Can you tell "Rogers Bone"?

Joe58

Joe58

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Nov 11, 2002
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Hi -

Did a forum search and found some good info, and a bunch of great pics too, but didn't really find the direct answer I was looking for.

When looking at an old traditional, is there a way to tell if it's scaled in 'Rogers bone"?

Just asking as this material seems to be in demand on the older knives and I'm just trying to educate myself a little more.

I did read some history behind the company and the fact they supplied much of the knife industry with materials. Quite an interesting read.

Thanks! Joe
 
I don't know who can actually certify Rodgers Bone.
Bernie Levine says Rodgers did more than one style.
 
waynorth said:
I don't know who can actually certify Rodgers Bone.
Bernie Levine says Rodgers did more than one style.
Click to expand...

Yeah - that's kind of what I was wondering. On that large auction site, someone will list an older, and sometimes not that old, picket knife, and add that it has Rogers bone scales. How can they know for sure?

Unless you can definitely say during this manufacturing period company XYZ used Rogers to supply all their scales.

Not that it matters that much as the scales either look good or they don't, no matter who's made them. It just always seems important that it gets mentioned. Dunno. :)
 
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This PAL knife is Rodgers bone. The master blade is marked with the early Remington mark. In around 1940 DuPont sold all the patterns and leftover blades and handles from the Remington period to PAL. Remington allowed them to use up the Remington marked blades, something they wouldn't allow DuPont to do during their period of manufacturing knives under the Remington/DuPont period.

Regards

Robin
 
Thanks Pipeman - great pics. If you need to store that Pal somewhere I've plenty of room. Lol.

I can see there is a difference, not just in shade, but in the jigging as well. Is all Rogers that light of shade?

So just I'm clear, as I'm a little dense sometimes, DuPont was the supplier of Rogers bone scales? From what I've read, I thought Rogers was it's own entity that sold scale material to many different makers.

And please correct me if I'm wrong, Rogers bone was desirable as it was from a South American bovine breed with extra dense bone. Then later on from Australia.

Or are we just talking about DuPont in reference to the make of knife itself and nothing to do with the scales.

Thanks! Joe
 
Joe58 said:
Thanks Pipeman - great pics. If you need to store that Pal somewhere I've plenty of room. Lol.

I can see there is a difference, not just in shade, but in the jigging as well. Is all Rogers that light of shade?

So just I'm clear, as I'm a little dense sometimes, DuPont was the supplier of Rogers bone scales? From what I've read, I thought Rogers was it's own entity that sold scale material to many different makers.
And please correct me if I'm wrong, Rogers bone was desirable as it was from a South American bovine breed with extra dense bone. Then later on from Australia.

Or are we just talking about DuPont in reference to the make of knife itself and nothing to do with the scales.

Thanks! Joe
Click to expand...

Hi Joe
Re DuPont
I think if my memory serves me that around 1933 Remington sold the rights and patterns etc to DuPont who took it on mainly to get the munitions contract from Remington (more or less a favour to get the contract).
The mark that DuPont used was the straight line Remington rather than the circle mark used by Remington. Dupont had the knives made by Schrade and Camillus I believe. The Rodgers bone and blades were passed on to Pal by DuPont in 1940 and used up by Pal, I would assume within the first year or two.

Regards

Robin
 
Thanks Robin - Jonathan and I have been having an email discussion on this. For some reason we find it interesting. Lol. He sent me the pic of his Pal with one side you indicated was Rogers. Thanks Jonathan for the use of the pic of your good looking knife. It's the one in the middle in the collage.

The top pic is a Catti that I'm currently bidding on that the seller indicates is Rogers. But it doesn't look like it to me. Not a big issue for me personally as I like the knife anyway. Just trying to get a bit better handle on buying older traditionals.

The bottom is an old Camillus EO on the large auction site that nothing is listed other than it's bone. To me, that looks like Rogers. Scales are nice looking but the blades are pretty rough so I'm not going on that one even though I really like EO's. So I'll probably change my mind. Ha.

Anyway - am I close Robin? Really appreciate your opinion. :)

 
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This knife was introduced by Case in 1989 and sold by them in 1989 and 1990. Case marketed them as "Case Rogers Bone". The pattern stamped on the tang is - ROG61405L D . The D designates Damascus. The blade is Case 512 layer Damascus Steel.

Here are some pictures of it shot in different light.







I don't know if the bone pictured is true Rogers Bone or not but it was marketed by Case as such.

Charlie wasn't off the mark when he said:

I don't know who can actually certify Rodgers Bone.
Bernie Levine says Rodgers did more than one style.
Click to expand...
 
Most likely the covers on my knife were done as a reproduction.

I've often wondered about this old Imperial from the 1930s -1940s era. Greenish bone with dark jigging. "thawk" and I had a discussion about it a couple years ago or so when I got it. Can't remember what we came up with but I thought it was worth posting a picture of it again anyway. If anyone has a comment about it, comment away.

 
Hi Ed - I may be way off the mark, but just looking at the scale on that knife in the middle of those three I posted above. Robin identified this as Rogers. Not looking at the shade of coloring, but the divot pattern in the jigging appears to me to be more random. And looking at the inside of the divot, it is smooth inside. No other lines carved into it.

Same as that pic on the bottom scale on that Camillus EO.

In the top pic, the scale pattern seems more uniform and there is extra lines jigged inside the divots themselves. And tbe seller said this was Rogers. But I have my doubts.

On yours, we're back to a more random pattern, with smooth divots again, looking more like the scale on the middle knife belonging to Jonathan above. Ignoring the shade of dye of course. So to me, that would match the Rogers.

And then of course I could be all wet as Levine's article says Rogers made other types as well. It's beginning to appear there isn't a definitive way to know with certainty unless it's tang marked as some (Case?) knives were. But then who knows if years back it wasn't rehandled too. But I'm thinking as far as that goes, most guys used a knife up, either tossed it, gave it to the kid to use, threw it in a drawer, then bought a new one. A knife back then was more a tool than collected for most guys with little disposable income to buy things just to collect. So the knife was used as long as possible.
 
The extra lines inside the divots can often be attributed to dull cutting edges on the multi-cutter tool. When it was freshly sharpened, the cuts were cleaner.
 
The only real way to identify Rogers bone would be to know who bought it from Rogers and when. It seems to be a lighter colour, it seems to be smooth in the bottom of the jig cuts and somewhat random larger and smaller ovals and circles, BUT not always:D It looks like many of the scales were rounded and thus few sharpish edges around the jigging but I think that has to do with the pattern in many cases. Flat topped patterns like Charlies stockmen (found in the link above) seem much more crisp around the jig cuts, of course they are unused knives. It is a very interesting study.

Best regards

Robin
 
This picture of the Imperial EO was take in a different light and a little later than the picture shown above.



As a rule, I don't look for the nuances of various bone jigging patterns in most knives covers. It interest me but the style of jigging or what company the jigged bone came from is not a deciding factor for 90% of the knives I buy and collect.
 
Modoc ED said:
This picture of the Imperial EO was take in a different light and a little later than the picture shown above.



As a rule, I don't look for the nuances of various bone jigging patterns in most knives covers. It interest me but the style of jigging or what company the jigged bone came from is not a deciding factor for 90% of the knives I buy and collect.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd agree with you Ed that pattern, the looks itself determine most my knife buys as well. I was just prompted to start this thread as sellers seem to want a premium as they're saying it has Rogers bone. I really would be surprised if the ones that actually do or more just hit or miss. Unless you're a very experienced collector. Which I'm not. Lol.

Thanks guys - I've enjoyed this thread and have learned some interesting history. And seen some awesome knives.

Joe
 
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