Grandpa's pocketknife. Update: Thank you, Glennbad!

[r8shell]

My grandfather died in 1986. At the time, my aunt gave me a small box of items that were left on top of his dresser. Some fraternity pins, a few items from a desk set, etc. Among these things were two pocket knives. One is a tiny mother of pearl watch fob type knife. There's no maker's mark, and the covers are broken, but of course I treasure it. I don't remember him ever carrying or using a pocketknife, but I can imagine him wearing it on his watch chain. The other knife surprised me, and I assumed it was something that he found on the sidewalk, picked up, and put it on his dresser one day. I couldn't really picture him choosing a cheap sparkly gold plastic handled knife.

For some reason, while puttering around the house this weekend, I pulled out that box and took a closer look at the knife. I believe it's actually celluloid, as it's begining to shrink a bit at the corners. The shield is pinned, and the blades are marked "Standard Knife Co." Acording to Goin's, sold by Case from 1920 to 1948.

So it was at least 38 years old when it came to me, and maybe Grandpa did buy himself a flashy Peanut.

So the typical dilemma is: Keep it as is, or fix and carry it? I can reshape the broken blade. I wonder if I can find some glittery gold acrylic to have the cell covers replaced?

 

[joeradza]

It's always a tough call with something that has so much sentimental value. Normally I would just just reshape the blade and give it a good cleaning. However, if it really is celluloid, it's just a matter of time before it deteriorates. I guess my vote is a full renovation. But, your call.

Alan

 

[PNWJimbo]

On the offchance that he did treat himself one day to a fancy peanut, I think he'd be happy to see it restored and in his grandson's pocket being loved again. I say go for it :thumbup:

 

[Ernie1980]

Only because it is celluloid would I vote to get it fixed up. When the cell covers start to break down (and they will!) it has the ability to quickly ruin the knife. Like you mention, maybe you can find some similar colored acrylic material that will be very stable, and then you can fix the tip and give it an occasional pocket ride

 

[fishcakes]

Very cool. Id Switch out the covers man. Its still the same knife, youd just be preventing it from deteriorating further

 

[supratentorial]

Neat heirloom, R8shell. :thumbup:

I think it's OK either way. If you will pass it on to another family member, you might want to replace the covers. Unless the recipient will also be a collector, you might be best suited to see the work done. Glitter gold acrylic is available.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

On the offchance that he did treat himself one day to a fancy peanut, I think he'd be happy to see it restored and in his grandson's pocket being loved again. I say go for it :thumbup:

Or granddaughter.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I have my grandpa's yellow sak classic that was in his pocket when they found him out by the flag pole ( he was digging it up to repair or replace it ) and it's just to ground on and loose for my tastes. What I plan on doing is either buying a new yellow one, or putting his scales on the unused pink one he bought my grandma ( they were worn by his pocket and putting them on a knife that was owned by my grandma would make an extra special knife ) a sak classic was enough knife for him and may turn out to be enough for me.

If you can get the knife going again , I think carrying it on special occasions would be a great way to honor him.

 

[colubrid]

I don't know or understand enough why celluloid will deteriorate a knife? But I would try and replace it with acrylic that looks as close as possible to it and have the blades sent off to someone who can regrind and make them like new.

 

[Jody744]

Do it! My grandfather died when I was 10. They didn't have much, and the few pocketknives I got were all broken but one. So I had a broken 2 blade little Remington turned into a working single blade. Goes with me on special occasions, you won't regret fixing up that peanut!

 

[SubSpace]

As much as I would hate to alter such a sentimental artifact, I will echo the advice about the celluloid covers. GEC did a glitter gold acrylic that, if you can find something like it, would preserve the original look of the knife without the risk of the celluloid harming the steel.

 

[5K Qs]

Rachel, that's an incredible artifact to possess to remind you of your grandfather!! :thumbup: I get a lot of joy just having an old clip/pen Imperial toothpick that's LIKE one I remember my grandpa carrying; having the actual knife would be even better!

But I don't know what advice to give. If you fix it up a bit, I suppose you're likely to carry it more often, which I suppose increases the chances of losing it! I'm a little bit leery of carrying my first knife, a Colonial Forest-Master, because I'd hate to lose it. And I don't especially want to try to fix bowed back springs, blade play, etc. because they're part of that knife's "life" with me. So I'm kind of looking around for another old Forest-Master to carry and use with no risk of losing "the real thing". Maybe you need to start looking for a glittery gold Standard jack?

(FWIW, I noticed that Rough Rider has several knives with covers very similar to those of your grandfather's knife. RR calls the knives something like "The Strike It Rich" collection. )

- GT

 

[cilohaefink]

Interesting knife and wonderful story! Thanks for posting it.

From what I can tell, Case discontinued the STANDARD KNIFE co brand after 1933. I have copies of Case factory price lists from 1931 on, and the 1933 price list is the last to show them. Is the knife stamped on the main clip blade? Hard to tell from the photos.

This is an interesting knife, I have no doubts that it is genuine especially based on its story. However, the pattern/tooling is not a Case pattern. I have often wondered whether Case outsourced some or all of the Standard knives. Maybe they did, since the Standard knives listed for lower prices. But this is the first one that I have seen that does not match a regular Case pocket knife pattern.

 

[r8shell]

Thanks for looking, everyone. If it weren't celluloid, I wouldn't consider refurbing the knife, but now I'm on the hunt for some glitter gold acrylic.

Interesting knife and wonderful story! Thanks for posting it.

From what I can tell, Case discontinued the STANDARD KNIFE co brand after 1933. I have copies of Case factory price lists from 1931 on, and the 1933 price list is the last to show them. Is the knife stamped on the main clip blade? Hard to tell from the photos.

This is an interesting knife, I have no doubts that it is genuine especially based on its story. However, the pattern/tooling is not a Case pattern. I have often wondered whether Case outsourced some or all of the Standard knives. Maybe they did, since the Standard knives listed for lower prices. But this is the first one that I have seen that does not match a regular Case pocket knife pattern.

From my limited research, it looks like Case outsourced the Standard knives, and this one was possibly made by Kabar. The main blade is also stamped, but more worn.

(FWIW, I noticed that Rough Rider has several knives with covers very similar to those of your grandfather's knife. RR calls the knives something like "The Strike It Rich" collection. )

- GT

Thanks for the suggestion, Gary. I may order one of those just for fun, and who knows? If I can't find material I like, maybe I can use the scales from the Rough Rider. It may be cheaper than buying the stuff from a knife supply store.

 

[blademan 13]

I will go against the tide here and suggest re-tipping the blade and keeping the covers. Some celluloid has proven to be more stable than others, yours looks pretty good. Keep it stored in the open and just keep an eye on it, you will notice if any change is afoot. Then it would be wise to pop the covers off and replace.

The way I see it, if indeed your grandfather treated himself to a fancy new peanut once upon a time, it was most likely these covers that were the deciding factor. I would keep them as long as I could.

 

[boy&hisdogs]

Well, I know if I inherited a beat up knife from my grandpa, he'd be a 100 times happier if I got my hands dirty and fixed it up, hopefully learning something in the process, and then carried it instead of just sticking it somewhere.

 

[btb01]

What a fine thing to have, Rachel. I would say do whatever refurbishing you're comfortable with to make it a knife you'll carry.

I have this old knife that was given to me by my grandpa when I was a kid. I think it was made by Camillus, but the only tang stamp says "MADE IN USA." I used it a lot as a kid (without really caring for it at all; "rode hard and put away wet" is the expression, I believe ), then rediscovered it in a box a few years ago. It didn't require the type of refurbishing you're talking about, but I soaked in on oil, got rid of the rust (or at least turned it to a dark patina) and sharpened it up. It actually acted as a guinea pig for me learning to sharpen. I don't carry it often, but I like to drop it in my pocket every now and then.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck with it. I'm sure you're grandpa would be proud to have you carry his old knife.

 

[r8shell]

I will go against the tide here and suggest re-tipping the blade and keeping the covers. Some celluloid has proven to be more stable than others, yours looks pretty good. Keep it stored in the open and just keep an eye on it, you will notice if any change is afoot. Then it would be wise to pop the covers off and replace.

The way I see it, if indeed your grandfather treated himself to a fancy new peanut once upon a time, it was most likely these covers that were the deciding factor. I would keep them as long as I could.

I'm not rushing into a decision. It's been sitting in a box for many years without bursting into flame. but the cell is starting to curl.

What a fine thing to have, Rachel. I would say do whatever refurbishing you're comfortable with to make it a knife you'll carry.

I have this old knife that was given to me by my grandpa when I was a kid. I think it was made by Camillus, but the only tang stamp says "MADE IN USA." I used it a lot as a kid (without really caring for it at all; "rode hard and put away wet" is the expression, I believe ), then rediscovered it in a box a few years ago. It didn't require the type of refurbishing you're talking about, but I soaked in on oil, got rid of the rust (or at least turned it to a dark patina) and sharpened it up. It actually acted as a guinea pig for me learning to sharpen. I don't carry it often, but I like to drop it in my pocket every now and then.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck with it. I'm sure you're grandpa would be proud to have you carry his old knife.

That's a great old knife, Barrett. Lots of life left in those blades. Not only is it a memento of your grandfather, but you have attached your own memories of using it as a kid. :thumbup:

 

[glennbad]

That's a great old knife! I'd leave the original covers on for now, but keep a close eye on the knife for any signs of further deterioration. I'd also regrind that blade into something usable.

Enjoy it and use it with pride!

 

[btb01]

That's a great old knife, Barrett. Lots of life left in those blades. Not only is it a memento of your grandfather, but you have attached your own memories of using it as a kid. :thumbup:

Thanks, Rachel. One thing I can tell you for sure, in the time that I had it as a kid, it was never sharpened.

 

[r8shell]

I'm digging up this thread to post an update.

I got a message from glennbad that he found some Gold Stardust Kirinite, and offered to re-cover Grandpa's knife. I also asked him to grind the blade down from the spine to restore the point.

It is amazing! I really think the celluloid must have originally looked much like this and somehow, he managed to keep the character of the knife while making it look as good as new.
Thank you so much, Glenn! I no longer have to worry about the cell destroying the knife, and I can even carry it sometimes.