Cattaraugus and Gerber - My Father's Knives

[ncrockclimb]

My father is 84 years old. He is a totally cool guy and a blast to hang out with. My wife and I spend every Sunday afternoon with him and my mom. After dinner tonight, my dad and I were talking about knives. During the conversation, we ended up looking at two of his old knives.

One is a Gerber that he got in the late 70s. At that time, Buck was more popular. However, my dad said that he liked the design of the Gerber better. Does anyone know what model this knife is? Any other information about it would be welcome too.

The other knife is more interesting. It was my great uncle's, and was probably purchased in the 30’s. It is a Cattaraugus brand, Antacrtic Special. The blade is 4.5” long and the handle is also 4.5” long. I think the handle is made of bone or antler, but not sure. I would love to know more about this knife. What kind of steel is the blade made from? What is the handle material? Is this a “quality” knife or just the 1930’s version of a Walmart special? When was this knife actually made?

I have NO interest in selling these knives, and this is not meant to be a “how much is it worth” thread. Rather, I am just interested in learning more about a pair of family heirlooms that will by my father, me and cherished for many generations to come. With that in mind, I would welcome any information you would like to share about either the Cattaraugus or the Gerber.

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[retzius]

Thanks for the information and pics! I don't have any information for you but I just wanted to say I really like the "Antarctic Special". Great looking knife that I would love to take out and use again. If you get any further information on these knives please update your thread. I might add that in my experience Gerber has great customer service; if you forward the link to this thread and the information to them I have a hunch they might just give you all the information you need.

 

[ncrockclimb]

Thanks for the tip on Gerber. I really want to get both of these knives totally refurbished for my dad, and might look into having Gerber do the work on the folder. That being said, I am a little leery of sending a knife with so much sentimental value to a big corporation. They might do great work, but accidents happen and I would probably be more comfortable working with an individual.

If anyone else has any info on these well loved old soldiers, please post up!

 

[chiral.grolim]

The Gerber is an old Magnum Folding Hunter: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/677077-Mid-80-s-Gerber-Magnum-folder

I got nothing on the Catt, but it's beautiful. I have a 225Q inherited from a WW2 pilot.

 

[ncrockclimb]

Thanks for the link. The old brochure that is in that thread is awesome.

Anyone got any info on the Cattaraugus?

 

[eisman]

First, there's no need to "restore" either of these. The green stuff you see is virdigris, which is a natural growth from the oils and solvents used to tan the hide interacting with the materials used on the knife. Brass is highly susceptable to this, Antler a bit less. This is one reason you should never store a knife (or any brass) in leather. It can be removed by polishing the effected area, although it can also cause some pitting that will require more work. I use Flitz polish and a soft jersey rag for this type of work, but don't use the Flitz on the antler as it will get into the open pores and stain.

The Gerber is fairly modern and easier to "fix-up" without financial repercussion. While there's a market for them, it's not high value, and the premium is for "as new". The scales (handles) apear to be rosewood, which is dense hardwood and wears well. You could go so far as to use sandpaper and polishing media (wheels, etc) with no problem to bring it back to a clean smooth finish. I'd just clean it (prefeing ultra-sonic) and polish with Flitz, and put some lemon oil on the scales and mineral oil on the joints.

The Cat is a whole different ball game. That's a highly collectable knife, especially with a sheath is such good shape. (You can see the sheath is fairly "cheap" and they are hard to come by.) I would do nothing to the sheath except maybe use a little saddle soap. The knife itself is is great shape considering it's coming up on 100 years old. Especially since it's not been used hard and retains some of the original finish and the blade etching. The handle material is mainly stag antler, with a aluminimum butt cap. I recommend you NOT polish this knife; the patina is perfect and highly sought after. Likewise, do not put this in an ultra-sonic tank as some of the man-made materials (like those black and maroon spacers) can deteriorate in them. Gesso (used instead of plastic) is cellulose based and becomes dust, for example. I would wipe the whole thing down, and coat it with some Ren-Wax to preserve it.

You can get a lot more info on the Antarctic Special from the folks in the Bernard Levine "collectable's" forum.

 

[ncrockclimb]

First, there's no need to "restore" either of these. The green stuff you see is virdigris, which is a natural growth from the oils and solvents used to tan the hide interacting with the materials used on the knife. Brass is highly susceptable to this, Antler a bit less. This is one reason you should never store a knife (or any brass) in leather. It can be removed by polishing the effected area, although it can also cause some pitting that will require more work. I use Flitz polish and a soft jersey rag for this type of work, but don't use the Flitz on the antler as it will get into the open pores and stain.

The Gerber is fairly modern and easier to "fix-up" without financial repercussion. While there's a market for them, it's not high value, and the premium is for "as new". The scales (handles) apear to be rosewood, which is dense hardwood and wears well. You could go so far as to use sandpaper and polishing media (wheels, etc) with no problem to bring it back to a clean smooth finish. I'd just clean it (prefeing ultra-sonic) and polish with Flitz, and put some lemon oil on the scales and mineral oil on the joints.

The Cat is a whole different ball game. That's a highly collectable knife, especially with a sheath is such good shape. (You can see the sheath is fairly "cheap" and they are hard to come by.) I would do nothing to the sheath except maybe use a little saddle soap. The knife itself is is great shape considering it's coming up on 100 years old. Especially since it's not been used hard and retains some of the original finish and the blade etching. The handle material is mainly stag antler, with a aluminimum butt cap. I recommend you NOT polish this knife; the patina is perfect and highly sought after. Likewise, do not put this in an ultra-sonic tank as some of the man-made materials (like those black and maroon spacers) can deteriorate in them. Gesso (used instead of plastic) is cellulose based and becomes dust, for example. I would wipe the whole thing down, and coat it with some Ren-Wax to preserve it.

You can get a lot more info on the Antarctic Special from the folks in the Bernard Levine "collectable's" forum.

Eisman, Thank You! I really appreciate all the information and tips for cleaning up the virdigris. Although I cannot envision my father or me selling either of these knives, it is interesting to know that the "Cat" is a collectible knife. I'll take your advice and on posting on the collectable forum.