Recommendation? Evaluation of a Remington bullet knife. Reproduction?

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Paladin19

Joined
Jun 18, 2021
Messages
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Greetings. New to this forum but not blade collecting; though I specialize more in militaria. I came across this potentially valuable knife from my late father-in-laws collection and was hoping to get some opinions about it before I either sell it or decide maybe to make it an heirloom piece. It is a Remington bullet r1123. I see that these have been heavily reproduced starting in the 1980s but mine does not bear the typical “authorized reproduction” stamp that the reproductions seem to. Also no date. The stamping is pretty crisp and clean (modern?) so I am suspecting this is a reproduction versus the original 1920-1930s knife but thought I better ask those with a more experienced eye for this type of blade before I do something stupid with it. Pics to follow.
 
Go to postimage.org. click upload. Then click Hotlink for Forums. Paste in this thread. Simple.

Don't ask about value as you are not a Gold member. Do ask about the knife.
 
Just because I hate clicking around a clumsy album site......

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9-A0-CA822-4054-40-AD-8-E38-5-FA2-BA6-CE8-C3.jpg


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Looks close but I'm not sure that its actually an original. Something doesn't look right with that pattern number stamp, its usually on either both blades or on just the clip rather than the spey blade like some of the later repros. Its hard to tell from the pics but the blade etch doesn't look quite right either......You might want to have somebody who can actually handle the knife take a look at it.
 
Something about it doesn't look right to me...but I no longer have mine...which I gifted to Ken Erickson a few years back. Compare the lanyard hole on the one in my images to the above as well. I dunno...but I'm dubious.

Scan_490.jpgScan_491.jpgScan_492.jpgScan_493.jpg
 
Paladin19 said:
Greetings. New to this forum but not blade collecting; though I specialize more in militaria. I came across this potentially valuable knife from my late father-in-laws collection and was hoping to get some opinions about it before I either sell it or decide maybe to make it an heirloom piece. It is a Remington bullet r1123. I see that these have been heavily reproduced starting in the 1980s but mine does not bear the typical “authorized reproduction” stamp that the reproductions seem to. Also no date. The stamping is pretty crisp and clean (modern?) so I am suspecting this is a reproduction versus the original 1920-1930s knife but thought I better ask those with a more experienced eye for this type of blade before I do something stupid with it. Pics to follow.
Click to expand...

According to this site, http://www.commemorativearms.com/remingtonreproductionbulletknives2.htm, the 1982 reproduction used stainless blades, where the original run used carbon. Your knife has basically no patina at all, which makes me very skeptical that it's an 80-100 year old carbon steel pocket knife.
EDIT: HERE is another link that confirms the 1982 version was basically identical, but with 440 stainless and Delrin scales.
 
Also, compare the pins in the image in my post above, and the closeups in the OP's post. Again, I'm no expert, especially without a knife in hand to examine...but my inclination is to question the authenticity.
 
Thank you all for your replies and assistance. My gut was saying reproduction as well but just didn’t want to make a mistake and sell the real deal as a repro. Even though he has passed my father-in-law would never forgive me for that! Even the reproductions appear to have some descent value so not all bad news.
 
It seems that pattern has been popular lately, even the reproductions and I’ve seen the prices have went up on the nicer examples.
I don’t know for sure but the etching on the blade is probably more modern. I don’t think they had that technology back in the 20s and 30s. I’m guessing 1980s or newer.
 
Paladin19 said:
Thank you all for your replies and assistance. My gut was saying reproduction as well but just didn’t want to make a mistake and sell the real deal as a repro. Even though he has passed my father-in-law would never forgive me for that! Even the reproductions appear to have some descent value so not all bad news.
Click to expand...
Don't sell it without getting an absolute confirmation either way.
The bone handles don't look much like what Camillus used in their repros. The lanyard hole on some originals were a bit ragged from what I've seen but then again some weren't. As for patina, that means nothing as the blades seem to have been cleaned at some point, lots of lines and swirls. There seems to be some small pitting spots, and along the top edge of the clip blade there seems to have been an attempt to remove some deeper oxidation spots.
The etching is quite similar to what you would expect to see on an original, but most repros get the tail of the R wrong.....usually its a bit too long. Once again, with actually seeing it its really hard to tell...
 
I'd hold on to it as a keepsake. It won't bring you much in the marketplace if it's a reproduction, (which we can't discuss here unless you up your membership to "Gold" or above), and more importantly, it's a piece of family history. Just my opinion.

FWIW, I gifted mine, which even Bernard Levine had vetted, to a valued friend. Felt better than anything I might have received for it in return.
 
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