"This is a vintage unknown brand knife. On one side is a 1 1/8"" regular screw driver on top and a can opener
on the bottom and on the other side is a 2 1/2"" knife. The knife is engraved along the tang on separate
lines with STAIN, LESS, JAPAN and inside a diamond separate lines with D or P and 61. The stainless steel
handle has surface scratches and is engraved on separate lines with SAFETY PAYS and PTC 1975. The
knife is stainless steel. Made in Japan.
I had some questions I would like to ask as follows:
What does the diamond shaped perimeter with D or P and 61 inside mean?
What is this knife worth?
Thank you for your assistance in this request.
Regards,
Robert Knarr
The diamond shape with the DP in and is probably the logo or trademark of the company for whom the knife was made. The key to finding the value of this knife is finding out who made it and when. The fact that someone went to the trouble of paying a little bit extra to have a name stamped on the tang indicates to me it is better quality than a no-name Chinese knife.
However, it does not appear to be a high-end knife, judging from the fit and finish. It does have something engraved on the side, you said: “SAFETY PAYS and PTC 1975.” This knife appears to be one given as a safety award by a company or a program (PTC) and probably given in 1975. Often these are not particularly expensive knives though by 1975 some companies in Japan were beginning to produce much higher quality knives.
If I were trying to sell this knife in a knife show I would ask one or two dollars and I would feel fortunate if it sold.
You have been posting a lot of questions about knives recently, obviously you have an interest in them. At some point you will need to do your own research.
Two of the best resources for researching knives are Levine’s Guide for Knives and Their Values, fourth edition. It is out-of-print the successor is Blade’s Guide To Knives and Their Values. In my opinion it’s a poorly done rip off of the original author but it’s about as close as you’re going to get aside from paying $150 for a copy of the fourth edition. The other book that is invaluable in researching knives is Goins Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings. This book also is out-of-print but it is still available in some locations new at reasonable prices and there are used copies available.
Google, Yahoo and Bing are all excellent research tools as is eBay.
Also you use the search function here on AAPK you will be surprised at what you can find.
You have been posting a lot of knives that are low end and really don’t have a lot of value to them. Most collectors don’t bother with them, or haven’t bothered with them since they started collecting years ago. This is why you are not getting many answers to your posts. If there is no brand obvious to you on the knife, it’s not going to be obvious to us either unless it is an American made knife we are familiar with that has no name. Most of the Chinese knives are made for export, not necessarily to the US, and a lot of them are really low quality. Some of them we haven’t seen before or if we have seen them we made a quick judgment as to what they were and forgot about them because they were cheap knives. Don’t get me wrong; there are some fine Chinese knives being made now days but they have a brand name on them, and they are not necessarily cheap when compared to American-made knives. I’ve seen quite a few Chinese knives in the $50 plus range these days even on eBay.
A lot of collectors, and I include myself in this, are not very interested in inexpensive knives and therefore we ignore them. American-made brands or higher-end imported brands like Kershaw, Al Mar and Columbia River Knife & Tool have plentiful literature available in knife stores in the US and also online. The really inexpensive knives, especially from China, have no literature, no electronic trail and no way to find out any information on them. This is why you’re not getting in-depth answers to your questions, it’s not that were trying to be rude it’s just that we are not familiar with the really inexpensive knives and many of your posts. And frankly if we don’t collect something there is no reason for us to research it or comment on it.
I hope this is helpful and I hope you find the research tools helpful.
