All About Pocket Knives

First post. And I humbly ask for help...

My mother gave me this knife yesterday stating it was her fathers. I have been searching the web ever since. I have seen several like it but not this one.

The tang stamp (too rough to get in pics ) says this

Providence
Cutlery
Co

On the reverse side of the blade is a circle within a circle stamp and I think the letters NY.

It was pretty rusted when I received it and I have work on it with steel wool and a brass brush. But I think it's about as good as it's going to get. I couldn't get a good picture of the tang.

The long blade says Physicians Knife along it and looks to have the remnants of some grayish paint.

I have researched the Providence Cutlery Co and found that the original PCC disbanded early in the nineteen hundreds and became the Colonial knife co. I also know there is or was a Providence Cutlery Co that was selling knives under this name until recently or still is. So this knife could be a one hundred years old or five years old.

The closest I've come to matching the knife is one made by Kleen Kutter. But nothing on this knife tells me that is a Kleen Kutter knife.

I am attempting to post 3 pics. Let me know if they don't show up.

I really appreciate the help. I'm new to this but I have been reading a lot of your fourm. Very cool stuff and very cool site. I plan to stick around.

Welcome to AAPK.
Your knife is a "Doctor's knife" aka "Physician's knife". The flat end cap could be used to crush tablets or clumped powders when mixing up a salve.
The long blade can be used to move pills aside when counting them.
The handles look like jigged bone. It is a knife of good quality and old, almost certainly pre 1930, and quite possibly closer to the 1917 start up date for this manufacturer. Providence Cutlery like Imperial, initially made high quality knives but later on drifted to the low end market. Your knife is from the 'high end days'. I don't know when the transition to more cheaply made knives occurred.
kj

Welcome to AAPK. That Physician's knife (also called Doctor's knife) is one fine piece of cutlery. It's waaaay closer to 100 years old (or a little more) than it is to five years old. I've seen that jigging on the handles before but can't remember where and it literally screams OLD as do the "rat tail" bolsters (large half-round groove in the bolsters). I think you've managed to discover most of what you need to know about the knife. I wouldn't go any farther with the clean-up than a couple of drops of oil (3-In-One or equivalent) on the joints. Congratulations. That's a real keeper, even if it hadn't belonged to your Granddad.

Edit: I see Roland (KJ) beat me to the enter button.

kootenay joe wrote:Welcome to AAPK.
Your knife is a "Doctor's knife" aka "Physician's knife". The flat end cap could be used to crush tablets or clumped powders when mixing up a salve.
The long blade can be used to move pills aside when counting them.
The handles look like jigged bone. It is a knife of good quality and old, almost certainly pre 1930, and quite possibly closer to the 1917 start up date for this manufacturer. Providence Cutlery like Imperial, initially made high quality knives but later on drifted to the low end market. Your knife is from the 'high end days'. I don't know when the transition to more cheaply made knives occurred.
kj

Thanks good info! Can you expound on what makes you certain it's "old" and pre 1930? Again thanks. So for a dumb question. I'm learning.

RiverDawg24 wrote: Can you expound on what makes you certain it's "old" and pre 1930? Again thanks. So for a dumb question. I'm learning.

Read my post above and add to that the style of the bottom bolster. Compare it to one of my current day Doctor's knives shown below.

Doctor knives normally had a "spear" main blade, very seldom a clip main blade. The secondary blade is usually a pen blade like yours or a spatula blade like mine but their frame is always long and slender. Occasionally they will be "bare end" (no bottom bolster) but not often.

KJ and Jerry, thanks for the replies. The knife will never be sold but I wanted to find as much information about it as possible.

My grandfather was a woodworker and woodcarver by trade. He actually handmade guitars for Jimmy Driftwood....singer of "The battle of New Orleans". In fact, Driftwood sang his signature song at The Grand Ole Opry while playing one of my grandfathers guitars!

In the early 1900's his father ( my great grandfather) owned, at the time, the largest barrel stave company in the US. Located in the heart of the Ozarks here in North Arkansas. They logged White Oaks to make the staves(long side pieces of oak barrels).

I have no idea where my grandfather got this knife or why he had it. But it's definitely something I'll pass to my son one day.

Riverdawg:

If you're fairly new to pocket knives or knives in general, you might want to consider picking up this book. It will pay for itself 50X over in short order. Even a good used copy is an investment in knowledge. You can find it on Amazon, eBay, or just about any bookstore.

__________
Mike

Check out the old Keen Kutter knives with multiple blade configurations.

http://www.collectors-of-schrades-r.us/ ... pg1-18.pdf

Great example enjoy it.

larry