Old knives on sale at flea markets

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
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I like flea markets. It is an old habit of mine. You will never know what you can find at these flea markets.

I have been to quite a few in my lifetime. Often, I find quaint little knives on sale for a reasonable prices. Sometimes, they are sold at ridiculously high prices when the seller should have known better. But that's half the fun.

I have been to one flea market where I found World War II ceremonial German daggers and other paraphenalia on sale. Quite an experience.

The chance of coming across an old dagger or a forgotten but valuable knife is always there. In fact, I have bought a few. It is not so much the money but the thrill of stumbling across something that's personally valuable that provides the high of the day.

Any flea market hunters out there?
 
There used to be a great flea market near me. I went almost every weekend. They closed it and built a brand new shopping center. I have not found another weekend hangout and I miss it. I loved just seeing what people dig up. Some amazing deals somtimes too.
 
I go to flea markets every once in a while. I also like to tag alone with my wife when she goes to garage sales. I have found more interesting things for better prices at garage sales that at flea markets.
 
Buying used offers a great chance on an excellent find. Generally the first things I look for are the blades that are very worn, rusty, with cosmetic blade damage. Since they are heavily used and there is a great chance that they are worth a little effort to clean them up.

-Cliff
 
Unfortunately, what I find tends to be cheap "made in China" stuff or things you can probably get for less on ebay. Does anybody have much luck with antique shops?
 
I've never taken the time to spend at flea markets and such myself, but my father in law is a real junkie for for those places. The best find he's come across was what has been a knife that's been identified as an original Ruana bowie for $25. The guys doing the identifying have said it's probably worth around $500. One of these days when I'm a little older and alot more patient, I hope I can stumble across a deal like that...
 
I go all the time, most of my collection of antique folders, are either advertisers,( a knife letter opener, for Trenton bank claiming over 2 million in assets:) ) or old production pen knives. I'm always finding deals at $5 and under for excellent to near mint knives.
My wife always asks me how I can spot a knife on a table from 20 feet away,( I don't tell her the secret is to look for the glass cases, and jewelry boxes).:D
 
A friend of mine once went to a flea market and found a rusty old Randall with duck tape wrapped all around the handle. Knife looked crummy as hell. Bought the knife for about $40. My friend took it home and cleaned the rust off(wasnt very deep) and decided to take the tape off the handle. Underneath the handle was a perfectly preserved leather washer handle. Evidently, the original owner just wanted a fatter handle. Turns out, the knife was one made in the 40s and was worth about a grand. So, you never know. I have not been that lucky.
 
The Flea Markets are good but the yard and garage sales are KILLER! Harder to find knives but when you do you get some really cool stuff at times. Like a sword for $50 that I later sold for $2,000!
 
I cannot top Mr turber's excellent find, only I have found old SAK Soldier for $1 in very good condition. But my friend, at one estate sale two summers ago he purchased a Randall trapper #25 for $50!!!
Martin
 
I recently found a Spyderco Native, 35/65 combo edge in GIN-1 steel, at a local flea market for $45. Luckily for me, the vendor didn't know what he had, and I was able to talk him down to $30!!

Made me feel kind of guilty, but his loss is my gain.:rolleyes:

I'm keeping a more watchful eye out for great bargains like this at that flea market now. :D
 
As far as flea markets ar conserned is that One Mans Junk Is Another Mans Joy
Good collecting!
Jocko
 
I've shopped the 2nd hand markets off-and-on for over 40 years. I could tell you stories about "the good old days" that would make you green with envy. Combination surplus/second-hand stores used to be a great place for manly tools (now they tend to be clothing stores). You used to be able to buy WWI sword bayonets for $2 - $4 as common as dirt. I remember passing up WWII USMC fighting stilletos cause they cost over $10.00. At flea markets I bought several varieties of WWI knuckle-duster daggers for under $35.00 each.

Alas the pickings have been a lot slimmer in recent years. I've found WWII "Kabars" for $5.00 at garage sales. I found a nice Karasuando Puuko for $10.00 at a flea market. I've found a 90 year old Collins machete for $5.00 at Goodwill. My favorite is an old Randall Model 10 for $1 at Goodwill in the kitchen knife section.

I have been collecting kitchen knives at Goodwill and Salvation Army type thrift stores for several years now. I have literally hundreds of them made over the last 60 years or so by at least 50 different manufacturers. I do this to compare blade designs and alloys more than to use them (many of them do get used periodically at the local soup kitchen). I have found most of the major American, German Japanese brands. I have also found many interesting things like: outstanding Portuguese knives, American knives with vanadium and tungsten alloys, offset blades, premium steels and cleavers. The hunting is surprisingly easy for kitchen knives and full of surprises.
 
Pawn shops sometimes have a few bargans. Most won't pay someone more than $5.00 for any knife. If they don't know their stuff they'll put $10 to $50 on it and hope for someone to haggle over it.

I've bought a Cattaraugus folding machete for $5.00, a WWII Anderson fighting knife for $25.00 and I picked up a small pre-war Kabar hunting knife for $5.00 that I sold for $90!

If you enjoy the "hunt" there are treasures still to be discovered.
 
I do check out the antique stores and flea markets for knives, but in my area it seems that we are getting flooded with the china cheepies.

My best buy over all was a nice old rizutto with a 5 inch blade and swingguard (and another one that was beaten up pretty badly) for about 6 dollars a piece.
 
You never know. I spotted a Western L-77 at a yard sale (didn't know what it was at the time) in a box with an Old Hickory and a Case carver. $4.00, the guy wouldn't let me buy just the Western for a couple. The Old hickory has been worth the $4.00 in the use it's seen since.

No bluing left and the knife is a little "tired" but once I found out what it was I stopped using it as a BBQ knife. The edge has always been minty and I've never had to do more than steel it.

Yard sales are probably a better "find" source than most fleas.

Cheers
 
Runs with Sissors: If that Ruana is in good condition and has a few perks, you could easily put a 1 infront of that $500.

I picked up a very rare boy scout knife from a roadside garage sale and made enough money on it to buy gas to get home from my first knife show. I did not know it was worth that much when I bought it, just bought it because I liked it.
 
Markets and pawn shops are great, although you have to do a lot of looking for the really good finds. I found a Leatherman wave at a pawn shop for $US37 and carry it all the time.
Its not just paying less for something but the thrill of finding a "Bargain"
Keep looking
Pinpoint
 
Interesting thread. Just yesterday I had some time to kill while waiting for my car to be repaired, so I walked down the block to the local Salvation Army store. I found two large Chicago Cutlery Walnut Tradition knives (models 42S and 66S) that still had the original handles, blades in great condition (not even scratched or sharpened), except the previous owner ran them through the dishwasher :rolleyes:, so cosmetically the handles need some TLC. The combined retail for these is somewhere around $60 new. I paid 50 cents for each! I'm going to try to rescue the handles, but even if I can't and have to rehandle them, it's still a heck of a deal. I'm definitely going to be visiting the Salvation Army store more often! :D

- Mark
 
I once found a Jesse Hemphill Damascus Camp knife (Moran style) at a local flea market....cost me $50

The best non knife thing I ever found at a flea market was a pair of Zeiss binoculars in a Tasco case!
 
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