Can someone help identify this Imperial MOP "Scout" knife?

[Nikkogi]

Hey guys,

I've recently become pretty fascinated with traditional knihes and have started a little collection. I cannot seem to find another like this on the Internet. Would anyone here happen to know the model name? The tang says Imperial Prov RI and the USA vertically meaning it was made anywhere between 1956 and 1998 I believe.

Thanks in advance!

 

[tongueriver]

I don't know the model number. The handles are cracked-ice celluloid, or "mother-of-toilet-seat." This suggests that the knife was made before 1961. Most cutleries in the United States abandoned celluloid about that time in favor of Delrin. Although "scout" in the description of this type of knife continues to be widely used, 'utility' or 'camp' knife is possibly preferable, as official scout knives form a distinct and separate genre of knife collecting. Keep watching, and you will probably spot more of this exact model eventually on the massive internet auction site. I can't tell by your photograph, but similar knives called 'Camp King' and 'Forest King" with shell bolsters and skin-type celluloid over thin sheet metal handles were widely sold in buckets on the counter of hardware stores, like we see Chinese screwdrivers today. I believe both Imperial and Colonial made such an item. It kind of looks to me like yours has solid bolsters, and would therefore be a price-point higher than those.

 

[Nikkogi]

Thank you very much for the reply - it is appreciated