All About Pocket Knives

Can anyone help identify the pattern number / era of this knife? I bought a random lot for $5 and this little Imperial was the standout of the bunch. It's a 3-1/8" long sleeveboard with stainless blades and, I believe, celluloid handles (not a shell.) Both blades have 2 line stamps: IMPERIAL over STAINLESS and the shield says STAINLESS STEEL. The blades share a single spring, it's very slim. It's a solid little knife. Anyone recognize it? I'm guessing 1930s-1940s. Thanks for looking -

Imperial began making their knives with shell handle construction in the late 1930's. Your Imperial sleeveboard pen knife has solid handles so is from before this time.
Up until the change to shell handles, Imperial knives were strong well made knives similar to Ulster, Schrade Cut. Co., etc. Your knife is one of their lower end offerings, maybe sold from a card by the cash register at the local hardware store.
Imperial did not put pattern numbers on their knives.
kj

Kj's right about Imperial not stamping pattern numbers on the blades. They did however assign numbers to their knife patterns. I don't have the one for your particular knife, but it's equal end (almost twin) brother, is pattern number 308 and in the case of your knife, would have likely been followed by a suffix of SS.


It's pretty rare to find an Imperial from any era with stainless blades and if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say it might have been built on contract by Stainless Cut. Co.(Camillus) As you may know, they're most noted for an extensive line of 3" to 3-1/2" pen knives. If that's the case, it would date it from 1924 to the early 30's.


I have a Coke Bottle Fisherman with the same handle material. However, it's blades are carbon steel.


That's a great little find! Congrats!!


WB

Great info - thanks guys. I tried to match it up to the few catalogs available online but the catalogs didn't show lengths so it was a non-starter. I didn't realize the stainless ones were rare. Maybe this one's a keeper. Thanks -