"Black Box" Winchesters

waynorth said:
. . . . . . . .But some were gifted!!! Thanks Fixall Fixall , Brian, for these nice knives, out of the blue!!! I am humbled and honored!!!View attachment 2249818
A redbone 4-blade Congress, a Moose with old Utica bone, and a serpentine Whittler with colorful handles!! All as new, in their Black Boxes!!
Thanks Brian - these sure add variety to my collection!!
These were in a larger Gift package some of you may recall; I coatailed news of it in Jack Black's gift thread!! These have been trickling across the border to me in Canada!!
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Glad you're liking them Charlie! I thought that Blue Wine Gold was especially fun! Just like with the Christmas knife I sent Jack, I'm pretty sure that one is celluloid. So just be aware! :)
 
Hope reviving this thread is not a problem, but I wanted to share a few that I picked up recently. I dove deep into the information in this thread and in other areas, and got very interested in this series. In short, I’m extremely impressed with the quality of the black box Winchesters, and I’m happy to own these four pictured below.

The first one I picked up was this little swell center pen knife. This seemed the best one to test out the series to see if I was actually interested or not. Needless to say, it holds up against its reputation as a great, pocketable pattern.

Model #2903 from the year 1990.

IMG-2912.jpg


IMG-2920.jpg


Next, I tried out this swell center, splitback whittler. This type of pattern is generally my favorite from a technical perspective. I figure if a maker can handle a complex pattern like this well, they’re doing great. Of course, the Winchester version is fantastic!

Model #3971 from the year 1989.

IMG-2935.jpg


IMG-2955.jpg


Shortly after, I gave this small gunstock a try. I’m normally not a fan of gunstock patterns, but this one seemed like a nice addition to the collection. This particular one was a bit rough, with some decent gaps between the covers and liners. Even still, it feels really solid and makes an excellent coin-pocket carry. I like that this one sports an end cap as well. REALLY great action on this one too!

Model #2851 from the year 1988.

IMG-2969.jpg


Most recently, I picked up this three-spring whittler (or is this pattern called something else). I’m very impressed with how stout this one feels and how well it fits my hand. Absolutely love the full size clip and spey, and the pen blade is pretty sizable too. This one may be in the best condition when it arrived to me, showing only minor patina on the pins and liners. Great action as well on this one.

Model 3904 from the year 1988.

IMG-3061.jpg
 
Will Power said:
H Hoffmajo89 Some excellent patterns you've got there, I really like the Swell-Centre Penknife - so much so that I have two of them, user and hoarder :cool: Enjoy your knives.
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Thank you! I think I’ll stick with these four as they cover pretty much everything I wanted to try from the black box series. It was actually your posts in this very thread that encouraged me to start with the 2903. I must say, I can understand why you’d keep a backup!

Old Hunter said:
H Hoffmajo89 That 3904 Whittler is a beast, the one I have is a favorite EDC. OH
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Agreed. I thought a three spring knife would be terrible in the pocket, but the lack of dividers between the springs makes it quite manageable and well worth it for the blade selection in my opinion.
 
Hoffmajo89 said:
Hope reviving this thread is not a problem, but I wanted to share a few that I picked up recently. I dove deep into the information in this thread and in other areas, and got very interested in this series. In short, I’m extremely impressed with the quality of the black box Winchesters, and I’m happy to own these four pictured below.

The first one I picked up was this little swell center pen knife. This seemed the best one to test out the series to see if I was actually interested or not. Needless to say, it holds up against its reputation as a great, pocketable pattern.

Model #2903 from the year 1990.

IMG-2912.jpg


IMG-2920.jpg


Next, I tried out this swell center, splitback whittler. This type of pattern is generally my favorite from a technical perspective. I figure if a maker can handle a complex pattern like this well, they’re doing great. Of course, the Winchester version is fantastic!

Model #3971 from the year 1989.

IMG-2935.jpg


IMG-2955.jpg


Shortly after, I gave this small gunstock a try. I’m normally not a fan of gunstock patterns, but this one seemed like a nice addition to the collection. This particular one was a bit rough, with some decent gaps between the covers and liners. Even still, it feels really solid and makes an excellent coin-pocket carry. I like that this one sports an end cap as well. REALLY great action on this one too!

Model #2851 from the year 1988.

IMG-2969.jpg


Most recently, I picked up this three-spring whittler (or is this pattern called something else). I’m very impressed with how stout this one feels and how well it fits my hand. Absolutely love the full size clip and spey, and the pen blade is pretty sizable too. This one may be in the best condition when it arrived to me, showing only minor patina on the pins and liners. Great action as well on this one.

Model 3904 from the year 1988.

IMG-3061.jpg
Click to expand...
You know I love talking about these bad boys! Haven’t got a bad one yet. I really love your 3971. Need to find one of those. Your gunstock is really nice too.
 
TheIncredibleHoke said:
You know I love talking about these bad boys! Haven’t got a bad one yet. I really love your 3971. Need to find one of those. Your gunstock is really nice too.
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Thanks, I’m super happy with them too! I think the 3971 may be my favorite all-arounder (it’s also a birth-year knife for me so that’s another plus) , but the 3904 is such a surprise hit for me. Way more pocket friendly than I imagined a three-spring knife would be.

I’d love to see any pics of yours (or anyone’s who sees this) too. Part of my ulterior motive in reviving this thread is to see more pics since most of the early image links in this thread are broken 😭
 
Hoffmajo89 said:
Thanks, I’m super happy with them too! I think the 3971 may be my favorite all-arounder (it’s also a birth-year knife for me so that’s another plus) , but the 3904 is such a surprise hit for me. Way more pocket friendly than I imagined a three-spring knife would be.

I’d love to see any pics of yours (or anyone’s who sees this) too. Part of my ulterior motive in reviving this thread is to see more pics since most of the early image links in this thread are broken 😭
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These are the two pics I have handy, but I think you may have already seen.

IMG_8047.jpeg
IMG_8048.jpeg
 
In the same era as the BB Winchesters, Queen also made John Primbles, from the same pattern dies, and for the same distributor!! The similarity is obvious I think!!
A Sowbelly Moose!!Sow Moose 1.jpgSow Moose 3.jpgSow Moose 2.jpgSow Moose 4.jpg
 
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