Who made the knives for Frost Cutlery in the early 80s?

T. Erdelyi

T. Erdelyi

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Feb 3, 2001
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When I first moved to PA in the early 80s I had the opportunity to visit the fabulous Allentown Fair.

While walkin' down the Midway they had vendors every where, all of a sudden I spot a knife vendor and he was sellin' what looked like some nice knives.

Having read one of my first books on knives I remember the writer listing some things that made up a quality knife.

  • Fit and finish, he said see how the scales fit, there should be no gaps, it should be even and flush with the bolsters. You should be able to hold the the knife up to a strong light and not see it come through where the scales, liners, backspring and blades are stacked.
  • Walk and talk, the action should be smooth, openin' and closin', the springs should be strong but not so strong that ya break a nail everytime ya open it.
  • Blades should be ground even on both sides, grind lines and swedges should meet at the end/point and tangs.
  • Finish shoud be consistent on the whole blade/blades also the back springs should be flush in the open or closed position.
  • Blades should be centered in the handles.
  • It should be comfortable to hold and hold a good edge.

With all this new found information in my head I spent, (according to my wife) hours handlin' and lookin' over the knives on the table.

Eventually after puttin' all the knives that didn't fit the criteria off to the side I settled on two knives, I don't recall what the other knife was but I settled on this, a Frost Black Hawk II, (I assume the Hawk part was because of the Hawkbill blade) with paka wood scales and two baldes, a hawkbill and a one arm razor blade.

010-1.jpg


This knife was exactly what I believed to be a good knife so I plunked down my $25 and took my new toy home.

I still have and EDC this knife frequently, it's held up beautifully over the last 28 or so years.

What I really would like to know is what steel he was using back then and where or who he was havin' make his knives?

Also, any one else have an early 80s Frost Cutlery knife and what did/do you think about it, I know most people don't have nice things to say about their knives these days.

Thanks for any help.
 
As far as I know Frost has always been at the very low end of imported knives, probably made by the lowest bidder.

If you pick through enough of them, as true back in the '80s as it is today, you could accidentally get a well-made knife that slipped through QC. :D
 
Ted, I'm sure someone will be able to help shed some light on your knife in a bit.
As for the other post - I was schooled to not speak poorly of a man's choice of women, dogs, and guns. I reckon the knife in his pocket falls under the same.....
 
I saw an older Frost knife at a flea market. It looked and felt nice. I didnt consider buying it only because it was a Frost. If it had another name I might have purchased it.
 
Rick said:
"Ah... Frostwood.":D
Click to expand...

I liked it, I thought it was neat, it was the first time I ever saw it, I'll say this, it's held up well for 25+ years, no shrinkage, cracks or loose scales.

I thought at one time back in the day when Russell, Frost and Parker were sittin' around tradin' knives the early Frost knives were made a lot better in places like Seki Japan.

Either way it is by my criteria on a scale of 1-10, 10 bein' best, I'd give it a 7 1/2.

I carry it and proudly show it off, not because it's a Frost knife ,
you could accidentally get a well-made knife that slipped through QC. :D
Click to expand...
but 'cause it is a quality knife.:thumbup:
 
I came across a few Frost traditional folders that were marked Japan. No idea how old they were. Not bad for a letter opener, much better than the junk I see at farmers markets today. Although, the Frosts stuff looks nicer, if that makes any sense.
 
They were probably made in Japan. Maybe through Guttman. They weren't bad knives for the price. I had a Parker/Frost damascus blade similar to that one.
 
I had a Parker Frost 2 blade Trapper, it looked an awful lot like a Buck, it was a nice knife also but because Parker Frost lasted, what, 2 years, I sold it and made a little money on it otherwise I'd still have it.

I think back then they paid a lot more attention to the fit and finish.
 
The Frost Japan knives made in the 80's were pretty good quality for the price.Lot of patterns from Bear Paws to peanuts.
 
I had a friend back in middle school who had the exact same knife in the OP. He was a fledgling knife collector, and that particular knife was the jewel of his collection. I remember thinking it was very cool, and wished I had one like it. It sure beat the pants off of what I used to carry back then- an el-cheapo Imperial Barlow.
 
T. Erdelyi said:
When I first moved to PA in the early 80s I had the opportunity to visit the fabulous Allentown Fair.

While walkin' down the Midway they had vendors every where, all of a sudden I spot a knife vendor and he was sellin' what looked like some nice knives.

Having read one of my first books on knives I remember the writer listing some things that made up a quality knife.

  • Fit and finish, he said see how the scales fit, there should be no gaps, it should be even and flush with the bolsters. You should be able to hold the the knife up to a strong light and not see it come through where the scales, liners, backspring and blades are stacked.
  • Walk and talk, the action should be smooth, openin' and closin', the springs should be strong but not so strong that ya break a nail everytime ya open it.
  • Blades should be ground even on both sides, grind lines and swedges should meet at the end/point and tangs.
  • Finish shoud be consistent on the whole blade/blades also the back springs should be flush in the open or closed position.
  • Blades should be centered in the handles.
  • It should be comfortable to hold and hold a good edge.

With all this new found information in my head I spent, (according to my wife) hours handlin' and lookin' over the knives on the table.

Eventually after puttin' all the knives that didn't fit the criteria off to the side I settled on two knives, I don't recall what the other knife was but I settled on this, a Frost Black Hawk II, (I assume the Hawk part was because of the Hawkbill blade) with paka wood scales and two baldes, a hawkbill and a one arm razor blade.

010-1.jpg


This knife was exactly what I believed to be a good knife so I plunked down my $25 and took my new toy home.

I still have and EDC this knife frequently, it's held up beautifully over the last 28 or so years.

What I really would like to know is what steel he was using back then and where or who he was havin' make his knives?

Also, any one else have an early 80s Frost Cutlery knife and what did/do you think about it, I know most people don't have nice things to say about their knives these days.

Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

I have several from the early 80's...sorry no pics. I like them better than the new ones. They went down hill over the last 20+ years.
 
boy that thing is a beauty. i am envious. congratulations on holding onto such a gem all these years and not being to much of a stiff neck to appreciate it like other collectors might neglect to do. memories are far more valuable than knives.
 
I've never really been a big Frost guy but back in the 80's I picked up a couple of Seki made , Mastadon Ivory knives that were the first production knives I'd ever seen in that material.

The steel isn't marked but I'd guess it's about similar to 420HC from Buck in performance, sharpening, etc.

Seems like I bought it out of the old "edge company" catalog after they shut down their auto kits gig and started selling regular knives.

Surprisingly good stuff from Frost.
 
I really like that knife, and would buy one in that configuration. To me it would make a great EDC/work knife. With that being said I think it's very possible to get a good quality knife without a "brand" name attached to it. Over the years I've gotten knives as gifts, mostly china-made or where-ever, that ended up surprising me for their F&F and good edges. To me as long as you like it, that's all that matters. Paul
 
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