A couple of 'old' Scouts - Richards of Sheffield

scruffuk

scruffuk

Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
2,679
The weekend before last I visited, the local Saturday second hand/flea market.
Its pretty much my one and only source for second hand knives, and to be frank, its usually a bit crap.

However, I did spy I couple of Richards Scout knives. The guy on the stall said he had an old card, with a few knives on it, some black plastic with faux jigging and some faux MOP. They were in good nick, with some spotting of rust here and there, where the factory grease wasn't still covering the metal.

I left them....and kicked myself all week for not picking em up. Anyway, last weekend, I went back and enquired about them, they weren't on show, but he reached down under the table and whipped them out for me. They were the same pair...and after some scrutiny and my observations about rust spots etc, he offered me a good price and I came away with both.

I've given them a light clean, just a bit of 0000 wire wool and, after a good scrub in soapy water, followed by a thorough drying and light oiling of the hinges. They are still nail breakers, especially the fish scalers and tin openers! But the blade pull is not too bad at all (I can't really comment on your usual 'pull scale'....I don't have the experience you guys have).

The main blades are reasonable enough. Sure they show the most staining/spotting. They certainly feel a different kind steel to the other tools...and a better steel for sure (I'm not gonna say carbon or stainless....they are NOT stamped either way). Sadly the rust has attacked the bail arm on the MOP one a bit, the shield on the black one too, with the 'clamped' bolsters on both having suffered a little.

Anyway, you'll see all this in the pics below....

P1060055.jpg


P1060058.jpg


P1060059.jpg


P1060060.jpg


If anyone is interested in one of these, and, admittedly they do not represent the finest of Sheffields cutlery heritage, then let me know....by posting something appropriately Scouty below!

Thanks for looking.

Thom


p.s. They are now drying back out over the radiator! :cool:
 
Last edited:
They look in good nick Thom. Did you get the card too?
 
Hmmmmm...........,something appropriately scout-y.........well, I guess I will just post up my scouts!

100_1000.JPG


Emi
100_1011.JPG


Gracie
100_1012.JPG


Completed fuzz sticks. Not perfect, but serviceable for their firsts.
IMAGE_1000001382.JPG


Don't eat the mushrooms!
100_1015.JPG


With their short hike packs.
IMAGE_1000001386.JPG


Hiking Lake of the Woods, Mahomet, IL
IMAGE_1000001135.JPG


Grace and I made an alcohol stove yesterday, but I don't have pictures on my phone. Boiled a cup of water in 5 minutes though!
 
Jack Black said:
They look in good nick Thom. Did you get the card too?
Click to expand...

No Jack, the guy had discarded it :(

That's a winning entry right there medicevans!

I strongly suspect they are not in the same league as the scout knives you picture, but if your gals can put em to good use, they are yours. Just PM me your addy.

Thanks
 
I find the knives interesting because of fish scaling dehooker blade, I don't think I have ever seen that on a scout knife.
 
I think the scout knife that is holding the girl on Brian´s first pic is similar to the one I won from Brian from his GA :)

Here a pic after a lazy sunday afternoon I spent with a friend, a couple of months ago - including the Scout Knife - the preparing of this pic was a lot of fun :D :D

IMG_2135.jpg
 
@medicevans

Good on you for exposing the kids to knives and outdoorsy stuff. Stuff like this teaches them how to do things for themselves and tends to offset the "learned helplessness" and dependant mindset of today's culture. This is especially important for girls, who are often ignored when it comes to these kinds of skills.

Also, that little green knife with the jigged scales and the lanyad bail is lovely. Who makes it?
 
Thom, thanks so much! I'll send you an email with my contact info. I love scout knives for some reason. My daughters are quickly loving them too.

Andi, the one Emily is using in that picture is only a hair older than the one you won. Alas, she lost it one night at a football game. No great loss, it wasnt particularly rare; they made thousands of them. I'm glad to see yours being used. They are great knives.

PJ, I will look at who made that green knife and report back. I gave it to her for her 10th birthday. It's a genuine Girl Scout knife, having the GS badge/logo on the side. I did a post about it not too awfully long ago, in which I received some good natured ribbing about being a girl scout, wearing dresses, etc. Haha. I'll report back with that maker.
 
Congrats, Medicevans, on the incoming knives and the ongoing Life.

Hope the Peanut and her Peanut are still faring well, in the midst (or center) of everything else. :)

~ P.
 
Kinsey, my peanut, will be one in a couple of weeks!! Don't worry, there will be a thread. :D

Gracie's green jigged knife is a Kutmaster from Utica, NY. Lots of them on the big auction site.
 
Thanks for posting the pictures. Still nice looking knives, at least to me.

My wife claims that her girl scout knife is the only one she doesn't cut herself with. I was going to offer to sharpen it for her but decided against it. She might let me try to clean it up for her a bit though if I mind my manners and ask nicely one day.
 
Well thanks for looking folks.

I've sent you an email as you requested medic.

I'm gonna double check with the same stall holder at the weekend, see what else he has. The offerings can be more miss than hit mind.
 
I've got a couple of those around somewhere. I had a similar experience, I found four, as new, in a draw at an old car accessory shop years ago (they were old knives even then). I think I paid something like 50 pence each for them. They were usable knives but a million miles away from quality knives. I've never been much of a fisherman so I ground all of the fish scalers into a safety blade. I was like that then :eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top