All About Pocket Knives

I just snagged another 55 this morning...
I have 4 different ones now. (I know there are probably MANY more...)
Here is the one I just got. It still has the blade etch.
I have NO idea what the handle material is...... It sorta looks like that NU horn stuff that you see on a lot of Bokers.
Probably cell.... looks like it might be gassing. .
Here is another that I am sure Skip has a dozen or so like this one.....
The ole Stag head 55D. .
And here is a 55Y with nice ole bright yeller handles. .
And my last one (for now) is the good ole Bonite handled 55. .
Let's see what y'all got....

I saw that Ulster on Ebay yesterday and wondered about the covers. When you get it please tell is what it is (If you can!).

tongueriver wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 3:22 pm I saw that Ulster on Ebay yesterday and wondered about the covers. When you get it please tell is what it is (If you can!).

Will do!!

Meridian_Mike wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 3:11 pm I just snagged another 55 this morning...

Here is another that I am sure Skip has a dozen or so like this one.....
The ole Stag head 55D.

And here is a 55Y with nice ole bright yeller handles.

And my last one (for now) is the good ole Bonite handled 55.

Let's see what y'all got....

Actually Mike, I only have 2, so far, of the ULSTER 55D knives.
You could sell me yours.

I also came close to pulling the trigger on that (cell?) 55. I'm looking forward to seeing the pics when you get it. The 55 is one of my favorites and definitely one of the most prolific patterns. A quirk that annoys me about the 55 is the 58OT. All the 50 & 55 patterns got a letter after the number to mark it as a Yellow, Deer, Greenbone and when they made an Old Timer out of it the 50 they called it a 50OT. When they made an Old Timer out of the 55 you'd think they'd follow suit: 55D, 55Y...but no, it was a 58OT. Here are a few of my favorites:

New_Windsor_NY wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 5:20 pm Actually Mike, I only have 2, so far, of the ULSTER 55D knives.
You could sell me yours.

That is a couple of REALLY nice deer you have in your herd Skip!

jxr1197 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 8:23 pm The 55 is one of my favorites and definitely one of the most prolific patterns. A quirk that annoys me about the 55 is the 58OT. All the 50 & 55 patterns got a letter after the number to mark it as a Yellow, Deer, Greenbone and when they made an Old Timer out of it the 50 they called it a 50OT. When they made an Old Timer out of the 55 you'd think they'd follow suit: 55D, 55Y...but no, it was a 58OT. Here are a few of my favorites:

I will be sure to let y'all know what the handles on that new (to me) 55 is made of..... IF i can figure it out....LOL.
.
That is a nice bunch of 55s you have there Jason!
I am especially jealous of the Old Timer that is 3rd from the right!

Thanks to all for posting pictures of your Ulster 55's. This reminded me that I had one hiddden somewhere in my Pile of Unused Stuff. I have a few questions about the 55's that I hope someone will answer. First, was the Ulster name used after the merger with Imperial in 1947, in other words, what is the ago of some of the Ulster 55's? And, second, is "Bonite" the official name for the brown plastic scales that Ulster used? Lastly, I notice that besides the clip and pen blades on the 55's, some have a traditional shape spay blade and some have more of fat pen blade for the third blade. Is this due to lots of sharpening or were different blade shapes used on some knives? Mine has a brown "Bonite" handle with the fat pen blade for the third blade.

Wonderboy wrote: ↑Mon Jun 15, 2020 10:23 pm Thanks to all for posting pictures of your Ulster 55's. This reminded me that I had one hiddden somewhere in my Pile of Unused Stuff. I have a few questions about the 55's that I hope someone will answer. First, was the Ulster name used after the merger with Imperial in 1947, in other words, what is the ago of some of the Ulster 55's? And, second, is "Bonite" the official name for the brown plastic scales that Ulster used? Lastly, I notice that besides the clip and pen blades on the 55's, some have a traditional shape spay blade and some have more of fat pen blade for the third blade. Is this due to lots of sharpening or were different blade shapes used on some knives? Mine has a brown "Bonite" handle with the fat pen blade for the third blade.

The Ulster brand continued into the 1970s and even after the name was retired it was brought back out for a few commemorative knives in the 1980s. The word Bonite was used generically to describe jigged plastic handles in several different colors, usually (always?) mixed with some white. In the catalogs it appears as ‘BONITE’, in all caps as if it were an acronym – it’s not. They also used the word in the context of it being a noun (ie: ‘BONITE’ instead of ‘bonite plastic’), but it’s not a noun either. It’s actually an adjective and in general they weren’t particularly concerned with consistency in the adjectives they used. That little quirk of theirs can drive you crazy when you’re looking through old catalogs trying to figure things out. As for the spey blade, I have a good variety of 55s and there is definitely more than one shape to that blade. I know the pattern was made for many different companies so there could be some variables in blade complement to fill orders and also some blades just changed over time like the clips on this pattern did.

Meridian_Mike wrote: ↑Mon Jun 15, 2020 11:34 am That is a nice bunch of 55s you have there Jason!
I am especially jealous of the Old Timer that is 3rd from the right!

Good eye Mike. That one’s special. It was a smooth bone factory original and I’ve only seen two of those. This one had a big chunk of bone missing so I had to decide between repairing or preserving. Obviously I got it fixed up but the work was done by Herman Williams which in my eyes is a factory repair.

jxr1197 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 15, 2020 11:36 pm
Good eye Mike. That one’s special. It was a smooth bone factory original and I’ve only seen two of those. This one had a big chunk of bone missing so I had to decide between repairing or preserving. Obviously I got it fixed up but the work was done by Herman Williams which in my eyes is a factory repair.

WOW.... YES... I agree, totally a factory repair, by factory AUTHORIZED personnel.
It is a true beauty and a real treasure!

Meridian_Mike wrote: ↑Mon Jun 15, 2020 11:34 am

New_Windsor_NY wrote: ↑Fri Jun 12, 2020 5:20 pm Actually Mike.....

That is a couple of REALLY nice deer you have in your herd Skip!

Thank you Mike. I have the zoo, Jason has the herd.

New_Windsor_NY wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 2:29 pm I have the zoo, Jason has the herd.

LOL... yep, I recon that is true!!

Thanks jxr1197 for answering my questions about the Ulster 55's. Good job, and I have a better appreciation for mine now. Also have an Ulster 50 as a mate to the 55.

Wonderboy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 7:15 pm Thanks jxr1197 for answering my questions about the Ulster 55's. Good job, and I have a better appreciation for mine now. Also have an Ulster 50 as a mate to the 55.

Share a pic of the 50 - we like those around here too


Here's another 55 pattern that showed up today. When Schrade put together these later Keen Kutter 55Ds (after they dropped the old style clip) for Val-Test, the knives didn't get tang stamps - just the blade etch. Of course etches wear over time if you use the knife so if you run into one of these with no markings at all, it's probably a Keen Kutter. There was also a Keen Kutter version of the 58OT with no tang stamp. There's one in the pic I posted up above.

jxr1197 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 6:49 pm
Here's another 55 pattern that showed up today. When Schrade put together these later Keen Kutter 55Ds (after they dropped the old style clip) for Val-Test, the knives didn't get tang stamps - just the blade etch. Of course etches wear over time if you use the knife so if you run into one of these with no markings at all, it's probably a Keen Kutter. There was also a Keen Kutter version of the 58OT with no tang stamp. There's one in the pic I posted up above.

Then what is this knife Jason? It has been in the zoo since April. No stamps, etches or markings of any kind. It doesn't appear that anything was ground off or worn off. It looks like the knife never had any. Here's the link, the pictures are the seller's. My pictures weren't as good.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=63410&start=225#p808480

New_Windsor_NY wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 7:21 pm Then what is this knife Jason? It has been in the zoo since April. No stamps, etches or markings of any kind. It doesn't appear that anything was ground off or worn off. It looks like the knife never had any. Here's the link, the pictures are the seller's. My pictures weren't as good.

My guess is it's very likely a Keen Kutter 834 with the etch polished off.

jxr1197 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 7:28 pm

New_Windsor_NY wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 7:21 pm Then what is this.....

My guess is it's very likely a Keen Kutter 834 with the etch polished off.

That would be nice. Then I'd have a Kingston, 2 Ulsters and a Keen Kutter.
Thank you.

jxr1197 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 6:49 pm

Wonderboy wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2020 7:15 pm Thanks jxr1197.....Also have an Ulster 50 as a mate to the 55.

Share a pic of the 50 - we like those around here too

I just bought these two knives. Both are ULSTER 50D, 2 blade, "Deer Head" pocket knives. Both will take up residency at the zoo. Both look like they are in good condition. Both will get inspected upon my receiving them and if needed, cleaned. I will take pictures and post them in the appropriate location(s). Here they are, one knife is the first 3 pictures and the other, the last 2 pictures. These are not my pictures.

COOL additions to the ZOO Skip.
SO.... the 50 is right there with the 55..... Are they the same except for the # of blades ?

My ULSTER 50D arrived today.

Oh YES!
Very nice 50D Skip!!

New_Windsor_NY wrote: ↑Fri Jun 26, 2020 4:18 pm My ULSTER 50D arrived today.

Nice clean example.

jxr1197 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 26, 2020 5:47 pm

New_Windsor_NY wrote: ↑Fri Jun 26, 2020 4:18 pm My ULSTER 50D arrived today.

Nice clean example.

Thank you Jason.

Meridian_Mike wrote: ↑Fri Jun 26, 2020 5:34 pm Oh YES!
Very nice 50D Skip!!

Thank you Mike.

My other ULSTER 50D joined my collection today. Here it is.

Another nice Deer Knife Skip!!