"Old Knives"

Some great knives posted the last couple of days:
herder - lovely Camillus TL-29, I really like that Camillus bone.
leghog - great batch of Ulster/Craftsman knives.
Stuart - two great old skeleton knives from a couple of old makers.
Augie and Paul - I really like those bone handled Imperial Hammer Brands. Good work on cleaning up that one Augie.
Tongueriver - congratulations on finding that pristine Ulster Scout and box!
black mamba - nice Cut Co barlow.
Lloyd - spectacular find on that old Cut Co tear drop jack!
Paul T - beautiful Cut Co cattle knife!
 
Luger1952 said:
Here is an early Schrade “arched” tang stamp 3 & 5/8 inch barehead jack I recently acquired. It is in excellent condition with very little evidence of much use. Full blades with just exceptional mechanics. The blades may have been very lightly sharpened and stropped some but that is all. I do not detect any significant blade edge distortion or unevenness in the bevels especially on the primary spear blade even under magnification. Very pleased with this one!

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Thought so would bring this absolutely stunning example over to the next page.
Lloyd my friend - I don’t think Knife Collecting would get better than the day you unpackaged that fine Knife!
 
TheChunk91 said:
Wonderful find Cal!



A mighty fine early cut!


This one is a new arrival. A true grail acquisition in fine condition, schrade cut 8172 3 5/8" cattle in ebony. Very little use and still has factory edges and pointy tips. :)

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What a shame to post SUCH an amazing knife like this - and it be at the bottom of the page- this amazing knife needs more admiring imo, so I thought this could come over to the new page as well!
Well done Paul matey.
 
Thanks guys for your kind comments on my arched tang stamped Schrade! When I first got this jack I thought maybe it had been polished/buffed by a soft touch knife mechanic. However, I am now convinced this knife has its original finish. It exhibits the “hallmark” of pre war US knife makers namely a mark side crocus finished primary spear blade, pile side glazed along with both sides of the pen blades glazed. This folder is just the most high grade original finish antique knife in my collection and I am thrilled to have found it. Thanks again for your nice comments!!
 
Luger1952 said:
Here is an early Schrade “arched” tang stamp 3 & 5/8 inch barehead jack I recently acquired. It is in excellent condition with very little evidence of much use. Full blades with just exceptional mechanics. The blades may have been very lightly sharpened and stropped some but that is all. I do not detect any significant blade edge distortion or unevenness in the bevels especially on the primary spear blade even under magnification. Very pleased with this one!

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Wow, that Bone! My goodness that is just fantastic!:cool:
 
This old Star Brand Shoe promotional knife isn't rare or valuable, but it means a lot to me. It's the only thing I possess which was used by my paternal grandfather, who died in 1916. When I look at it I think of the point often made here, that folks in the old days simply used what they had. It's only 2 7/8" long, but because of its shape it's not particularly comfortable in the pocket or in the hand. In spite of that, the "gold plating" mentioned in the advertisement below (probably a thin gold wash) is almost completely worn off, indicating it got a lot of use.

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The Patriot shoe was a Star Brand shoe, manufactured by Roberts, Johnson, and Rand Shoe Company of St. Louis. This advertisement is from the Drygoods Reporter dated October 3, 1908. The reference to the gold plated version being new would seem to place the knife between 1908 and 1916. The knife was made in Germany. (I wonder if any of those leather cases have survived.)

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Just to put the knife in context, here is a photo of my grandfather and his family, taken about 1913. My father is the little towhead in the middle.

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My grandfather was a rural mail carrier in Middle Tennessee. At the turn of the last century the Post Office uniform included a flat top, leather billed cap similar to a streetcar conductor's cap. According to a fellow who worked with him, my grandfather refused to wear it, preferring the cowboy hat he's wearing in the photograph. One cold winter morning as grandfather was leaving the post office to make his deliveries, the postmaster stopped him and pointed at his cap, which was still on the rack. Grandfather didn't argue. He simply went to the rack, picked up his cap, walked over to the pot-bellied stove in the lobby, opened the stove door, tossed the cap into the fire, closed the stove door, and went on his way. It was the last time the cap was mentioned.
 
tongueriver said:
A remarkable and well-done treatise on the knife and your family. Thanks so much for posting it. The knife does not show much wear. I think you and I are not Spring Chickens (doing the math)!
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Thank you so much. The knife itself isn't worn badly, but only traces of the gold wash remain. May not show up too well in the photos. You mention doing the math. I'm not sure which makes me feel older - knowing that my grandfather passed away in 1916 or knowing that his father was wounded in the Battle of Stones River in 1862 (not too far from his home.)
 
Headwinds said:
This old Star Brand Shoe promotional knife isn't rare or valuable, but it means a lot to me. It's the only thing I possess which was used by my paternal grandfather, who died in 1916. When I look at it I think of the point often made here, that folks in the old days simply used what they had. It's only 2 7/8" long, but because of its shape it's not particularly comfortable in the pocket or in the hand. In spite of that, the "gold plating" mentioned in the advertisement below (probably a thin gold wash) is almost completely worn off, indicating it got a lot of use.

9UvKyxw.jpg


GODFfV9.jpg


MsebHqG.jpg


The Patriot shoe was a Star Brand shoe, manufactured by Roberts, Johnson, and Rand Shoe Company of St. Louis. This advertisement is from the Drygoods Reporter dated October 3, 1908. The reference to the gold plated version being new would seem to place the knife between 1908 and 1916. The knife was made in Germany. (I wonder if any of those leather cases have survived.)

Cq4Akw1.jpg


Just to put the knife in context, here is a photo of my grandfather and his family, taken about 1913. My father is the little towhead in the middle.

Oy7O4vA.jpg


My grandfather was a rural mail carrier in Middle Tennessee. At the turn of the last century the Post Office uniform included a flat top, leather billed cap similar to a streetcar conductor's cap. According to a fellow who worked with him, my grandfather refused to wear it, preferring the cowboy hat he's wearing in the photograph. One cold winter morning as grandfather was leaving the post office to make his deliveries, the postmaster stopped him and pointed at his cap, which was still on the rack. Grandfather didn't argue. He simply went to the rack, picked up his cap, walked over to the pot-bellied stove in the lobby, opened the stove door, tossed the cap into the fire, closed the stove door, and went on his way. It was the last time the cap was mentioned.
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Headwinds, wonderful showing and write up!!!
We all love seeing old knives posted, but what a treat to see your added graphics and related history.
 
herder said:
Headwinds, wonderful showing and write up!!!
We all love seeing old knives posted, but what a treat to see your added graphics and related history.
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Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had heard the stories about my grandfather since I was a little boy, but I had to do a little research to get the background of the knife itself. (I thoroughly enjoy that sort of thing.) One thing I hadn't really thought about until I was putting it all together was that this knife was probably in my grandfather's pocket as he sat on that buggy seat. Seems to almost makes all those years disappear when I look at the photo while holding the knife, and imagine that same knife in his pocket as he sits there looking at me.
 
I received my old Schrade Cut Co Barlow today. The current consensus is that the bone is post pic bone but pre peach seed, which seems to put it from the late 1920s to the mid '30s. If anyone has better info, please let me know: I love to date them as accurately as possible. The bone is gorgeous, as is the walk & talk. The clip main seems to have lost about an eighth inch of length, at least it looks short to me. Overall I'm elated with it, and it will get carried and used.

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Oh yeah- I agree with Paul Jeff, That is a Nice one- man if that Main is short? would it even be an 1/8th? That's a Sweetheart of a Knife.
I agree on the Bone, it's not Pic and it certainly isn't Peach-Seed, repeating myself here so forgive but I think back to comments made about a type of Bone Jig done in the era that you stat Jeff, I think the name given at that stage of discussion was Basket weave? or something like that - anyone?
 
Thanks, Paul and Duncan! I think basketweave is pretty descriptive of this jigging, could be right. I think Charlie has posted the same knife with all three types of jigging (I hope I'm right), maybe he can chime in.
 
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