All About Pocket Knives

Howdy friends,
I've recently purchased two old Ulster knives both with the Ulster Knife Co tang stamps, the first I can tell has bone handles... the other is a 3 blade that I'm not quite sure. What period did delrin handles come into play? Or is this actually bone and I'm just not familiar with the period or jigging of it.
Appreciate the help from our experts, Randy

I think that Delrin made its entrance around 1960. Beautiful old knives.

There defiantly bone.

Gone2Three wrote: ↑Fri Nov 06, 2020 6:18 am Howdy friends,
I've recently purchased two old Ulster knives both with the Ulster Knife Co tang stamps, the first I can tell has bone handles... the other is a 3 blade that I'm not quite sure. What period did derlin handles come into play? Or is this actually bone and I'm just not familiar with the period or jigging of it.
Appreciate the help from our experts, Randy

The knife pictured is bone.

Knife is a military issue WW2 Ulster. The handles are very worn Schrade peachseed bone used by Ulster on some knives during the war. This is another Ulster that proves the old mark was used through the war and did not end with the Baers purchase of Ulster. The WW2 10th Mountain Division Ulster knife also carries the old mark although it has different bone jigging.

I agree, it’s bone. Delrin was patented by DuPont and first produced and marketed in 1960, but did not appear as knife handle materials until a few years later.

A serious knife collector should learn to identify bone by its Haversian canals (the tiny channels through which blood capillaries and nerves run in animals) which are visible under minimal magnification and sometimes with the naked eye (assuming you’re young enough). viewtopic.php?f=98&t=62145 The canals of course are not present in synthetic materials.

Ken

Thank you gentlemen for your replies, appreciate the insight and expertise. As stated before I'm fairly new to this and still learning the lingo and especially how to identify the materials used in this new hobby.
Ken thanks for the link, as usual must have missed seeing it. You've all been a tremendous help!

That's definitely Schrade peachseed bone but I'm quite certain it's not from the WWII era. Schrade wasn't acquired until 1946, some years after the war, and their peachseed bone handles weren't incorporated into the Ulster knives until the 1950's.

Eric

Here's the two knives side by side, the 3 blade hasn't been through the spa treatment as of yet. The two blade was very rough upon arrival, but is now cleaned up a bit and oiled.

ea42 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 06, 2020 4:21 pm That's definitely Schrade peachseed bone but I'm quite certain it's not from the WWII era. Schrade wasn't acquired until 1946, some years after the war, and their peachseed bone handles weren't incorporated into the Ulster knives until the 1950's.

Eric

Eric, I hate to differ here, but the Baers bought Ulster in 1941. These Ulster cattle patterns with peachseed bone and iron bolsters and liners were made for the military during WW2 according to the military knife guys. Also, did Ulster not change it's mark to Ulster USA circa 1946 whereas the knife in question has the old style Ulster Knife Co mark. Schrade wasn't acquired by Ulster, it was the other way around and it took place in 1941 just before the war.

Gene that's dead wrong, please look it up because it's well documented. Schrade was bought by Kingston Cutlery in 1946. Kingston was a joint venture between Ulster and Imperial. Schrade Cut Co was re-named Schrade Walden in 1947 after the purchase. In 1947 Kingston was dissolved and Ulster and Imperial merged to form the Imperial Knife Associated Companies, of which Schrade Walden was a subsidiary. Any peachseed bone handled Ulsters would have been made at the earliest in the latter part of 1946. As far as the parts they could well be leftovers from the war years.

Eric