All About Pocket Knives

I would appreciate any information on this Dogs Head stamped bolster or this tang stamped dogs head

Crappieho wrote: ↑Thu Oct 03, 2024 1:47 am I.....

Maybe some information here?
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... hp?t=67959

Ed. You say new.I guess for us old guys, "new" could mean the 80's. My best guess is I got it in the late 80's, early 90's and it wasn't new then. I've long since given up on trying to authenticate its KA BAR origins, but I'd like to know where they came from, especially since one so similar has appeared. J.O'.

Ridge grass was curious as to whether you have any or have seen the tang stamp with the dogs head? I love a good mystery but I’ve had zero luck finding anything about either stamp.

New_Windsor_NY wrote: ↑Thu Oct 03, 2024 5:55 am

Crappieho wrote: ↑Thu Oct 03, 2024 1:47 am I.....

Maybe some information here?
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... hp?t=67959

Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any information on the bolster stamped dogs head and the tang stamped dogs head wasn’t discussed on that thread. Thank you though, I appreciate your taking the time to try to help!

The razor knife, like Windy's is what you might call an Asian sailing vessel. Chinese junk. JO" didn't like my answer when he posted his, that doesn't change what it is, a foreign counterfeit. The only KA-BAR classic folding knives made in the 1980s-mid 1990s were the club knives and I have all the original literature on them. The tang stamped OP knife is too new for me but looks like a KA-BAR product. KA-BAR does not actually manufacture any knives and I have no idea who they contract from now. Queen made most or all of the KCC knives from 1977-1995.

Gunsil wrote: ↑Fri Oct 04, 2024 12:25 am The razor knife, like Windy's is what you might call an Asian sailing vessel. Chinese junk. JO" didn't like my answer when he posted his, that doesn't change what it is, a foreign counterfeit. The only KA-BAR classic folding knives made in the 1980s-mid 1990s were the club knives and I have all the original literature on them. The tang stamped OP knife is too new for me but looks like a KA-BAR product. KA-BAR does not actually manufacture any knives and I have no idea who they contract from now. Queen made most or all of the KCC knives from 1977-1995.

Thanks for your input Gunsil. Bolster stamps may be Chinese junk but personally I would never have guessed it was made in the 80’s or 90’s. Everything about it feels much older than that. I’m unclear about why it was decided that the bolster stamps were KCC knives, I’m a new collector so would really appreciate it if you know why. excEllent work by Chinese counterfeiters for sure. I’d still buy another one lol. And are both of the tang stamped dogs heads too new to give ballpark date? Obviously being a newbie I don’t know much but one looked like a happy dog and the other looked like a mad dog to me. Any knowledge you are willing to share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

I don't think those were made in the 80s or 90s, I think they are much newer. If that knife feels older to you, you have a LOT to learn. I search ebay for KA-BAR every day and attend a lot of knife shows and I know I never saw one of those bolster atrocities until after 2010 at least. I understand you are new to knife collecting, but if you think they are quality knives you are mistaken. You have no idea (neither do I) of the quality of the steel used but the finish on yours is way sub par and the bone jigging is simply awful. I have no idea why anybody would think it was a KCC knife, the dog head is simply atrocious. Regarding the other knife with the tang mark, yes, it is too new for my area of expertise. I have many catalogs, price lists, and advertising and my area of knowledge is circa 1911-1952. I also have some KA-BAR catalogs from the 1950s-1960s and of course all KCC newsletters and the guide they published to all the KCC knives. My interest in collecting KA-BAR knives for 60+ years has always been KA-BAR products and KA-BAR hasn't actually made a knife since the mid 1970s. Hence I have little interest in what they market today. Good luck with your collecting but be aware that anything made to be collectible isn't. If you get ahold of a genuine 1920s-1930s KA-BAR knife you will see the super quality of the originals which decreased during WW2 and simply decreased for years afterward. The KCC knives made for them by Queen are pretty nice knives but still not as nice as the originals.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I’ve only been collecting knives for a couple of years and to be perfectly honest I don’t collect Ka-Bar knives for myself but found out a famous custom knife maker collects the dogs heads so I started getting a few to trade for some custom things I wanted to have made. But in the process I have become intrigued with the history of Union, Ka-Bar and all the connections between the older brands. Probably a bad habit to say the least as I just yesterday purchased a naponoch sunfish for $900 and hope that I didn’t get “taken” I really don’t have enough experience to be buying knives like that yet but I wanted it so bad…

With the jigging, I would have guessed it to be an old Cattaraugus.

A Catt "Fish" would be a 22929 but the bones sure look like Catt. Those old companies had some complicated dealings back then, who knows what parts were swapped around. Pretty knife. J.O'.

Since my name was mentioned I'll claim 30 seconds to respond. On the strength of Gene's opinion, I've long since given up any thought that my knife is in any way authentic. But, I've had it since the late eighties so I am sure it's not newer than that. I keep it with my equally suspect Trapper as a tender reminder to be careful, no matter how much you want something to be right. J.O'.

Ridgegrass wrote: ↑Fri Oct 04, 2024 8:39 pm A Catt "Fish" would be a 22929 but the bones sure look like Catt. Those old companies had some complicated dealings back then, who knows what parts were swapped around. Pretty knife. J.O'.

What many call "worm groove" bone was made by Rodgers bone company and they called it "Indian Trail" bone which is the proper name for it. It was for sale to any knife company and although Catt definitely used it so did some other companies.

Crappieho wrote: ↑Fri Oct 04, 2024 5:23 pm Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I’ve only been collecting knives for a couple of years and to be perfectly honest I don’t collect Ka-Bar knives for myself but found out a famous custom knife maker collects the dogs heads so I started getting a few to trade for some custom things I wanted to have made. But in the process I have become intrigued with the history of Union, Ka-Bar and all the connections between the older brands. Probably a bad habit to say the least as I just yesterday purchased a naponoch sunfish for $900 and hope that I didn’t get “taken” I really don’t have enough experience to be buying knives like that yet but I wanted it so bad…

Most experienced collectors who collect KA-BAR dogs head knives only collect the originals, not the KCC ones or the newer ones. Like I said, things that were made to be collectible usually aren't, or they only increase in value very slowly. Original KA-BAR dogs heads are rare and expensive and seldom seen in mint condition. Your Napanoch looks nice but i can't see the marks and there are folks here who have more knowledge than I on the brand. I do think you paid top dollar for it since it has been well cleaned and buffed. Cool knife if it's right. You don't say where you live but there is a cool knife museum in Warwasing, NY which is right close to Napanoch and Ellenville, NY and there is a great display of Napanoch knives and one of the board of directors has his own huge Napanoch knife collection. I live about an hour from there and have been multiple times, should you ever get a chance I'm sure a visit there would make you grin. Sadly they are only open Memorial Day to Labor Day, and it's best to give them a call to make sure they'll be open when you get there.

Thanks for everyone taking time to help educate a newbie. I’ll try to get some better pictures of the naponoch once it arrives. By the way I’m a country girl, west central Alabama near the Mississippi state line. The one thing I have figured out is that expensive lessons tend to stick with me lol. I’m definitely still living and learning. Glad I finally got brave enough to post on here. Y’all have made it practically painless. Thanks again for all the information.

Welcome to AAPK, from North Eastern Alabama!

Thanks for the welcome Reverend. Roll Tide!

Crappieho wrote: ↑Fri Oct 04, 2024 5:23 pm…. as I just yesterday purchased a naponoch sunfish

here’s a good example where the knife spoke to you which in my opinion is one of the hallmarks of any collector. Whatever that was, whether the bone, jigging, pattern, cleanliness, history, uniqueness, or whatever, that will become one of your standards whenever you look at a knife. Seasoned collectors know almost instantly if there is a connection or not. IMHO, men are buyers and women are shoppers. YMMV

BTW, was this purchased from a Facebook Live show?

I don’t worry much about this one.

Nice one Ben.

Harold

stockman wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2024 9:36 pm Nice one Ben.

Harold

Amen.

bestgear wrote: ↑Sat Oct 05, 2024 12:33 pm

Crappieho wrote: ↑Fri Oct 04, 2024 5:23 pm…. as I just yesterday purchased a naponoch sunfish

here’s a good example where the knife spoke to you which in my opinion is one of the hallmarks of any collector. Whatever that was, whether the bone, jigging, pattern, cleanliness, history, uniqueness, or whatever, that will become one of your standards whenever you look at a knife. Seasoned collectors know almost instantly if there is a connection or not. IMHO, men are buyers and women are shoppers. YMMV

BTW, was this purchased from a Facebook Live show

Yes I purchased it from a live show on facebook. I’m just a grandmother that only got grandsons so I had to think of something to have in common with boys. I mostly collect case knives and have accumulated about 15-20 sets for each of my grandsons. My personal taste gravitates towards bold colorful knives but I just got hung up on the history of the KA-BAR and related brands. I’ve always been a bit of a genealogy and history buff. One day I hope my grandsons are looking at their knives thinking that they had a really cool grandmother! My personal collection is about as mismatched as anything you would ever see, everything from Naponoch sunfish to polka dot tiny trappers. I’ve always heard to collect what you like and my knives definitely reflect that. These are some of the dogs heads I’ve picked up this year.

Crappieho wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2024 5:18 pmcollect what you like

your definitely on your way on many fronts especially establishing some common ground with your grandchildren. Your eclectic taste and historical gravitation isn't as uncommon as you might think, especially for those with multiple missions being served. Over the 60+ years that I've been collecting knives, I've narrowed my collection to Official Scout knives and knives made in New Britain CT where I grew up but over the years it was much broader than that. I love your purchases and there are a lot of Ka-Bar collectors here so I encourage to visit those forums and read-up!