All About Pocket Knives

Asking for a friend.

The liners for this knife have a symetrical die cut. The sides of the knife are parallel and there is no taper to the frame. There is no swell in the liners at either end of the knife and the liner dimensions would match if one was to be rotated against the other.

Please look at the pictures and let me know what you think. I realize there ar other descriptions that do apply to the knife but would you consider this knife to be an equal end jack knife? A simple yes or no will do for a reply but elaborate if you like.

Yes

I'm with Dan. Yep.

Mightn't it also be called a "Cigar"?

Yes; I would call it an equal end bare headed jack knife and an especially charming one at that. That shield!

What is it's length?

That knife has Dwight Divine written all over it. --- Yes? -- No?.

Yes, but a more apt description is “bareheaded cigar jack.”

Ken

Joe looks like we were posting at the same time. You beat me to it.

3 3/8" closed

Yes. But as Equal End Jacks usually have caps this one could also be called a "Barehead Equal End Jack".
kj

At 3 3/8" I suppose it could take on the "cigar" tag. I assumed it to be smaller.

Thanks for the replies.

Sometimes it is hard to put a pattern of a knife into one single descriptive box. The term equal end can be just one part of a multifaceted description of one single knife. A knife can be an equal end jack, pen, whittler, cattle and on and on. They can all be equal end knives just as many patterns can also be bareheads, serpentine, shadow, shell frame, tip bolstered and so on.

I would describe this particular OP knife made by Empire Knife Co. to be an equal end, slim, barehead jack knife. Other names might apply as well. Not a common pattern in my experience.

I made this post because someone had told me I was incorrect to call it an equal end knife because it is a bare head knife. I can only guess the thought was that it could not be both barehead and equal end at the same time. I think consensus here puts equal end into one of the many descriptions that can fit the knife. Thanks again for the replies.

I would agree Wayne. By the way,that's a neat knife!

I vote bare head equal end jack as well.I believe that the "equal end" terminology applies to the knife profile rather than the presence of bolsters on both ends.

Straight with rounded ends, bolster on one end only, 2 blades opening from the same end. I would also say barehead cigar jack.

OLDE CUTLER wrote: ↑Mon Feb 08, 2021 9:03 pm Straight with rounded ends, bolster on one end only, 2 blades opening from the same end. I would also say barehead cigar jack.

My only disagreement with that is (in my own opinion)to qualify as a ,"cigar jack" the length would have to be at least 4 inches and above.That is just my take on it.

I just know enough to get myself in trouble when I make calls like that.
A beautiful little Empire.

To expose my inexperience even farther. I wonder about the origins of the descriptive word "cigar".
Did knife manufacturers use the term in their advertisements to describe their product?
Was it a term made up by collectors or more likely accumulators?
I'm not critical of its usage. It seems to be a given now but it seems like saying a knife is an equal end would be descriptive enough.
I wonder where length and bulk of a knife enter in to the accepted usage of the term.
The OP knife seems to just slip under the wire if one wants to call it a cigar in my limited perception of a cigar.
I think of cigars as larger knives. And heftier knives.
The two New York knives are an example of what I'm getting at. Granted, the smaller knife (3 5/16") is a pen knife and it doesn't have side by side blades but look at the larger jack (3 5/8") and how thick the very round bolsters are.
For me, I would have no problem calling the larger knife a cigar. It seems to fit, if you want to use that term.
Any thoughts?
There will not be a test on this.

Thanks for your patients.

EDIT: Well, blown out of the water again. Ray is going for 4" as a length for cigars.
When do we call them stogies,

Joe I always consider 4 1/4" or more closed to be a cigar pattern but seeing jacks like to OP and two you posted with such round profiles makes me want to bend the 4 1/4" down. In addition to the cigar shaped silhouette if the knife has a nice rounded crosscut profile it really interests me. Frame has to be equal end in my mind though.

Equal-ended cigarette!!!



Edit:. I apologize, but I have a warped sense of humor. Thank you for posting a picture of the knife. It is a real beauty!

FRJ wrote: ↑Mon Feb 08, 2021 11:44 pm I just know enough to get myself in trouble when I make calls like that.
A beautiful little Empire.

To expose my inexperience even farther. I wonder about the origins of the descriptive word "cigar".
Did knife manufacturers use the term in their advertisements to describe their product?
Was it a term made up by collectors or more likely accumulators?
I'm not critical of its usage. It seems to be a given now but it seems like saying a knife is an equal end would be descriptive enough.
I wonder where length and bulk of a knife enter in to the accepted usage of the term.
The OP knife seems to just slip under the wire if one wants to call it a cigar in my limited perception of a cigar.
I think of cigars as larger knives. And heftier knives.
The two New York knives are an example of what I getting at. Granted, the smaller knife (3 5/16") is a pen knife and it doesn't have side by side blades but look at the larger jack (3 5/8") and how thick the very round bolsters are.
For me, I would have no problem calling the larger knife a cigar. It seems to fit, if you want to use that term.
Any thoughts?
There will not be a test on this.

Thanks for your patients.

EDIT: Well, blown out of the water again. Ray is going for 4" as a length for cigars.
When do we call them stogies,

what knife Company is the top one?

LDF, The top knife is a New York Hammer Brand knife.
The little pen is a Wallkill River Works knife, a brand associated with New York Knife Co.

Thank you, Wayne, I appreciate your comments and always like hearing what you have to say about knives.