All About Pocket Knives

Hey guys... I found this one not long ago at a local antique shop... Hedengran & Sons (1833-1916) from Sweden... I think one of the older makers from that country and do believe I found some very detailed info on this site regarding swedish barrel knives and makers... interestingly this knife is quite different from what I have seen from Sweden - mostly barrel knives and fancy engraved small pen knives - but perhaps some of you know better and have seen similar to this. This one has an ivory handle, 2 blades and a cork screw. The knife is 4" closed, large blade: 3 9/16", small blade: 1 5/8" and cork screw: 1 5/8". The tang (photo below) on large blade is Hedengran and Son Eskilstuna and on the small blade 36. Has anybody else seen similar knives from this maker? Would this be considered rare? I know old ivory handled cork screws from Hedengran are worth $2-300 but believe me I spent not much for this pocket knife... in fact couldn't resist it and wasn't quite sure what I was buying at the time. The knife is tight, "walks and talks" with even half stops. Blade itself is interesting... similar to the barrel knives? I know it needs a cleaning but not sure how best to do it without destroying the patina. Ivory handle is in good shape with just a small minor crack. Thanks for any comments or info on the knife and any suggestions for cleaning... and hope I didn't post too many pics... Cheers - Lee

A nice looking little knife to be sure!I've not seen that name before. Are you sure that the scales are ivory? I tried magnifying the pictures and it looks like there are Haversian canals in the scales which would indicate they were bone. As for cleaning the blades;I would probably just give them a rub down with a #2 lead pencil to remove the rust and coat them with oil.The pitting looks to be too deep to easily remove.

Thanks - I was told the handles were ivory - and didn't see any pores which may indicate bone. When reading about the swedish knives I had read they were either wood, stag or ivory... didn't see bone listed as a possibility. Would a closer clear photo work? They look pretty similar to many of the handles on the Knife Lore subforum in the thread on posting ivory handle knives - should I post a photo there for some opinions?? I'm not really an expert so any help in determining if they are really ivory would be great... and thanks for the advice on cleaning it up!

Very nice knife LongBlade, and welcome. I agree with k7k, it does look to be smooth bone. You have a really unique piece there. I like the sabre grind of the spear master blade.

Thanks guys! Here is the knife after cleaning with a number 2 pencil - a nice difference )... blades and cork screw... still need to give it some lube in the joint and a light coating of oil or wax...

Just an interesting follow up observation as to the smaller blade... Originally I thought it was sharpened into a Spey-like blade from a pen blade but now that I have seen a few other old Swedish jacks the smaller blades are all the same... They weren't pen blades but Spey-like blades... Also yet to see another by this maker which I now know was one of the oldest in Sweden on record (starting in 1833) and more rare to find....

That's a nice knife. This is my opinion. It was likely made late 1800s or early 1900s. It has a machine cut corkscrew worm. I think the little blade was once a pen blade based on how it sits in the handle when closed and the relative position of the nick suggests that it was once longer than it is now.

Thanks smiling-knife!! Unfortunately I missed this post from you... Thanks for the guess on the age... great observation. You may also be right about the pen or spey blade... I was of the same opinion until I saw 3 other jack knives from Eskilstuna (not the same maker) and all 3 smaller pen blades had this shape of a spey blade - I guess it can be coincidence that all were sharpened to that shape but don't think so. If you look at the nail pull on the master compared to where the pen blade ends it looks like if it was shortened than it may have not been by much as the nail pull would have been hidden by the smaller blade if it was much longer... since the top sides of the blades align I assume the pen is not riding high and thus if it was longer you wouldn't be able to use the nail pull on the master... I'm just guessing as well and you may be right.

Great insight about the machine cut corkscrew smiling-knife.

LongBlade, I really like the sabre grind of the master blade.

Lee,
It's safe to say I would give your money back. Interesting knife.

Lee,
It's safe to say I would give your money back. Interesting knife,I've heard that primary called a stabber or a stabber jack.

Thanks Beechtree and Lyle !

I do quite like the knife but glad you would give me my money back Lyle .... I may in the future consider this knife for trade pending what is on the table (like a nice CT made farmer's jack ) .. Funny this knife was one of those opportunities - unusual and wasn't quite sure what I was buying at the time but liked the knife ... one of the reasons I posted the knife on this forum not long after I joined - I knew if anybody could help me figure out anything about this knife I would find it on this forum .... (BTW - in contrast to when I first posted it I now know the scales are no doubt smooth bone...)....

Certainly has a stabber jack type blade and is of the right size Lyle... but my understanding which may be incorrect is that stabber jacks are single blade jacks with a double swedge on the blade and usually about 4" in length closed... sort of a poor man's dirk... I actually posted a stabber jack made by the Southington Cut Co on a AAPK thread about this maker awhile back if you are interested... the thread was either on the General Discussion or Knife Lore subforums ... I can't remember ... but probably easily found....

Thanks again -
Lee