. Case XX U.S.A. No. 6347 HP
2. Case XX U.S.A. 3-Dot No. 6202
3. Case XX U.S.A.
4. Schmidt? Schrade? Sloingen, Germany No. 4033
5. I-XL George Westenholm Pruner, Solid Brass Handles
6. Old Fleam - G. Gregory

Willie,

I see only one picture?


TJ,

Nice ones, like that IXL.

MILLER BRO`S wrote:Willie,

I see only one picture?


TJ,

Nice ones, like that IXL.

There are 4 pics and these are hosted at the AAPK server.

Maybe slow to download and display. I'll PM the Pics to ya and see if they show that way.
W

Great thread!

Here is one of my relics;
A.W. Wadsworth & Sons.

Dale

Dale, that's a beautiful knife! The etch is incredibly fine and intricate, looks more engraved. They sure don't do 'em like that anymore!

Eric