Congress knives

[smiling-knife]

...Two "Congress" knives in the privacy of their own home after "congress":

G'night honey.

Those are beautiful Blues. Who made them please? I'd like to see the 'offspring' of that congress.

Sheffield-made congress knives were exported primarily to the southern states dating back before the civil war. One hypothesis is that names such as congress and senator were marketing ploys devised to appeal specifically to US customers.

 

[Blues]

S-K,

I just happened upon that photo while searching google images for something with which to bolster my weisenheimer posts. I don't know anythng further about the knives pictured.

The photos were from bruce voyles' auction site, and perhaps further info might be available if your work back from the photo link which is:

http://www.jbrucevoyles.com/kan/DCP_4232.JPG

 

[gradall5200]

What actually makes a congress a congress is it the shape or the ammount of blades? Either way they are one of my favorite and JW had some beautiful knives on the previous page. Lots of great info on the congress history too guys thanks a lot. -Joel

 

[Blues]

Joel, the congress is the pattern or shape. There are two blade, three blade, four blade, six blade etc congress patterns.

 

[roaxtique]

Great Thread. I bought my first pocket knife at a coin shop, it was a cameo and I recall it was a better carving knife than any case I've owned since ? so Im curious about these China made cameo knives and wether there are any good? I am on the edge of buying this instead of searching for my old camco knife.

[Link to Live Ebay Auction Removed.]

 

[akadave2]

Seen many a plugs of bachy cut with a congress when I was younger. Shoveled wheat out of barges on the 10-uh-C river. It was a favorite pattern of the older hands.

I was just in Tennessee and hung out with a lot of traditional users. Seems the Congress has fallen out of favor, most likely because they are seen as very spendy collectibles since the older ones in any kind of decent shape command a high price.

 

[camcam2016]

I got a boker plus congress knife with extremely thin blades. Way to thin imo, about half the thickness of a buck pocket knife. They bend super easy. My question is is this boker or is this the way the congress pattern is made by all company's. In others words does congress mean 4 blades thin knife or knife with 4 blades. Also curious about other patterns the tl29 for example, I have a Klein one and it's built 10x stronger than any other traditional I have. Is this the company or the pattern.

 

[knarfeng]

does congress mean 4 blades thin knife or knife with 4 blades.

The quick answer is that "Congress" pattern does not mean the blades or the knife are thin.

The thinness of which you speak is specific to that implementation of the pattern from that company. There are Boker Congress knives which are not thin and which do not have thin blades.

 

[knives4less]

I can't find a reference to it, but I remember reading that the four-bladed knives were introduced for the first World Tobacco Congress in the early 1900's. This was a convention of big growers and sellers.

 

[Burnt Stag]

There are congress knives on display at the Steamboat Arabia museum. Many of them appear to be 4 blade. If anyone lives in the Kansas City area a visit to the Steamboat Arabia museum has a great display of life from the 1850's. It was headed up the mighty Missouri with 200 tons of cargo that was essential needs for frontier towns when it ran onto a snag and sank in September of 1856.
In the 1980's it was found in a cornfield 45 feet underground with all her cargo inside. The museum was started and 100% of the items have been kept. Nothing sold.
The knife displays are incredible. Well , it all is incredible actually. There are rows and rows of green river knives. But in the folding knives that are on display there are many congress knives in the mix. The Arabia paints a perfect picture of life in the 1850's
Here are a few pictures of the folders , the first image on the left and top row is a well used 4 blade congress with all blades open is on display on top of a sharpening stone.
So the congress has been around a while and that 4 blade shows many years of use and it was lost in 1856 so the actual age could be much earlier.

One set of the Green River knives. There were racks of these displayed through out the museum.