Codger_64
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- Joined
- Oct 8, 2004
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I grew up using carbon steel knives, so naturally I am attracted to them more than the shiny polished stainless and other “designer” steels now so in vogue. Most of my knives over the years, and those now in my collection are 1095HC. As I examine the newer designs, and the newer materials, I can’t help but become curious about earlier designs. “Ancestor patterns” I call them. Today’s fad seems to be knives that are part ax, part bowie, and try to pack in as much versatility in function as possible.
WSK’s, as Wilderness Survival Knives are now called, were once known as “Woodlore” or “Woodcraft” knives. These knives were, according to many writers, among the first knives specifically designed for hunters. Prior to the early 1900's, outdoorsmen were using relatively thin bladed knives that could be found in most kitchen drawers, or unweildy bowie designs which were sorely lacking when it came to most camp and hunting chores.
A strange amalgamation of Dal Deweese and Webster Marbles, both accomplished outdoorsmen and hunters, resulted in the Marble’s Safety Ax Dal Deweese knife. Webster was not convinced that Dal’s design was the ideal hunting knife, and shortly introduced his own knife, the Marble’s Ideal. Later he came up with an even newer design, the Woodcraft. He felt it was such a revolutionary design that in 1915 he applied for a patent on it which was granted in 1916. That patent expired in 1934, and since then many companies have copied or adapted the Woodcraft blade design, and many more adapted certain features for their own blade designs.
What most people probably think of as a “matchstrike” on the spine of the first Woodcrafts was a crosshatched area ahead of the guard meant to be a safety feature for grip traction in wet, slippery conditions, and after the first year or so evolved into lateral grooves which we now call thumb grooves.
The mushroom shaped aluminum pommel added security to the grip, and made more certain withdrawing the knife from the sheath or flesh. This pommel shape has also been copied, adapted, and used by many companies on both sporting and military knives.
Exactly who came up with the leather washer handles with fiber and metal spacers for decoration, I haven’t a clue, but this knife did have those features from the beginning. In fact, H. Platts’ 1934 patent for the split tang using “H” shaped leather washers (Western Cutlery) was an improvement of the design, and the blade shown in his patent drawing is a dead ringer for the Woodcraft.
Stag handles were used as well, and also leather handles with stag crown pommels. The stag handle knives bring premiums from collectors, as do war year knives with a black plastic pommel.
Without doing an exhaustive search, the first mention I have come across of the word Woodcraft is on the title page of the original 1910 Boy Scouts Of America manual. But it quite obviously was a word in popular use before then. It referred to the skills of woodland living as applied by woodsmen and indians.
The Marble’s Woodcraft knife was quite popular, and was produced from circa 1915 through the mid 1950's. Marbles changed ownership a few times, and I believe regular knife production was halted in the mid/late seventies, then restarted by subsequent new owners, and the Woodcraft is now once more available, albeit with a slightly shorter blade.
I’ve seen the magazine ads for these Woodcraft knives all my life, but never bought one til now. The one I bought was an old one, made betweem 1916 and 1934 by the markings. It came with the original sheath, a rarity from my gleanings of the forums, though it does need some restitching, and the cost was comparable to the MSRP for a new one, around $60. I’ll play with this older knife a while, then if I am pleased with the design and feel, I may order one of the new ones, even though I understand they are the more modern steel, still carbon. And I must admit, the jigged bone looks good. And the curly oak. Maybe someone here who has the newer production will tell us something about it.
http://www.marblesoutdoors.com/cutlery/woodcraft.html
Codger
WSK’s, as Wilderness Survival Knives are now called, were once known as “Woodlore” or “Woodcraft” knives. These knives were, according to many writers, among the first knives specifically designed for hunters. Prior to the early 1900's, outdoorsmen were using relatively thin bladed knives that could be found in most kitchen drawers, or unweildy bowie designs which were sorely lacking when it came to most camp and hunting chores.
A strange amalgamation of Dal Deweese and Webster Marbles, both accomplished outdoorsmen and hunters, resulted in the Marble’s Safety Ax Dal Deweese knife. Webster was not convinced that Dal’s design was the ideal hunting knife, and shortly introduced his own knife, the Marble’s Ideal. Later he came up with an even newer design, the Woodcraft. He felt it was such a revolutionary design that in 1915 he applied for a patent on it which was granted in 1916. That patent expired in 1934, and since then many companies have copied or adapted the Woodcraft blade design, and many more adapted certain features for their own blade designs.
What most people probably think of as a “matchstrike” on the spine of the first Woodcrafts was a crosshatched area ahead of the guard meant to be a safety feature for grip traction in wet, slippery conditions, and after the first year or so evolved into lateral grooves which we now call thumb grooves.
The mushroom shaped aluminum pommel added security to the grip, and made more certain withdrawing the knife from the sheath or flesh. This pommel shape has also been copied, adapted, and used by many companies on both sporting and military knives.
Exactly who came up with the leather washer handles with fiber and metal spacers for decoration, I haven’t a clue, but this knife did have those features from the beginning. In fact, H. Platts’ 1934 patent for the split tang using “H” shaped leather washers (Western Cutlery) was an improvement of the design, and the blade shown in his patent drawing is a dead ringer for the Woodcraft.
Stag handles were used as well, and also leather handles with stag crown pommels. The stag handle knives bring premiums from collectors, as do war year knives with a black plastic pommel.
Without doing an exhaustive search, the first mention I have come across of the word Woodcraft is on the title page of the original 1910 Boy Scouts Of America manual. But it quite obviously was a word in popular use before then. It referred to the skills of woodland living as applied by woodsmen and indians.
The Marble’s Woodcraft knife was quite popular, and was produced from circa 1915 through the mid 1950's. Marbles changed ownership a few times, and I believe regular knife production was halted in the mid/late seventies, then restarted by subsequent new owners, and the Woodcraft is now once more available, albeit with a slightly shorter blade.
I’ve seen the magazine ads for these Woodcraft knives all my life, but never bought one til now. The one I bought was an old one, made betweem 1916 and 1934 by the markings. It came with the original sheath, a rarity from my gleanings of the forums, though it does need some restitching, and the cost was comparable to the MSRP for a new one, around $60. I’ll play with this older knife a while, then if I am pleased with the design and feel, I may order one of the new ones, even though I understand they are the more modern steel, still carbon. And I must admit, the jigged bone looks good. And the curly oak. Maybe someone here who has the newer production will tell us something about it.
http://www.marblesoutdoors.com/cutlery/woodcraft.html
Codger
The only thing different is the sheath.