E. Bruckmann Knives

[JTB_5]

I just received an old pre-WWII knife made by E. Bruckmann. I couldn't find out much about the company or the knife itself, except that A.G. Russell acquired a lot quantity of E. Bruckmann in the 70s. In a 2002 post here on BladeForums Russell said he didn't think they made any knives after the mid-30s. The one I have looks unused, so it is probably from the "new old stock" that Russell purchased and someone bought from him at some point. It is well made and probably the coolest knife I now own--definitely the oldest! The jigging is amazing. The fit and finish are solid. The pulls and action are outstanding. The punch is really interesting. The blade appears to be convex ground. I don't know why the screwdriver has the cut outs, but perhaps someone here knows? I'm really stoked to have this one in my collection!

 

[cbr1000]

Very cool! The notch kinda reminds me of the wire cutting tool on an sak... where you lay a wire across and close the blade on it.

I have 2 bruckmann's. Both are tiny, under 2" each. They are made well for there tiny size.

 

[JTB_5]

Very cool! The notch kinda reminds me of the wire cutting tool on an sak... where you lay a wire across and close the blade on it.

I have 2 bruckmann's. Both are tiny, under 2" each. They are made well for there tiny size.

I thought about that possible use, and I guess it could be used that way, but the screwdriver doesn't have a half stop, so it doesn't "lock" in place the way the SAK tool does.

This knife is pretty substantial in size. I haven't measured it, but it looks to be about 4" handle.

 

[willard0341]

What a beautiful piece of history... really like the blade combination also.

 

[Texoma]

Nice knife Joshua, I also thought the screwdriver notches were similar to an electrician knife. I was checking out a similar Bruckmann knife for sale recently for the punch but never purchased. Enjoy.

 

[Bastler]

I, as well, would like to know more about their history.

 

[JTB_5]

What a beautiful piece of history... really like the blade combination also.

Nice knife Joshua, I also thought the screwdriver notches were similar to an electrician knife. I was checking out a similar Bruckmann knife for sale recently for the punch but never purchased. Enjoy.

Thanks guys! This pattern seems so useful and I’m a little surprised more of them aren’t done now apart from SAK.

 

[waynorth]

Bruckmanns were (are) nice knives!! A lot were handled in Pearl or Horn.
Your notched blade is for wire-stripping, Joshua!
Here is a picnic version of a Bruckmann, which means Bridge Man in English! Hence the tang stamp!!

 

[JTB_5]

Bruckmanns were (are) nice knives!! A lot were handled in Pearl or Horn.
Your notched blade is for wire-stripping, Joshua!
Here is a picnic version of a Bruckmann, which means Bridge Man in English! Hence the tang stamp!!View attachment 1502773

Thanks Charlie! That's a nice one you have there.

I was wondering about the wire stripping possibility as I've seen something similar on the SAKs, but these are bigger and on both sides. Very cool looking design in any case. I love the how the logo is an image of the Bruckmann name. My wife's maiden name (German) would make for a good image, as it means "Watcher of the Gates."

 

[Cutfinger]

That is a handsome and well built, what I take to be an electricians knife.

There is a current production Italian knife, made in the nearly exact same pattern, (shadow pattern, birdseye pivot) but in wood. The knife was not as well put together as the Bruckmann, way more of a rough and ready thing going on. The name of the company escapes me right now.

A porch regular (just tom?) has one he dyed nearly black. It looked to me like a very useful knife, and a lot more appealing to me than an SAK. I tried getting one...no luck.

P.S. I do like SAKs

Edited to add: Antonini is the Italian maker I couldn't remember.

 

[abbydaddy]

Thanks to the generosity of glennbad , I am the proud owner of a Bruckmann picnic knife. I really love the knife. I am regularly torn between wanting to carry it and wanting to protect it since it is in such amazing condition and so well made. It has made a few trips and excursions with me, and from time to time it pops a cork, but I find myself feeling very protective of the knife.

And I feel like I have to admit that I have been the recipient of so much kindness here on Bladeforums that I had to do some searching through my inbox to figure out who had gifted me this lovely and quite special knife. I was kind of floored when I realized it was Glenn. That man has gifted me some truly spectacular knives between the Bruckmann and a 2013 Bladeforums Congress Jack. I am very grateful, and newly reminded of how much I have to be grateful for. Thanks Glenn.

Unfortunately I don't have any other info to add to the Bruckmann story. They appear to be a German company that didn't survive WWII, I don't know if they folded before the war or not. But they made very fine knives. I am always struck by the precision of the grinds. And I really like the nail nicks.

 

[JTB_5]

Thanks to the generosity of glennbad , I am the proud owner of a Bruckmann picnic knife. I really love the knife. I am regularly torn between wanting to carry it and wanting to protect it since it is in such amazing condition and so well made. It has made a few trips and excursions with me, and from time to time it pops a cork, but I find myself feeling very protective of the knife.

And I feel like I have to admit that I have been the recipient of so much kindness here on Bladeforums that I had to do some searching through my inbox to figure out who had gifted me this lovely and quite special knife. I was kind of floored when I realized it was Glenn. That man has gifted me some truly spectacular knives between the Bruckmann and a 2013 Bladeforums Congress Jack. I am very grateful, and newly reminded of how much I have to be grateful for. Thanks Glenn.

Unfortunately I don't have any other info to add to the Bruckmann story. They appear to be a German company that didn't survive WWII, I don't know if they folded before the war or not. But they made very fine knives. I am always struck by the precision of the grinds. And I really like the nail nicks.

Th3 nail nick is very close to the spine and it still has a killer swedge. It’s very precise.

 

[glennbad]

I have always admired these knives. Although slightly torn by the cheaper feel of the plastic/cell/? covers, they are well made. I think I first acquired some many years ago in a Bruckmann "grab-bag" offer that a certain catalog knife retailer was selling. If the covers are cell, they are quite stable. I haven't personally seen any of these that have gassed, but who knows. I am impressed by the thin grinds and the blade sharpness, almost scalpel sharp. I am also intrigued that almost everyone I see is unused or near mint.

Here is the extent of my Bruckmann collection, sorry for the poor quality pic, it was a rush job. All of these are mint or near mint, although the pic doesn't really indicate that. I think I have a box somewhere also...

 

[glennbad]

I just found this info in a post on another knife forum. I have no evidence to its' validity, but it is an interesting piece of information if true.

bruckmann made the parts before world war ii . he died in 1956 his wife sold the parts to robert klaas (kissing crane)
who refinished them and assembled them for export to the us

 

[dsutton24]

I can't help any with the history of these knives. I do remember a young man years ago that used to comb the gun shows looking for Bruckmans, and he had a very nice collection of them.

Here's a really bad photo of a nice old knife:

 

[brownshoe]

You might want to move this to the Levine section and ask Germania's opinion. He's an expert in things German.

 

[JTB_5]

Glenn told me that Kevin Pipes bought a bunch of these knives, so I reached out and contacted his company email (the "collectors" one). He responded! He said he did buy a lot of Bruckmann knives from the Robert Klaas company in the 1980s. 200-300 knives of a variety of patterns each time the went to Germany. The bridge on the logo is a famous one in Germany, but he didn’t say which one. Pretty cool!

 

[glennbad]

Glenn told me that Kevin Pipes bought a bunch of these knives, so I reached out and contacted his company email (the "collectors" one). He responded! He said he did buy a lot of Bruckmann knives from the Robert Klaas company in the 1980s. 200-300 knives of a variety of patterns each time the went to Germany. The bridge on the logo is a famous one in Germany, but he didn’t say which one. Pretty cool!

Interesting. So that Klaas connection was legit. Wow.

 

[JTB_5]

Interesting. So that Klaas connection was legit. Wow.

I know, right!? I was surprised and pretty stoked. Funny how little bits of information discovery can be so satisfying.

 

[glennbad]

I'm not sure why I haven't modded one of these before. Maybe because they are usually in such great condition. However, I had this one, and found the covers to be hideous. What to do???

Put some nice stag on it, of course! Here's before and after...