All About Pocket Knives

Here's a really nice ELECTRIC CUTLERY, Walden, NY Easy Opener. 3-1/2". Now the secret is that pretty Rodgers bone ain't bone at all. It's jigged wood. It fooled me and it fooled a guy at The Mason-Dixon Club show so well that he bet and lost a Remington jack-knife that it was bone. You need a microscope to see its wood. Now that you know you'll think it's easy but it's not. Fun piece! J.O'.

Interesting! I have several knives that have wood handles jigged to look like bone but they are fairly easy to tell. That one looks for all the world like bone!

From here, I would have lost a bet! Beauty!!!

Man, she fooled me too! Had to read your description twice, still can't believe it's not bone.
Beautiful knife John .

I’ve owned several of those over the years, same pattern and stamp , all had bone .
Sure looks like bone in your pictures to me .

Anybody got a Remington to bet? Bring it. J.O'.

You need to give the guy his knife back.That is bone and it's not Rogers bone either.It is New York Knife Co.bone.I have owned many of the same knife and NYK used the same bone on their Hammer Brand knives also.

I gotta agree with Roger. I also have owned a lot of NYK knives and that is NYK bone. KA-BAR used jigged wood on a lot of hunting knives and if you have a sturdy thumbnail you can make an impression in the wood. You cannot make an impression in bone with your thumbnail. Try it on your knife, no impression=bone.

I gotta agree with Roger & Gene, I have seen & handled quite a few Electric, Wallkill River Works & other NYK made knives, all with that distinctive NYK Bone. Never have seen any wood handles with that jigging or coloration. I'm wondering what you see under a microscope that makes you think its wood?

Here's some N.Y.K. bone.

This argument could be settled in short order with the hot pin test. Hold a pin or small sewing needle, smaller the better with a needle nose plier in the flame of a gas stove until the pin is red hot. Lightly tap the hot pin against the surface of the material being tested. If the pin meets bone it will feel like solid unyeilding material. If it is wood or plastic of any kind it will penetrate slightly. I have to caution that the touching should be VERY LIGHT, just barely touching the surface in an inconspicuous place. No need to poke it in an inch or so! I have done this many times to test knife handle material and the divot left in plastic handles cannot be found especially if you rub the surface with a shop towel or similar rough cloth after the test. If the material is actually wood, there will also be a tiny puff of smoke on contact.

Here are five knives that have jigged wood handles. The closest thing to bone in them is the USCG approved Camillus. The Camillus trapper is the first knife I ever re-handled(note the gaps near the bolsters)and tried my jigging technique of using a small ball mill in a Foredom die grinder to achieve the effect.

Nice EO Ridgegrass..
John

Whoa! I started a fire here. First, I've done the hot needle test and it smoked and smelled like wood. I've done it on bone before. It's a little harder to get a good result but, like other animal tissue it should have the burnt hair odor. It didn't. The other reason against bone is the lack of capillaries in the material. As I'm sure you all know, bone has a rich blood supply and traces of those capillaries are usually visible with the naked eye and very well with a magnifier. I have a 50 power dissecting scope and can find no capillary remains. The material is not soft but can be dented with good pressure. I'm certainly not trying to fool or BS anyone here.I'm not putting my integrity on the line here. Those are the results of the tests . When I first got the knife I carried it around to shows and discussed it with other collectors. Like now, there were differing opinions. Either way it's a great piece and I appreciate all the input, especially the pictures. J.O'.

This picture is what makes me think it's bone. Wish it was clearer when enlarged though.

I may not know what I'm talking about here, but jigged wood handles don't seem to be to common. Except with Case and a couple others. Especially on an EO jack knife.
Did NKC even use jigged wood?

REDRIDER: Look at your picture. That open place around the spring pin is where i tested it with the red hot needle. You can see it's a little grainy in there, like there's a very tiny piece chipped out. And the smooth area near the rear bolster is where I really can't see any capillaries. Like I said, it's a nice knife either way.For 20 years I've thought it is wood but... Thanks J.O'.

EDGE: I was going to pose the same question? I have Case Hawks and Clasps with jigged wood and some are kinda, "bony" looking. J,O'.

Here's an example, albeit maybe a bit easier for the trained eye. Two Case 61011 Hawks. One is bone and one is wood. The bone one is an XX. The wood is a USA 2 dot, 1978. What's more confusing is the first digit "6" denotes bone most of the time but in the USA it denotes wood, and this wood is as hard as bone. Top is bone, but you knew that. Right? J.O'. Just having fun!

I happen to have an EO Electric Cut Co Walden, and I'm pretty sure this one is bone. Mine is heavily cleaned, you can see how the bone is glossy. I think the true "tell" on mine is where the indentation has been cut out. Our knives look like twins.

That's a nice one. J.O'.