Antique shop hunting

C

ColonialKnifeFan

Joined
Feb 9, 2005
Messages
181
My dad told me about an antique shop in town and he said he saw some classic knives for decent prices. I went on over to check them out and I was more disappointed than anything else. Most of the knives had cracked and broken handles, blades that were either broken or sharpened so much it was crazy. Some of them were good brands like case and camillus, it was a real shame to see knives degraded this far. I only found one knife that was worth picking up as far as being fairly decent and that was a rough rider yellow peanut. It too needed some cleaning up and what not but it was still good. I don't know how a RR ended up in an antique shop but I grabbed it none the less. I was hoping for american but I got another slippie regardless. The guy who ran the shop argued with me for a min though, was trying to tell me RR was american made, the blade says straight forward where it's name. Anyways, any of you guys see knives like these, so far gone that they should be put out of their misery?
 
I do out here, a LOT. I've found a bunch of knives in good shape, but some should just be thrown away. I've bought several just because the old bone scales were in such good shape and really had a nice, worn look to them. Most of the knives I've found, rather than being abused, have simply been used to the point that they were thrown in a drawer & forgotten.

I've got several in my EDC rotation that came from antique shops here locally, and while they weren't cheap, they certainly cost less than ebay would have. I my experience, any pocket knife, tool, or other personal possession that's still in good shape is kept by the family, and anything in not-so-good shape is donated and/or consigned.

Have faith, brother. ;) There's good stuff & deals are out there, you just have to keep looking.

thx - cpr
 
The key is finding the shops that don't know how to price knives!!! ;)
I have about 4 antique shops that I make my "rounds" at
They all know me as the "knife guy"....LOL

It's kinda like fishin' :thumbup:
Ya never know what you will catch......
 
but we keep poking 'round cause once in a while you get a real gem that nobody else has discovered, then it's worth it. As orca mentioned, lots of knives that were used to the point where they couldnt function, then forgotten about.
I take each one on a case by case basis, a minor crack or ding in the bone is no big deal as long as there is some life left in it.
I'm still hoping one day i'll roll up to a old cigar box and find an old elephant toe or something really cool...
At least i can dream about the big score! i'd probably die if i found one, be a tragedy indeed
ivan
 
Alot of them had 50% of their blade gone, probably from a long life. Quite a bit of electrician knives in the mix, one had like Chinese characters carved into the handle (plastic). Nice assortment though, some advertising, some imperial, couple case, etc. The amount of rust in the case was evident of all the carbon steel and possibly neglect of someone, if the guy displaying them would take some care he might sell a few more :)
 
It's very easy for a conversation to go from friendly knife banter to an argument with a vendor in those places. Sometimes its best not to even mention stuff like that. Of the "antique" shops in my area, most of them carry junk that is busted up, similar to what you said, and way over priced. The only "antique" shop in my area that has quality knives has overpriced recent stuff from one vendor. He does have some good, unbroken pieces, but they are so overpriced it isn't even funny.
 
in 80s i stopped in a small town near austin
fairly large place no air con.
stuff was just piled up , not organized
up front in glass case spotted a goodie, a knife pistol it was 95% & took 22 shorts. she wanted 26$ so it was a good day
these were shown in sears catalog 1910--1912.
buddy & i were in port.ore. antique shop & he picked up a joesph rogers mint razor for 8$
pawn shops are also good potential sources
this trick i learned from joe seale;go by local police & sheriff stations & using a little diplomancy inquire about confiscated knives. joe caught a officer fixing to take a load to dump. most were junk but there were a few real goodies.if vyou have a friend in law enforcement you may be able to tap this resorce.probably a good idea to pass on the automatics
 
ColonialKnifeFan said:
Anyways, any of you guys see knives like these, so far gone that they should be put out of their misery?
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Sure, I have one or two around here. Those old boys way back then didn't have our affliction. The drive to collect for the sake of collecting. Our grandfathers bought a knife because they needed a cutting tool, so they used it as a tool. I don't think there was any such thing as safe queens back when those old knives were made. It took the modern generation with a semi-urban lifestyle and a much larger disposable income that our grandfathers ever dreamed of.

I think that when you see that old worn out knife, there was a newer knife that got put into service right away and the old one tossed in a drawer for old times sake. Maybe retired to a life in the sock drawer and taken out once in a while and handled for old times sake and memories.
 
I can say I have done antique shops, and my expectations are low. As I travel in or out of town, given time I will check them out. There are usually some, but mainly broken, or too worn out. Usually there are some that are good knives, but 25% more than you could buy on ebay, or even up to double. Every now and then, you will find a gem, as said above. I say about 1 in 5 visits, something worth considering. I had a great pawn shop find! I asked for knives, and she showed me some SAK's, and I showed her my Case slippie. I told her these are what I was looking for. She then proceeded to tell me that the owner has a whole collection of Case knives that he has to price, and will be displaying them next week Wednesday, once he is back in town, and gets a value on them. I opened and checked out over 30 Case knives, from the 70's and bought 5! It was alot of fun, but very difficult to choose from. I got a slimline trapper stainless pre 70, a 6249 pre 70, and two bone splitback whittlers, and a 10 dot, 1970 Grand Daddy Barlow Strawberry bone. I gave away the Barlow in a forum give away.
 
If you can get to them a better place is Estate sales. Usually they don't know jack about what to price them. These are all estate sale finds for less than $5 each. I know the Puma isn't a traditional blade, but that's the only one I paid $5 for.

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I do not want to quote my long post above, but I have to eat my words!!!! Today, I hit about 4 antique shops in Carpinteria, and my post above was dead on. Nothing at all worth looking at. We headed south towards home and on Main St. Ventura, we hit a few more. I saw a Case Peanut, and it had a price of 27. I thought, 80s or later, at best, and a chewed up blade. I passed it by, but then I thought to myself, CJ, how many Case knives do you even see in antique shops???? So, I asked the youngster to open this display case to look at the knife. God was smiling on ol CJ today. Long Tail C, Case Tested Peanut, with actually very nice bone. It said "Nice Wood Handle" on the tag. When I opened it up, the kid said, "Wow, that is alot of rust." I just looked at the long tail C tang stop and said to myself, glad I did not pass this one over. I suck at photos, nor have I cleaned this up yet. This is from my 3 in 1 scanner, it has no depth at all. The inside of the springs are pristine looking. The blades look almost completely full. The bone scales are gorgeous, and the bolsters are also in good condition. There is a yellow waxy film on most of the blade, which is probably what saved this little treasure. I hope Thomason is proud of me on this find!
CasePeanutfrontnoncleaned.jpg

CasePeanutbacknoncleaned.jpg


This Case Tested with long tail C dates 1920 to 1940s in my book. I hope it is accurate! I will attempt some better photos, and post more pics when I get her cleaned up and ready for carry.
 
CasePeanutTangStamp.jpg

CasePeanutfrontwithtangstamp.jpg

CasePeanutrearphoto.jpg


OK, now to get an old sock and spend a little time with my well used tube of Flitz metal polish. Pen or clip blade first? Hmmmm, life is good right now!!!
 
cj that knife doe'nt appear to be sharpened. a fantastic goodie reminds me of a mint small case tested pearl i found in a gun shop for 26$. that was 20 yrs. back but one never forgets the exhiliration.
 
cj65 said:
CasePeanutTangStamp.jpg

CasePeanutfrontwithtangstamp.jpg

CasePeanutrearphoto.jpg


OK, now to get an old sock and spend a little time with my well used tube of Flitz metal polish. Pen or clip blade first? Hmmmm, life is good right now!!!
Click to expand...

Stay away from the brass and NS. Let your pocket finish it off. That big rust stain may come off good with an SOS pad, but go easy so you don't scratch the blades. Nice catch.:thumbup:
 
Yes, it is pitted kind of bad. Flitz is gentle but it takes awhile. It is deeper than I thought, but being that old, still great. It does appear un sharpened, or barely sharpened. I will keep rubbing.
 
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