"Old Knives"

[Augie]

Beautiful Empire Kevin, congrats.

Some very nice and unusual knifes have been posted and as usual I'm having trouble keeping up. I did add two relics to the collection,both bought because of very nice bone. First is a New York Knife Co easy open pen knife and the other a Brown Shoe Company Scout. The Brown has an interesting hollowed out punch, I'm thinking early Imperial.

 

[veitsi_poika]

Beautiful Empire Kevin, congrats.

Some very nice and unusual knifes have been posted and as usual I'm having trouble keeping up. I did add two relics to the collection,both bought because of very nice bone. First is a New York Knife Co easy open pen knife and the other a Brown Shoe Company Scout. The Brown has an interesting hollowed out punch, I'm thinking early Imperial.View attachment 904039


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Nice Augie! That's the smallest easy open knife I have seen, pretty sweet I researched those Buster Brown knives a while back and I came to the conclusion that I believe they are Utica Kutmaster's... their Girl Scout knife has a similar punch and the standard Kutmaster Scout looks identical. For the Buster Brown I have seen the bail located where yours is or in the center of the bolster. Google around and see if you agree.

Pictures Courtesy of Google Images...

 

[mitch4ging]

Beautiful Empire Kevin, congrats.

Some very nice and unusual knifes have been posted and as usual I'm having trouble keeping up. I did add two relics to the collection,both bought because of very nice bone. First is a New York Knife Co easy open pen knife and the other a Brown Shoe Company Scout. The Brown has an interesting hollowed out punch, I'm thinking early Imperial.View attachment 904039


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Very cool!
Love the Buster Brown one!

 

[LongBlade]

Nice knives Augie - relics or not ... Sometimes relics can have great appeal for sure ....

Speaking of fancy knives from Kevin's post - Here's a Waterville 3 blade Senator with solid engraved aluminum handles (ie a skeleton knife with no outside liners) and a nickel silver liner between the 2 wells of the frame. Honestly I am not sure I have ever seen a 3 blade Senator with this configuration of blades. Interestingly the master blade resides in one well and the other well has 2 pen blades on opposite ends. The master blade sports a cool match striker pull - see the master tang stamp photo where you can see the pointy teeth of the long pull up close which seem to be struck at an angle. There are no half stops on any blade. Master blade has the straight line Waterville stamp and both pen blades have the arched stamp. The knife has a closed length of 3”.

 

[waynorth]

Nice Waterville, LongBlade! Unusual variation of that engraved aluminum "genre"!
Here's a 3 3/8" Empire Jack, with musical instrument grade Ebony handles, and a shield that looks like it grew in the wood, it's so well fitted! And it's not an easy shield to fit!
100 years old in good shape with slightly flawed but snappy blades.

 

[Ramrodmb]

Nice knives Augie - relics or not ... Sometimes relics can have great appeal for sure ....

Speaking of fancy knives from Kevin's post - Here's a Waterville 3 blade Senator with solid engraved aluminum handles (ie a skeleton knife with no outside liners) and a nickel silver liner between the 2 wells of the frame. Honestly I am not sure I have ever seen a 3 blade Senator with this configuration of blades. Interestingly the master blade resides in one well and the other well has 2 pen blades on opposite ends. The master blade sports a cool match striker pull - see the master tang stamp photo where you can see the pointy teeth of the long pull up close which seem to be struck at an angle. There are no half stops on any blade. Master blade has the straight line Waterville stamp and both pen blades have the arched stamp. The knife has a closed length of 3”.

Nice! I always like to see an early Waterville! Very unique blade selection/arrangement. They look like full blades and beautiful swedges.
Do you think the work on the scales is done by hand and not by a press?
Interesting that the handles don't look as contoured as most aluminum knives I have seen.

 

[LongBlade]

Thanks Charlie and Mark, and to all hitting the "like" button ..

Charlie waynorth - Really nice Empire with a really cool shield - not sure I have seen a shield shaped like that one ... I think it is a boys knife that we would all would have liked to carry back in the day - and even today

Mark Ramrodmb - I quite like the Watervilles as well ... To your question about the contouring – it is abit strange but among my Watervilles I actually have 3 now with engraved aluminum handles and all are different pen knife patterns (and all have different Waterville tang stamps) – see photos below and I'll just show the mark side of all 3 for comparison. All have the same general floral pattern of engraving including the brass pin centered in the flower but they are all abit different – I am not sure I have seen an aluminum handled knife from any maker without the same general type of pattern – I am not sure they were pressed but it is indeed possible - I know my fly fishing reels made of machined aircraft aluminum have picked up a few dings over the years so it is not a particularly hard metal - so I can envision a die stamp pressed into the aluminum as a possibility ... For some reason and maybe I had read or heard it but I always thought it was a jeweler (or jewelers) who specialized in engraving these handles but I am not sure... There are other possibilities such a handle scale/cover supplier which had in-house expertise for this work and sold aluminum handle covers to the cutleries that were already engraved and ready for hafting – but to that point I have seen a few advertisements in the old American Cutler journal from the 1920s from the handle companies such as Rogers and Salisbury (and even a few from the other side of the pond) but none mention aluminum handles. Alternatively perhaps the expertise was in-house to each maker to engrave aluminum (less likely in my opinion as the patterns were just too similar) – Just alot of speculation but excellent question Mark and one that I have pondered as well ....

Cheers
Lee

 

[cigarrodog]

 

[Jack Black]

A few days after we touched on "kit" knives, I found this c.1946-1956 Imperial interchangeable blade kit with permanent rope blade. I don't think it has ever been sharpened, snaps/functions great but it looks like somebody tried to use the small screwdriver blade and twisted the end a bit... I think after that they just put it away as a nice gift from their employer LoL.

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Richards of Sheffield also made those, I come across them pretty often, generally unused. They were known as 'The Dads' Disappointment' by some! I've never seen one with a Rope Knife before though

Those are fun knives! I've got a couple of them...

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I always enjoy seeing those

 

[veitsi_poika]

Richards of Sheffield also made those, I come across them pretty often, generally unused. They were known as 'The Dads' Disappointment' by some! I've never seen one with a Rope Knife before though



I always enjoy seeing those

I'm trying to come up with something clever to say but "The Dad's Disappointment" knife kit pretty much sums it up LoL If someone got me that as a gift I would just ask for the cash instead

 

[Jack Black]

I'm trying to come up with something clever to say but "The Dad's Disappointment" knife kit pretty much sums it up LoL If someone got me that as a gift I would just ask for the cash instead

LOL!

 

[North Shore]

I believe Schrade made this knife for Keen Kutter back in the day, pre World War II?

 

[Augie]

Nice KK North Shore.

Kind of funny how this knife collecting works, 3 weeks ago I had no Empires in my Barlow collection and now I landed my second one. This one I have never seen before with stepped bolster and early style jigging, the jigging kind of radiates out from the center. Knife is in well worn, buffed, pitted condition but still has snap and sharp enough to use.
Last picture shows it with a Hatch English Jack another early Connecticut company with same style jigging, I'm thinking this Empire is very early.

 

[glennbad]

That Empire barlow is the bee's knees!

 

[Duckdog]

An Overland Germany (located in Los Angeles, CA from 1951-1953) equal end jack with half sunk joints and a Schrade boys knife (from 1904-1946) that is missing its bail.

- Stuart

 

[mitch4ging]

An Overland Germany (located in Los Angeles, CA from 1951-1953) equal end jack with half sunk joints and a Schrade boys knife (from 1904-1946) that is missing its bail.

- Stuart

Really like that pair!

 

[LongBlade]

Augie - Killer Empire Barlow ... that one just shouts unique & old ...

Stuart - A stunning pair of jigged bone knives ...

 

[Duckdog]

A shadow senator in MOP cladding with sunken joints by Holley Manufacturing Co., Lakeville, Conn. from the 1854-1930s period.

- Stuart

 

[TheChunk91]

An Overland Germany (located in Los Angeles, CA from 1951-1953) equal end jack with half sunk joints and a Schrade boys knife (from 1904-1946) that is missing its bail.

- Stuart

What does the handle measure on that schrade? I think I have the same knife with a bail but no chain. It’s a 2153 I think.

 

[Duckdog]

What does the handle measure on that schrade? I think I have the same knife with a bail but no chain. It’s a 2153 I think.

Paul, the closed length is 3 3/8"; the covers are 2 7/8". Mine doesn't have a pattern/model number on it.
- Stuart