Evaluating an old knife collection

tryppyr said:
Likely so. I note, however, that there are some, like this one, that were simply giveaways at the time. This one has Barlow on the bolsters, but says Colonial on the tangs. Stuff like this, and the rusty ruined hulks and the souvenir knives left a rather negative first impression.

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They may seen cheap, but these imperial and colonial shell construction knives with or without advertising's on them take a great edge and slice very very well.
Not fancy or built like a tank but if you need to slice something these excell at it.

Btw nice knives posted so far, that schrade press button is gorgeous.
 
tryppyr said:
Just noticed a third Schrade... this one is a Ted Williams BOSN's Mate.

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The knives you have posted have a lot more value than you are giving them credit for, you would have no trouble selling all of them here on BF ;) The BOSN'S Mate knife was made between 1957 - 1973. The one's with the safety lock on them are not as highly sought after, however the Ted Williams etch on it makes it a bit more rare since those knives were sold by Sears in the 60's when Ted Williams was the spokesperson for their sporting goods products. The condition on that one is amazing and it is very collectible. All the knives you have shown so far have great historical value in the pocket knife world :):thumbsup:

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From a 1962 Sports Illustrated
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The collection does have one with a spike made by West Products that doesn't lock. It's easy to pull the spike, but really tough to open the blade.

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I'd be very interested in several of the knives you posted for my collection. They are in great shape and that means a lot. The hanging tags on the Boker are the kind of detail collectors look for. Everything you've shown so far is going to interest somebody.
 
Heard from my father in law today. I have to hold everything until his son, who previously expressed no interest in the knives, has a chance to cherry pick whatever he wants. I don't know when he'll be here to look at them, but after he does I'll start posting them. Meanwhile, I have more cataloging to do.
 
The autos are in excellent shape and that makes them pretty valuable to the right collector if they are functional. I think Levine gives low cost appraisals of a picture.
 
As it turns out, there are four push button knives in the collection... one of them really small. All work, but some snap to attention must quicker and more firmly than others. I'll post pictures of the other two push button knives as soon as I can get around to it.
 
This collection is getting more interesting with every picture shown. The research is the really fun part. You have some real dandy knives there, some in mint or near mint condition. They will be desirable, make sure you research the value thoroughly. Ones with the blade etches in tact will have very good value. The paratrooper auto, already valuable being a switchblade, then with the etch also? Wow! The Ted Williams knife is only the second I have seen (I have one exactly like it), the etch again being the important factor.

Wonderful knives, thanks for sharing them.
 
tryppyr said:
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All the knives you have posted are fantastic knives but this one really flips my switch. :cool::cool:
 
The rust on that one auto may be signs of another knife nearby that celluloid handles are outgassing. That type of activity will corrode metal all around it. If you have any knives that look even close to these below, remove them from the vicinity of the other knives.


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Thanks for the suggestion. There are a few that got MUCH worse rust than these two.
 
If you are not sure about the knives that may be celluloid, share some pics here. They would appear to be plastic-like covers, as opposed to metal, bone, pearl, or stag. Would only take one bad cell knife to ruin a whole collection. Not trying to scare you, just mentioning out of concern. The rust could also just be prolonged exposure to moisture. Never hurts to be cautious though.
 
I'm probably halfway through the collection now... still a bunch left to go. Here are a couple more that I found interesting for one reason or another.

A pair of Case XX that both have a lovely SMOOTH action.
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And an Old Timer with blades marked John Primble.
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Those Cases are known as Canoes...cuz they look like canoes.:):thumbsup:.
You've done the work tryppyr ...might be time to pluck a cherry or two yourself.
 
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