All About Pocket Knives

These things used to be a kitchen necessity and favored domestic murder weapon (right behind a cast iron frying pan in lethality), but nowadays they are rarely seen. I'm visiting my folks in Fla for the holidays and my mother brought out this one - Rantz Ice Factory on one side and Manufactured Ice - Pure as the Water You Drink on the other. My uncle is certain that Rantz Ice Factory was one of the two ice houses in the Algiers district of New Orleans, though I can find no mention of it on Google. What I can find is many mentions of Charles F. Rantz Engineering Company of New Orleans which did ice plant installations all over the United States during the 1930s. Probably some link there that I haven't been able to uncover.

I've got several as well as the small ice tongs with advertising on them. I'm afraid I can't get them out for pictures though. They are buried in my bottle opener collection out in the garage.

I've got these three__no advertising (if there ever was it's been long worn off**)__these have been passed through the family forever__I still use the bottom one ( I freeze ice in old milk jugs to carry fishin')___all three are stored in our old Hoosier Cabinet,with the other ""junk/treasures ???""

Here's something along that line.I picked up this old cooler awhile back and did some antiqued lettering on it as kind of a joke.What I liked about it was on the lid inside was an ice pick and a church key(original I believe)in their respective mounts.

Old Hickory still sells those from Knived Plus for less than $5.00+ shipping costs (they're almost as much as the ice pick). 1095 Carbon Steel 4" long and worth every cent.

Nice picks. I too freeze water in milk jugs for icing fish down, bust it up in bigger chunks and it lasts way longer than the bagged stuff at the gas station, MUCH cheaper too! I make my own picks, I prefer a triangular cross section, it seems to part the ice better for me.

I rescue every OLD ice pick I can find at yard sales etc. They are great tools .