Colonial Knife Co Providence R.I.

[B.Mauser]

Thanks, Night Rider, that was the article I was looking for.

If the covers are shrinking or crumbling, it's a good bet they are celluloid and can cause the metal parts of the knife to rust (also any knives stored in close proximity) Later made knives used more stable plastics. If you post some close up pictures, maybe one of the resident experts can help determine.

That is a great article. I have read it many times. I love the story of the building with a roof on hinges for celluloid work at Camillus.

 

[veitsi_poika]

View attachment 1075472 View attachment 1075473 View attachment 1075474 View attachment 1075475 @Night Rider and @r8shell
Thanks for the heads up! After reading that article I think this probably is celluloid. It’s an advertising knife from that period and has some of the signs like feaux pearl and shrinkage, not to mention the corrosion. I also included a picture of another knife I got after he passed. It’s a Saber brand knife marked “Japan Stainless”. I’m assuming this is from the 60s or 70s but may also be celluloid. Let me know what you think.

So you've had the Colonial for 30+ years and it has not gotten any worse? If so, I would just keep doing what you're doing and follow my rules for storage C.O.D.D.A... Cool Open Dark Dry and Alone... No knife rolls, no closed containers, no drawers, etc and keep it separate from other knives you love. If you want to read further, here is a post I made a while back that explains it in more detail. Also Wikipedia has a section about Celluloid and its deterioration characteristics.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...tion-out-gassing.1457872/page-3#post-17694016

 

[B.Mauser]

Here is a new Colonial that just arrived.

An old 1930's curved tang stamp celluloid.

Well used but still in pretty good shape. No cracks or damage to the handles at all.

 

[waverave]

Brian...here are some more photos of the Forest Master in question. Any information you can offer is greatly appreciated.

 

[screened porch]

That is different.

 

[B.Mauser]

Brian...here are some more photos of the Forest Master in question. Any information you can offer is greatly appreciated.
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Thanks for the extra pictures.

The blade is definitely not the original blade. It must have been broken and replaced by someone who liked to tinker with knives. I've seen Forest Masters with the wrong blade before. I saw one with an Imperial blade in it last year on eBay.

Interesting choice for a donor blade. At least it was from a Colonial. They did a good job making it look similar to the original one.

The blade is older than the rest of the knife. Colonial trademarked this Ranger tang stamp in 1938. It was used through the 40's and possibly into the early 50's.

The Forest Master is from the 50's. Colonial called these handles black stagged. Anything imitation they put the ed on the end. Imitation stag was stagged, brass plated steel was brassed.

Something that stands out about these Forest Masters is the very thin metal used for the awl. Most Forest Masters have thicker awls.



I went through my Forest Masters and found one like it.


Below are the two variations of Forest Masters that use this thin awl. The top one is 60's and the bottom is 50's.

The bottom one is the same as yours.

 

[waverave]

Thanks for the extra pictures.

The blade is definitely not the original blade. It must have been broken and replaced by someone who liked to tinker with knives. I've seen Forest Masters with the wrong blade before. I saw one with an Imperial blade in it last year on eBay.

Interesting choice for a donor blade. At least it was from a Colonial. They did a good job making it look similar to the original one.

The blade is older than the rest of the knife. Colonial trademarked this Ranger tang stamp in 1938. It was used through the 40's and possibly into the early 50's.

The Forest Master is from the 50's. Colonial called these handles black stagged. Anything imitation they put the ed on the end. Imitation stag was stagged, brass plated steel was brassed.

Something that stands out about these Forest Masters is the very thin metal used for the awl. Most Forest Masters have thicker awls. This also is the only black stagged Forest Master that the bottom of the handles are square instead of round like most.



I went through my Forest Masters and found one like it.


Below are the two variations of Forest Masters that use this thin awl. The top one is 60's and the bottom is 50's.

The bottom one is the same as yours.

Thank you sir!

 

[screened porch]

I found another one. Flea Market, ca 1970. My handles.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Here's a Colonial Ranger stockman I acquired a few weeks ago.


Perfect working knife if you ask me.

 

[B.Mauser]

I found another one. Flea Market, ca 1970. My handles.

Nice job putting that one back in service. Looks like a fun project.

Are you saying 1970 for the knifes age? Its older than that.

 

[B.Mauser]

Here's a Colonial Ranger stockman I acquired a few weeks ago.


Perfect working knife if you ask me.

I agree, the Ranger stockman is a great working knife.

Yours is a model #933 in 1075 carbon steel. These were made in black, white and yellow.

I have a really beat up yellow one I like a lot.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I agree, the Ranger stockman is a great working knife.

Yours is a model #933 in 1075 carbon steel. These were made in black, white and yellow.

I have a really beat up yellow one I like a lot.

Thanks for the info.
It's probably the first full sized to larger stockman I've liked.

 

[B.Mauser]

I found a Forest Master advertising knife I have never seen before.

It was contracted by a company called Rugol. They made tools, a couple I found were chisels and shears.

I now have 6 Forest Master contract knives.


Here is the new Rugol.

Here are the 6 Forest Master contract knives.

The one that just says Forest Master on the shield has PALCO Worc, USA as the tang stamp. Its pictured below.

 

[screened porch]

Nice job putting that one back in service. Looks like a fun project.

Are you saying 1970 for the knifes age? Its older than that.

Thanks. I just epoxied on the handles. Probably whittled them in place.
No, sorry, 1970 was the approximate date of the flea market purchase.
I can't find your recent post that said how old the curved tang stamp is?

Found it! Would this old fish knife also be 1930s?

 

[B.Mauser]

Thanks. I just epoxied on the handles. Probably whittled them in place.
No, sorry, 1970 was the approximate date of the flea market purchase.
I can't find your recent post that said how old the curved tang stamp is?

Found it! Would this old fish knife also be 1930s?

Wow thats cool you did the handles so long ago.

Yes thats an old one . The last year Colonial used that stamp was 1938. It was used from around 1930 to 1938.

 

[Old Biker]

I got this Ranger stockman a few days ago. As I expected it cleaned and sharpened up well. It should make a good user.

I think these old Colonial made knives are some of the best user knife bargains around. They are easy to sharpen, get really sharp, and hold that edge quite well.

O.B.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Got this ranger on the way from eBay, looks black to me but the description says it's brown.

I'll know when I get it but it sure does look black, did these come in brown ?

 

[Hickory n steel]

Yours is a model #933 in 1075 carbon steel. These were made in black, white and yellow.

Ever seen the red ones made for a company called MCcoy out of MT IDA Arkansas ?
Found a picture of one online.

It's the best picture I could find, but the other side has MCcoy on the shield, " the real MCcoy " on the blade, and MT Ida Arkansas on the tang.

 

[Hickory n steel]

It's definitely dark brown, but it doesn't show very well on camera.

 

[Old Biker]

I won the auction on this Old Cutler by Colonial, a few days ago. It was advertised as a 3 bladed knife. Somebody must have trouble counting. Anyway it's the first time I have seen this blade combination.

It's shiny, so my first thought was it was stainless steel, but a closer look reveled fine rust starting on the blades and back springs. So I guess it's polished carbon steel. It also has some fancy scalloping, on the blade spines and back springs.

O.B.