Colonial knives... or... red headed stepchildren... low price point knives

[Codger_64]

Here is a group of Colonial brand knives which emerged from my boxes. Some I got because they looked interesting. Some came in a group of knives. And one came from the company's founders grandson. All are fully functional with decent steel. They are cheap in appearance and feel, but decent values for the money as users. Colonial and Imperial for years were competetors in that low price point market. Every pattern and style seemed to have an equivilant in both brands. Colonial even managed to get some Sears business, though usually in promo knives for their automotive services and goods.

 

[edbeau]

I would like to add a few pictures to Codger's thread. I like to find advertising knives and Colonial was one of the big ones.

 

[Codger_64]

Nice! Knives made good ad specialty knives, and the less expensive the better. Colonail founders were cousins of the Imperial founders with common roots back to Italy. Colonial used brandings of "Master?, "Old Cutler", "Coyote" and "Longhorn" among others. John Hart, the Lone Ranger, owned and used one of their lockbacks, though most of his pocketknives were original Robesons. It seems that every pattern made by Imperial and otehrs in the lower price point market was also made by Colonial. Imperial had their Kamp King. Colonial had their Forest Master. Back before WWII, they even made the novelty figurals, copying the Camillus baseball bat, and made the clear cell covered photo knives, risque photos of partially clad girls. They also had their western movie themed knife lines like Roy Rogers and John Wayne.

 

[Stich2442]

I only have/had one Colonial, gave it to a friend, steel takes a wicked edge





Pete

 

[leghog]

The old Forest-Master can still be found in excellent condition cheaply .

 

[Codger_64]

Here is a web-find of a counter card full of the little brown shell handle knife pictured above.

 

[bdev]

Here's some of mine. Some I still have....some are gone.

 

[MerryMadMonk]

My favorite Colonial

Folding pilot survival knife, US Army Air Corps

Flanked by a Schrade 8OT and a Buck 301

 

[Liam Ryan]

I picked up an old medium Ranger Stockman at an airport auction. Other then a pile of swiss army knives, a few leathermans, and the odd buck, it was the only decent knife not made in china or Pakistan, I was lucky to find it.
Had to reprofile the tips but it was in otherwise decent shape, sports a nice patina, and sharpens up wickedly. I know it's on the lower end but this blade has sparked an interest in these old traditional blades.

 

[Codger_64]

Low price point knives were and are good users, most often made with good tempered steel blades. When I was a kid I remember cheap junk knives. They had really thin pressed metal handles, often wrapped with some sort of printed material, and blades that you did not have to worry about breaking because they were untempered. You could bend them any which way. I believe they were made in occupied Japan and sold for the price of a pack of gum or a candy bar.