All About Pocket Knives

Nice job of restoration, Unk.

Very well-done Unk!!!

Here are some very well-done books on the U.S. Cavalry and they show the patches/badges for soldiers working as a farrier, a wagoner and a saddler. So, the saddler must have had a punch for leather... This section of the book is to 1916, so just before the US entered into WWI, on April 6, 1917

I picked up this American Liberty Hand Crank bench grinder about 5 years ago with the intention of using it for making knives and doing something different than stock removal with hand files. Unfortunately, things got busy with work and the knife making came to a halt. With full retirement likely soon, I'm eyeing this cool old tool as a segue back into making some knives.

The grinder works great and seems complete. The stone does need to be dressed.

GSPTOPDOG wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 10:38 pm Here are some very well-done books on the U.S. Cavalry and they show the patches/badges for soldiers working as a farrier, a wagoner and a saddler. So, the saddler must have had a punch for leather... This section of the book is to 1916, so just before the US entered into WWI, on April 6, 1917

Top Dog, my gg-grandfather was listed as a "Wagoner" on Civil War muster rolls. He fought in the Texas 12th infantry in LA and AR.

Jeepergeo wrote: ↑Sun Jul 02, 2023 2:53 pm American Liberty Grinder.jpg

I picked up this American Liberty Hand Crank bench grinder about 5 years ago with the intention of using it for making knives and doing something different than stock removal with hand files. Unfortunately, things got busy with work and the knife making came to a halt. With full retirement likely soon, I'm eyeing this cool old tool as a segue back into making some knives.

The grinder works great and seems complete. The stone does need to be dressed.

Nice old grinder, Jeep! It looks to be in excellent shape.

I picked up this grinding wheel dresser at an estate sale last year for a couple of bucks. I cleaned up a couple of wheels with it, and It works pretty good.

Unk wrote: ↑Sun Jul 02, 2023 4:06 pm

GSPTOPDOG wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 10:38 pm Here are some very well-done books on the U.S. Cavalry and they show the patches/badges for soldiers working as a farrier, a wagoner and a saddler. So, the saddler must have had a punch for leather... This section of the book is to 1916, so just before the US entered into WWI, on April 6, 1917

Top Dog, my gg-grandfather was listed as a "Wagoner" on Civil War muster rolls. He fought in the Texas 12th infantry in LA and AR.

Wow! That is an interesting piece of history and a great personal connection to the past. ... Do you have anything handed down from him? An old pay book? Any photos? A full and complete uniform in near-mint condition?

... Interesting as a coincidence I am reading a book on Jack Slade, byname of Joseph A. Slade (born 1824, Carlyle, Ill., U.S.—died March 10, 1864, Virginia City, Mont.). He was a teamster and as legend goes a gunfighter in the old west after the US, Mexican War. He was a " "Wagoner" / Teamster during that war. Mark Twain mentions meeting him in some of his writings.

...strange how one little old rusty tool found in a pile of other rusting old tools can spark connections in things across the space of a continent and hundreds of years through time...

What's more patriotic than cleaning up old made in USA tools for the 4th of July weekend?

GSPTOPDOG wrote: ↑Wed Jul 05, 2023 10:04 pm

Unk wrote: ↑Sun Jul 02, 2023 4:06 pm

GSPTOPDOG wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 10:38 pm

Top Dog, my gg-grandfather was listed as a "Wagoner" on Civil War muster rolls. He fought in the Texas 12th infantry in LA and AR.

Wow! That is an interesting piece of history and a great personal connection to the past. ... Do you have anything handed down from him? An old pay book? Any photos? A full and complete uniform in near-mint condition?

Hi Top Dog, I don't have anything handed down except his photograph. John D. Nash came home sick from the War and died in 1871. His widow - my gg-grandmother - received a pension starting around 1909. They had to fill out a pension application (which has a lot of information in it), and I ordered a copy of it years ago from the Texas State Archives, but now it is on Ancestry.com. I've been doing genealogy for over 20 years, and it is amazing what you can find on-line about your ancestors nowadays.

The 12th mustered into service at Camp Groce at Liendo Plantation (which has an interesting history). They used to have a Civil War reenactment there every year, and we took the kids one time. It was pretty cool to walk the same ground as my gg-grandfather. In an odd turn - I shoot sporting clays every week with a direct descendant of Leonard Groce - who built Liendo Plantation in 1853.

Very interesting An amazing story and a small world after all. Sickness/disease was the #1 killer in the Civil War. Most casualties and deaths in the Civil War were the result of non-combat-related disease. For every three soldiers killed in battle, five more died of disease. Soldiers afflicted during the war and worn down by it lived much shorter lives, such as John D. Nash.

There was a Civil War battle near where I live, the 1862 battles of Picacho Pass. The Battle of Picacho Peak was the westernmost battle of the Civil War and the only one fought in Arizona. It was fought between Union soldiers from California and a Confederate unit from Tucson and took place near Picacho Peak. in about 2012 I was invited to partake, but at the time I was in and out of the country, so I ended up missing it.

The last Civil War reenactment event held at Picacho Peak State Park was in 2017. It attracted nearly 200 people. Later that year, Arizona State Parks decided to discontinue the annual event until a sponsor could be found. “In 2017, Arizona State Parks determined that we were unable to continue hosting, planning and absorbing all costs for the reenactment event,”

like so many other things in life... here one day... gone the next ...

Love this thread.

Probably not all that old but I did restore these wood handle putty knives/scrappers..
Lamson & Goodnow Mfg Co
Red Devil

Beautiful old scrapers, Scott. Looks like rosewood or cocobolo handles? You won't see that on a modern scraper.

Nice work on the scrapers, TripleF.

TripleF wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 1:34 pm Love this thread.

Probably not all that old but I did restore these wood handle putty knives/scrappers..
Lamson & Goodnow Mfg Co
Red Devil

That wood looks and feels soooo much better than modern times plastic or rubber!

Unk wrote: ↑Fri Jul 07, 2023 2:28 pm Beautiful old scrapers, Scott. Looks like rosewood or cocobolo handles? You won't see that on a modern scraper.

Not sure....true.

Open Range-19 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2023 1:38 pm Nice work on the scrapers, TripleF.

Thanks!

GSPTOPDOG wrote: ↑Mon Jul 10, 2023 7:52 pm

TripleF wrote: ↑Thu Jul 06, 2023 1:34 pm Love this thread.

Probably not all that old but I did restore these wood handle putty knives/scrappers..
Lamson & Goodnow Mfg Co
Red Devil

Agreed!!

That wood looks and feels soooo much better than modern times plastic or rubber!

My combo 1/4 and 3/8 socket set. Mostly 1950s-1970s S-K and S-K Wayne, but there is some Plomb (early Proto) and Speed Master by Montgomery Ward in it. This is my main set of sockets. Only modern bit in it is my often-used S-K 3/8 spark plug socket.
Ratchet is from the late 1950s and original to the set. I cleaned it up and greased it when I got it a few years ago, and it still works like new.
The 1/4 is an older Craftsman.
Note Patent Pending mark

cody6268 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 2:27 am My combo 1/4 and 3/8 socket set. Mostly 1950s-1970s S-K and S-K Wayne, but there is some Plomb (early Proto) and Speed Master by Montgomery Ward in it. This is my main set of sockets. Only modern bit in it is my often-used S-K 3/8 spark plug socket.

Thanks for the great pictures. I always look for S-K tools when out and about at flea markets.

I collect Plumb hatchets and hammers and here is an interesting fact as to why Plomb changed the name to Proto. In 1926, Plumb objected to an attempt by the similarly named Plomb Tool Company to register its name as a trademark. The companies negotiated an agreement, but in 1946, Plumb sued for trademark infringement because Plomb had violated the terms of this agreement. The Plomb company began selling tools under the Proto name instead.

cody6268 wrote: ↑Tue Jul 11, 2023 2:27 am My combo 1/4 and 3/8 socket set. Mostly 1950s-1970s S-K and S-K Wayne, but there is some Plomb (early Proto) and Speed Master by Montgomery Ward in it. This is my main set of sockets. Only modern bit in it is my often-used S-K 3/8 spark plug socket.

After seeing your post, I started going through my S-K tools just to have a look and I find a lot of S-K Lectrolite, Lectrolite and S-K Wayne. Doing some more research, it seems the Tru-Fit Logo was under Lectrolite Corporation: Registered Trademarks... something I did not know about so once again good to learn something new on this site ... I think I will start keeping my Tru-Fit with the S-K group of tools...


Lectrolite Corporation: Registered Trademarks;

Description Reg. No. ... First Use ... Date Filed ... Date Issued ... Notes
Tru-Fit 537,194 ... 03/01/1921 ... 09/18/1947 ... 02/06/1951 ... For wrenches and pliers.

Lectrolite Logo 567,405 ...01/01/1932 ... 04/09/1951 ... 12/02/1952 ... "Lectrolite" in oval logo.
For wrenches, pliers, other tools.
Serial 612,404. Published August 12, 1952.

Tru-Fit Logo 579,565 ...01/01/1917 ...04/09/1951... 09/08/1953 ..."Tru-Fit" with calipers logo.
For wrenches, pliers, other tools.
Serial 612,405. Published May 26, 1953.

S-K Lectrolite 616,501... 06/01/1953 ....11/23/1953 ...11/22/1955... For wrenches, pliers, other tools.
Published August 16, 1955.

Nice old socket sets, Cody. I have mostly Craftsman and Thorsen sets.

Here is my latest project. I went out to pick up my trailer, as my buddy finished installing the ramp we built a couple of months ago at his machine shop.
He took his forklift and loaded this lathe onto the trailer. One of his old employees left this lathe at his shop (the employee was working on it). Fast forward several years later, and my buddy calls the guy to come get his lathe, and the guy said he doesn't want it - to sell it or scrap it. So my buddy gave it to me. It has been sitting under a breezeway cover for several years. It dates to the 1960s / 70s and it weighs in at about 400 lbs.. But I plugged it in and it works. It came with a 110 motor in it, and the original 3 phase in a box. Pretty sure this came out of a high school shop class, as it has the start button lock box and a pexiglass safety shield (that came off immediately ). The reeves drive is locked up, so you can't change the rpm on it, and the tailstock has a crack in it. Will see if my buddy can braze the crack. Other than that, it just needs a good de-rusting and cleaning.

Three old monkey wrenches added to the cache:

Open Range-19 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 20, 2023 5:07 pm Three old monkey wrenches added to the cache:

Nice! They look to be in great shape.

Thanks GSPTOPDOG. They are in nice shape and I was lucky to be at the right place at the right time to get them. As you know most are found in lesser condition. A neat artifact from the old days of our grandfathers. Any neat stuff coming your way?

Real project came your way Unk with the lathe. The joys of repair and restoration. Neat socket set cody. Thanks for posting it.

Open Range-19 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 21, 2023 3:26 pm Real project came your way Unk with the lathe. The joys of repair and restoration. Neat socket set cody. Thanks for posting it.

Yes, she's a big one. I restored an old band saw a few years ago (bunch'a pics on page 7 of this thread.) I use that band saw almost every day now.

Unk,
I remember seeing the bandsaw and just reviewed the post. You’re tool restorations are top notch. Hopefully an incentive to some of the younger generations who see them too.