Can anyone identify these knives

U

Umberto154

Joined
Aug 19, 2011
Messages
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I picked these knives up at a thrift shop and wonder if anyone knows what i have .... thanks in advance!

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is O. C. Vail the owners name??? just curious..... I can't seem to find any info on them!!
 
Its still a mystery then................. no one knows any thing about these knives..................... !!!!!
 
Vail is either the owners name or the restaurants name, for sure. Second knife from top is a sharpened spatula/icing knife. Second from bottom is a green river skinning knife. They mainly look like sheffield catering knives from the '60's & 70's.
 
parbajtor
thank you for shedding some light on my knives...... third from the bottom looks like a prison shank.............. lol..... with a cool thumb gaurd!
 
I think the 2nd one from the top with the black handle looks like an old Flint knife/spatula.
 
Hello,

OC Vail was my great grandfather. He was a knife maker and fisherman who lived in Tobermory, ON on Georgian Bay. He is also thought to have discovered LaSalle's ship the Griffon during one of his fishing expeditions. If you ever want to sell some or all of these knives please contact me. We do not have any of the knives he made.
 
The one at the bottom looks exactly like a knife I bought from Lee Valley Tools. About 15 years ago Lee Valley bought up a huge stock of older Sabatier knives from a warehouse in France , made by the Thiers-Issard company between the 1920's and the 1950's. They may have been seconds, because the rosewood scales on mine were poorly finished, but the blade is excellent. I rehandled mine.

Are there any markings on the other side of the blade? If it's from Thiers-Issard, it should say SABATIER, with a logo of four stars and an elephant. Given the condition of the blade, however, the etching may have worn off.
 
iSaur ... this is definitely a four star elephant sabatier..... the markings are plain on the side of the knife not shown..... thanks for the Lee Valley info...... thats cool.... the handles on this knife are poorly done as well with one of the rivets loose ..... however the blade is excellent carbon steel quality and gets surgical sharp...... you are right with new handles this would be a fabulous kitchen knife...... thanks again for the reply!
 
it looks like the fourth from top is a boning/filleting knife and bottom is a chefs knife .... hope that helps
 
ChefKid said:
it looks like the fourth from top is a boning/filleting knife and bottom is a chefs knife .... hope that helps
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Having worked as a cook in French restaurants and a meat cutter, the bottom knife is not a chef knife, but a meat cutters knife. A chef knife is usually used with a pushing motion, while a meat cutters knife is used in a pulling motion. The knife right above it is also a meat cutters knife.
 
Umberto154 said:
I picked these knives up at a thrift shop and wonder if anyone knows what i have .... thanks in advance!

100_4520.JPG


100_4521.JPG


is O. C. Vail the owners name??? just curious..... I can't seem to find any info on them!!
Click to expand...



Hello,

OC Vail made these knives, he was my great uncle. A fisherman in Ontario Canada about 1950's or so. If you still have them I would be interested in buying them. Thank you marcywunder@hotmail.com
 
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