Does any one out there have any simmons hardware or keen kutter knives?

I have a Keen Kutter in my favorite pattern, the scout.

Keen%2520Kutter%2520Scout%2520Open.JPG
 
Glad this thread was bumped. Unfortunately, I don't have a whole lot of Simmons-era Keen Kutters.





My oldest and most-worn - a K01881 pen knife of unknown vintage -- yes, the pen blade still cuts. :o





Newer version of the same knife in MOP.





An 828 Barlow of unknown vintage (my only one -- I know, I'm embarrassed, but that KK name makes people price-crazy! :eek:).





A couple Bear-made KK Barlows of recent vintage.





A limited edition KK trapper which I thought was Bear but further research indicates the timing might not add up (I believe this knife is pre-1988) -- any additional information or comparison photos with other manufacturers' trappers would be appreciated.
 
Great old Scout, Leghog. I really like the shield! TsarBomba, nice Keen Kutters, old and new.
Dan
 
Don't know how I missed it before Jake, but your teardrop jack is VERY special! AGAIG in my opinion.
 
I have an EC Simmons St. Louis MO Keen Kutter, model 1105 1/4, a gift from Markesharp about a year ago. I haven't been able to learn much about it, although I suppose it must have been made prior to 1940, the year of Simmons' bankruptcy, right?

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- GT
 
Sounds right to me. My catalog examples are limited and I don't have an example of 1105 1/4. But 1108 1/4 is a budding knife with a single spey blade (bone covers) and I think your knife is probably also a budding knife with a spey blade.
 
5K Qs, very nice knife! According to Sellen's book it was manufactured sometime between 1921 and 1934. Blade likely reshaped through use as he says it originally had a spey blade. Also says the handles are cocobola, they look like ebony to me in the photo? Anyway, nice handles in good condition.
Dan
 
supratentorial said:
Sounds right to me. My catalog examples are limited and I don't have an example of 1105 1/4. But 1108 1/4 is a budding knife with a single spey blade (bone covers) and I think your knife is probably also a budding knife with a spey blade.
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danno50 said:
5K Qs, very nice knife! According to Sellen's book it was manufactured sometime between 1921 and 1934. Blade likely reshaped through use as he says it originally had a spey blade. Also says the handles are cocobola, they look like ebony to me in the photo? Anyway, nice handles in good condition.
Dan
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Thanks for the very interesting and helpful info, Jake and Dan! :thumbup::cool: I'd have never guessed that the blade was originally a spey blade, although there's quite a "void" in the blade well beyond the tip of the blade, so it's certainly conceivable that the blade was originally longer.

Dan, would it be possible to post (or send me a PM containing) a photo or scan of the relevant page from your Sellen book? That would be very cool! :D I usually think that if a knife is older than I am (born 1951), it's relatively ancient ;), but if your source is correct, the knife may be older than my Dad (born 1930)!! :cool:

As for the covers, I'm very inexperienced with wood covers, and don't have skills for identifying different types of woods. But I was looking at the knife in the sunshine at the bus stop on my way home this afternoon, and it's definitely browner and grainier and streakier in bright light than it looks in my photos (pics show the handles as quite black and solid and monolithic).

- GT
 
I found a catalog example for you. I had overlooked it since the image shows the spear variation. c1930



I agree that the covers are cocobolo. It can look very dark with use/dirt and oil. I have a few oldies with cocobolo covers that look just as black. If you strip the oil with a graded alcohol series, you'll see the grain more clearly. But I'd just leave the wood as is to minimize the risk of it warping.
 
The photo in Sellen's book is the same as the one in the catalog cut posted by Jake so I can't send you any better pic.
Dan
 
Thanks, guys! That catalog clip is fantastic, Jake! :thumbup::thumbup:

- GT
 
Wow, beautiful old KK, BladeCommander! Looks like a K2472 made between 1905 and 1920 (from Sellens). Too bad about the front handle cracks, still a beautiful old knife. Possibibly repinned?, however, everything looks original.
Dan
 
danno50 said:
Wow, beautiful old KK, BladeCommander! Looks like a K2472 made between 1905 and 1920 (from Sellens). Too bad about the front handle cracks, still a beautiful old knife. Possibibly repinned?, however, everything looks original.
Dan
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It appears to be original to me. I picked it up at the flea market, so I do not know it's history. The handle damage is unfortunate, but It sure is a nice example of the pattern either way. Thanks for the information, I had expected it to be old, but that is the most narrow age range I have found yet. This guy (gal?) could already be over 100 yrs old!
 
Nice pair of beautiful Keen Kutters, shipwright! I have an identical dogleg, has pattern 2720 stamped on back of master blade. Sellens says made from 1905 through to 1934. The only 3 7/8" pruner I could find in Sellens was a model K140, made in the 3 7/8" length from 1939 through to 1942.
Dan
 
I have posted the knife pages from the 1912 Simmons catalog into the sticky thread "Vintage Knife Catalogs and Ads" located at the top of the Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades forum. I seems a little incomplete, but the catalog index indicated that was all there were. Perhaps they didn't advertise all patterns in every catalog? I also have some of the knife pages from the 1939 Simmons catalog and the 1959 Shapleigh catalog and will post them when I get time.
Dan
 
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