Frank J Richtig

C

Cold Steel/Ontario fanboy

Joined
Jan 19, 2018
Messages
43
I was wondering if anyone had the Richtig knife? I remember as a kid seeing on Ripleys believe it or not one of his knives cutting through a bolt with a hammer striking it with no damage then sliced paper afterwards. And this was done in the 1930's with no supersteel and supposedly he took his secrets to the grave.I guess my questions are is this overspeculated hype and has this been done in modern times with our advances in steel? I also would credit him with doing the first destruction test before Cold Steel if he indeed beat his knives through a bolt.
 
Hammering a Buck knife through a nail or a bolt was Buck knives logo and claim for many years. This isn't quite the logo I remember but it is the same thing. They had that for at least a couple of decades if I remember correctly.
Buck-Knives-Logo1.jpg
 
Cool. So this cutting through bolts and nails was not exclisive to Richtig? I find those feats amazing by both Buck and Ricktig considering this was done in the 1930s and without modern technology and steel. I would not want to try that with any of my blades.
 
Cold Steel/Ontario fanboy said:
I also would credit him with doing the first destruction test before Cold Steel if he indeed beat his knives through a bolt.
Click to expand...

You could, but you would be wrong. Dan of Bazz Clazz Dan of Bazz Clazz cited an example.

Schatt & Morgan had a File & Wire series because cutting though wire has been a "destruction" test for a long, long time.

That said Richtig was a pioneer.
 
I used to read about Richtig years ago and was impressed by what I read. He must have had a very good heat treat I guess. I always wanted one of his combat knives just to check out.
 
I've seen a couple of examples of his work. Relatively plain, by modern standards, but nice enough for the time. Funny how the legends of Richtig are so similar to the legends of James Black. Neither taught an apprentice, and neither apparently ever wrote down their heat-treat formula, both of which are legendary. And, also, lost to the ages...
 
I was talking to a friend at a gun show this weekend he has more of Richtig's knives than anybody I know. Including a stacked leather handle hunting blade. I should have taken a photo.
I will find one for myself one day.
 
justjed said:
I've seen a couple of examples of his work. Relatively plain, by modern standards, but nice enough for the time. Funny how the legends of Richtig are so similar to the legends of James Black. Neither taught an apprentice, and neither apparently ever wrote down their heat-treat formula, both of which are legendary. And, also, lost to the ages...
Click to expand...

First, James Black. Jack Black is that annoying comedic actor.

Second no knife conclusively connected to James Black exists. That whole story is pretty much made up.

There is nothing legendary about Frank Richtig. He was a real person.
 
I believe I said James Black. And I also specified LEGENDARY. As in we don't know the whole story, and separating fact from myth can be difficult. Did YOU personally ever actually see Frank Richtig hammer one of his blades through a bolt and then slice paper? Me either. So, all we have to go on is someone else's word. Yes, Ripley's has contributed to its share of legends over the years. But THAT'S how legends are made. There are several knives attributed to Black that have no relation to either Rezin or James Bowie. And there were a couple of knives owned by Bowie(s) from other makers, which could also rightly be called "Bowie knives", in being made after the sandbar fight. IIRC, both Searles and Bell made knives for Rezin Bowie after the fame of his brother had spread.

But I could be wrong.
 
Hardened tool steel against mild steel. You've used a cold chisel, or a file for that matter. If the heat treat is decent, and you're careful to keep the knife square to the piece, it should handle it. To a point a larger workpiece helps too, you're putting the stress over a wider area of the edge. You don't always want an edge that can handle the test though, even though it doesn't have to be super extreme. You wouldn't do it with a scalpel or a razor blade.
 
Oh no, it's much more likely that I am. Wouldn't be the first time, or the worst. I've heard the stories, read the articles, and talked to people at gun shows for about 35 years. I know there's a lot of evidence debunking the James Black stories. But legends die hard. That was the point i was trying to make. People believe what they want to. And I'm not to old to learn.
 
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