Antique Winchester Knives and Company History 1919-1942

Beautiful knives above GP and GB, and Augie :thumbsup: :thumbsup:... That Napanoch is a stunner...

Here's my only Eagle Knife Co (which as noted above was acquired by Winchester as one company to initiate cutlery when Winchester started)... From my understanding Eagle Knife Co was a high production and very affordable knife ... I don't think they were known for fancy knives but I have not seen many Eagle knives (not to be mistaken with other Eagle companies)...

This one was gifted to me from a friend who knew it was up my alley as a Boys Knife and it was much appreciated despite the condition - spring is shot o_O , blade has been sharpened and used productively (LOL) but the good news is the blade stays closed if I push it down twice :D - but at least the example shows the stamp and an example of their knives :) !! A simple easy open knife with black compo handles but a nice Federal shield ;) ..

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Grandpa Peter's and Grandma Betty's said:
Here is my Napanoch ~ View attachment 1291433 View attachment 1291434
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Excellent! The forerunner of the 1920 :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Augie said:
Here's one I've been chasing for quite awhile, a 2701 Barlow.

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Glad you caught it, John! :thumbsup::thumbsup:
LongBlade said:
Beautiful knives above GP and GB, and Augie :thumbsup: :thumbsup:... That Napanoch is a stunner...

Here's my only Eagle Knife Co (which as noted above was acquired by Winchester as one company to initiate cutlery when Winchester started)... From my understanding Eagle Knife Co was a high production and very affordable knife ... I don't think they were known for fancy knives but I have not seen many Eagle knives (not to be mistaken with other Eagle companies)...

This one was gifted to me from a friend who knew it was up my alley as a Boys Knife and it was much appreciated despite the condition - spring is shot o_O , blade has been sharpened and used productively (LOL) but the good news is the blade stays closed if I push it down twice :D - but at least the example shows the stamp and an example of their knives :) !! A simple easy open knife with black compo handles but a nice Federal shield ;) ..

56xiJK9.jpg


nBuG6YU.jpg


XghkHmx.jpg


um8bMGT.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks for adding this, Lee! Finding one in any condition can be a challenge. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Al - Great looking Winchester as a large MOP jack :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :cool:... As an aside I have a very similar MOP Southington jack at the same size - what amazes me is the slabs of MOP used for the handles :) ...

Here is an article from the old American Cutler journal of 1921 that is pertinent to this thread - it is an article of why Winchester went into cutlery ;) ... I find it of interest that Winchester as a gun company went into cutlery at the same time as their competitor Remington (and both were located in the same general area - New Haven CT & Bridgeport CT) - and existed approximately the same time frame.. However Remington made many more knives than Winchester and thus the scarcity of them compared to Remington knives imo... Anyway it is also interesting that the article points out that Winchester made bayonets for the British army just prior to a full blown cutlery initiative...

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LongBlade said:
Al - Great looking Winchester as a large MOP jack :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :cool:... As an aside I have a very similar MOP Southington jack at the same size - what amazes me is the slabs of MOP used for the handles :) ...

Here is an article from the old American Cutler journal of 1921 that is pertinent to this thread - it is an article of why Winchester went into cutlery ;) ... I find it of interest that Winchester as a gun company went into cutlery at the same time as their competitor Remington (and both were located in the same general area - New Haven CT & Bridgeport CT) - and existed approximately the same time frame.. However Remington made many more knives than Winchester and thus the scarcity of them compared to Remington knives imo... Anyway it is also interesting that the article points out that Winchester made bayonets for the British army just prior to a full blown cutlery initiative...

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Thanks, Lee! Really interesting reading. Love the history. Great addition to this thread :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Bilbo 1917 said:
Danno -
Thanks for in the great information. I’m curious about when the last Walden-marked knives were made. Simmons Hdwe took over the Walden plant to build Keen Kutter knives. I see in Sellens’ book on Keen Kutter Pocket Knives that Walden was listed as a Simmons house brand in their catalogs, but was last listed in 1911. I don’t know how often they put out a catalog, but I wonder if 100% of the Walden production was eventually devoted to Keen Kutters. It seems reasonable to me that if Walden-marked knives were still being made they would be sold in the Simmons catalog after 1911.

I also wonder about the two different tang stamps for Walden knives. I own several that are stamped Walden Knife Co NY. I also own a two-blade regular barlow that is stamped Walden on the grooved bolsters and Walden Knife Co Made in USA on both blades. The frame looks and feels like a Winchester barlow. Could it be that Winchester made the Waldens stamped Made in USA? If not, why the change in the tang stamp?

It’s all very confusing. Thanks again,
Wilson
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It is very confusing. I know nothing about Walden stamped knives. I have never personally handled a Walden stamped knife. I think I will try finding some at the next knife show I attend.
 
Beautiful Napanoch, Grandpa Peter's and Grandma Betty's!:thumbsup: Great condition, looks hardly used!
Lovely Winchester barlow, Augie!:thumbsup: Here is a catalog cut from the 1930 catalog reprint.

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Interesting Winchester article, Lee.:thumbsup:
That Winchester pearl jack is a beauty, Al.:thumbsup:
 
danno50 said:
Beautiful Napanoch, Grandpa Peter's and Grandma Betty's!:thumbsup: Great condition, looks hardly used!
Lovely Winchester barlow, Augie!:thumbsup: Here is a catalog cut from the 1930 catalog reprint.

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Interesting Winchester article, Lee.:thumbsup:
That Winchester pearl jack is a beauty, Al.:thumbsup:
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Thanks for the cut Dan, appreciated. It got me wondering when Winchester put Winchester on the bolster, were they earlier knives or later knives or were they done at the same time.
 
Good question, John! Where can we find all that kind of information??

I was looking for a Camillus which I will post later, but I also found this Winchester 3860!! It is a 4" stockman with some interesting details on the main blade - a forward nail nick, and a larger tang. The jigging has a very fine grain to it, worthy of a smaller knife, but it looks great IMO!!Stock 3860 1.jpg Stock 3860 2.jpg Stock 3860 3.jpg Stock 3860 4.jpg Stock 3860 5.jpg
 
waynorth said:
Good question, John! Where can we find all that kind of information??

I was looking for a Camillus which I will post later, but I also found this Winchester 3860!! It is a 4" stockman with some interesting details on the main blade - a forward nail nick, and a larger tang. The jigging has a very fine grain to it, worthy of a smaller knife, but it looks great IMO!!View attachment 1292772 View attachment 1292773 View attachment 1292774 View attachment 1292775 View attachment 1292776
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Thats a real nice Stockman Charlie!!
 
Thanks, John!! I haven't seen too many of these. It has been around the block, but it's mostly there!!:)
 
waynorth waynorth Beautiful stockman, Charlie! That long, graceful clip blade really stands out.

Augie Augie I've wondered about the Barlows as well. I haven't been able to find an answer in books or online. My guess is that the stamped bolsters came first and as Winchester started facing financial difficulties (they were bankrupt by 1931), they moved to plain bolsters as a cost-cutting measure. But a guess is all it is!

@Bilbo 1917 Wilson, I'd love to see a picture of your Walden Barlow.
 
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