All About Pocket Knives

New to AAPK, which looks like the place for discussion and information.

I have an old pocket knife that I've done research on, and although oxidation has made it difficult to see, it looks like the markings on one side of the large blade say "Wards Made in USA", and "491" on the other, so it looks like a Wards knife, and looks to have the proper shield, but I haven't been able to find anything to verify a "491".

From what I've read, Wards knives were made by a number of companies (Excelsior, Winchester, Utica, Camillus) depending on the year, and had a variety of blade types and bone handle types.

I'd very much appreciate any help to verify if this is a Wards knife, what model it is, who made it, when it was made, and any information on the blades, handle, etc.

Here are a few pictures:

I don't try to collect Wards so my experience / expertise is limited, but do have a couple that I have ended up with.

Your knife looks to have a legit Wards marking, albeit pitted. Likewise the pattern number looks like what I have seen on Wards knives. Here is a reference picture for the markings from a pearl Wards that I have which I believe was made by Winchester.

PS Welcome to AAPK !

Thanks for the response, and the welcome.

Welcome to the forum. I can't help with your knife but just wanted to welcome you. You're correct. This is the place if you want info about knives.

I did some research, and found a listing for a J. Ward & Co.'s Pocket Knife no. 491 in a Bliven, Mead & Co.'s Catalog Price List, but the description doesn't seem to match. The catalog lists the knife as No. - 491, Handles and Blades - B. (bone?) 4 BL (my knife has 3 blades), Brass or Iron Lined - B.L., Handles Round or Square - H.S. (my handle does not look square).

Catalog link:

https://books.google.com/books?id=5hlaA ... fe&f=false

So now I'm really curious about this knife. Is it Montgomery Wards issue? J. Ward & Co. issue? Is the catalog listing correct?

Hopefully someone with knowledge can clear things up.

BTW, thanks for the welcome bdev.

Knife appears to be correct. Appears to be a Winchester made knife. I have one that appears to be identical, stag, 3 blade stockman with the typical Winchester spey blade and shield, and with the punch, marked 491.

The catalog you reference is for J. Ward, not Montgomery Ward, the retail giant that Winchester manufactured these knives for.

msteele6 wrote:Knife appears to be correct. Appears to be a Winchester made knife. I have one that appears to be identical, stag, 3 blade stockman with the typical Winchester spey blade and shield, and with the punch, marked 491.

The catalog you reference is for J. Ward, not Montgomery Ward, the retail giant that Winchester manufactured these knives for.

Sounds like it is indeed a Montgomery Ward knife, manufactured by Winchester. Any idea when it was made? Is the handle bone?

Thanks for the response and info. Very much appreciated.

Handle is genuine stag, probably made in the 1930's.

JMO

msteele6 wrote:Handle is genuine stag, probably made in the 1930's.

JMO

Thanks for the info. I find all this fascinating. Had no idea stag horn was used to make handles.

Quote: "I find all this fascinating"
That means you are a 'knifer', one who finds knives & their history "fascinating".
You have come to the right place. We all here are fascinated by knives and deeply enjoy learning more about every knife.
"Knives" is a huge body of knowledge and quite a bit of information is here at AAPK for your discovery.
I hope you stick around, read & post and show the rest of us more knives that you would like help with. I bet the Wards is not your only pocket knife.
kj

kootenay joe wrote:Quote: "I find all this fascinating"
That means you are a 'knifer', one who finds knives & their history "fascinating".
You have come to the right place. We all here are fascinated by knives and deeply enjoy learning more about every knife.
"Knives" is a huge body of knowledge and quite a bit of information is here at AAPK for your discovery.
I hope you stick around, read & post and show the rest of us more knives that you would like help with. I bet the Wards is not your only pocket knife.
kj

I do, and I will. Thanks to everyone for the help.