All About Pocket Knives

G,day fellas,
I have been given a bunch of old folding knives.
I hope to rejuvenate most of them.

An Interesting one is a an Imperial with a crown emblem stamped above the " i " following the r in IMPERIAL underneath the Imperial brand is Prov.USA
It has two blades with bolsters at either end. .Closed, it measures 3 and 3/8" AO.

The major blade is very short at 1" 11/16 long and has no nail nick.

The few Imperial blades I own already have a 3" drop point but this knife has a sheepsfoot blade as the major blade, with the secondary blade being a spearpoint.

The badge on the handles is marked HOE. Handle themselves appear to be black stamped steel but with faux pattern found on Staghorn and bone handles


The other Imperials I own have a 3" drop point

I suspect it has been cut down .

Does the description appear to be that of a common Imperial?

Thanks Ozwelder

Sounds interesting, I would like to see a pic. With a 3-3/8” handle and a blade that short(with no nick) it sounds like it may have been broken and reshaped.

Sorry about no photos. My new smart phone has decided it does not want to work with my iMac- hence it won't transfer photos. I will get it eventually if I keep plugging away at it.

I am impressed with the blade metal quality those old carbon steel knives. There is no difficulty at all in gaining a razor edge in comparison with the newer stainless steel blades.

I think I may build a new blade. I have 2 choices as I have lengths of 1095 and 1084 available to me.

What grade would you use and why use that one over the other one ?

Ozwelder

I always use 1095 because that is what the old knives were made of. Good enough for them, good enough for me.