Frankenknives or lunchbox knives

[silenthunterstudios]

So, I've learned throughout the years that some knife factory employees would work on their own knives on their own time, whether for their own enrichment, or a little money on the side. Some of these craftsmen (now craftswomen too) had the permission and encouragement from their superiors to work on knives in their off hours. Other superiors did not know that their employees were taking parts knives etc to sell on their own, many times as an authentic company knife.

If you have any of these knives and would like to share pics, please do so. I do not want to perpetuate counterfeits, I want to see knives made by company employees that were either sold as what they were, passed down as heirlooms or given away etc.

 

[paulhilborn]

Here's one I posted in another thread sometime back. I checked with the CASE historian (I believe her name was Christine?) Anyway she had been the CASE historian for many years and I believe now retired? She said the knife was a "Lunchbox" or "Parts Knife" made by past employees. She said this one more than likely used old Utica bone covers. It's somewhat unique as it sports two pinned shields:thumbup:

I know Elliot has it's twin (not sure his has two shields or not) except Elliot's was tang stamped 1965-1969 if memory serves?

 

[brownshoe]

How can one know it's a "lunchbox knife" unless you know the worker who made the knife?

 

[supratentorial]

Paul, Everything about that knife looks like Kutmaster/Utica except for the shield and the tang stamp. It could have been made during lunch at the Utica factory, or Case factory using Utica parts, or at someones personal workshop. The "Dusty Duck" sold a lot of Kutmaster parts knives. I've owned a few of them and they are nice knives with good carbon steel. I carried one for a while.

brownshoe makes a very good point.

 

[silenthunterstudios]

The ones that I've seen had mismatched scales, different blades on different frames/patterns. Information is in the Tidioute cutlery book.

 

[supratentorial]

Paul, Everything about that knife looks like Kutmaster/Utica except for the shield and the tang stamp...

Here is an example of a cattle knife that was either made by Kutmaster/Utica or made with Kutmaster/Utica parts. I bought this one from a forum member and I don't know the history of the knife. There were a bunch of Utica parts knives on the big auction site a few years back.

 

[Jack Black]

When I was a kid in Sheffield, everyone, no matter how poor they were, had decent table cutlery, and the idea of buying a knife was practically unheard of. I reckon some folks had large lunch boxes

 

[supratentorial]

When I was a kid in Sheffield, everyone, no matter how poor they were, had decent table cutlery, and the idea of buying a knife was practically unheard of. I reckon some folks had large lunch boxes

....One day I devised myself a plan
That should be the envy of most any man
I'd sneak it out of there in a lunchbox in my hand
Now gettin' caught meant gettin' fired
But I figured I'd have it all by the time I retired
I'd have me a car worth at least a hundred grand.
I'd get it one piece at a time
And it wouldn't cost me a dime
You'll know it's me when I come through your town
I'm gonna ride around in style
I'm gonna drive everybody wild
'Cause I'll have the only one there is around....

There are tons of parts from Schrade and other closed factories that can be bought by the bag, bucket... or truck load. Counterfeits, fakes, and parts knives put together by amateurs are extremely common. The knives themselves are not a problem but how they are represented has done serious damage to vintage knife collecting. If the knives are clearly marked with initials and a date inside the liners then it helps avoid confusion.

 

[supratentorial]

Here's a modern example of what can go wrong with a parts knife: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ock-w-a-Trapper-Sowbelly-Moose-amp-Texas-Jack
The parts don't always fit together well. If a "mechanic" is good at what he does, he will want to mark the inside of the liners with the date and his initials so that the buyer has confidence that the knife is well put together. This also helps to avoid confusion with vintage knives if the knife resembles or is made from vintage parts. It does not detract from the appearance or function of the knife. Stan Shaw marked the inside liners of some knives and it certainly didn't detract from the knife. His name is associated with quality and buyers look for that mark. Knives marked with his initials are more desirable.

A few quick photos...

For these two photos, I kept the handle in the same place and moved the spey blade to show the amount of vertical play. The straight edge gives some perspective.




Here's a look at the springs in both positions




The nail nick for the spey is mostly hidden behind the clip blade but I can sometimes reach it with the tip of my finger nail.



There are some pen marks on the handle. I thought it might be a reminder to cut another nail nick on that blade but it looks like there may be some light pen marks on the other end as well.... maybe it's left over from the hafting process?

 

[Blues]

I know Elliot has it's twin (not sure his has two shields or not) except Elliot's was tang stamped 1965-1969 if memory serves?

Two shields. "Tested" era...

(Sometime between 1920 and the end of WWII. My guess would be WWII era since so many of these knives were manufactured for the military.)

 

[wazu013]

Here's one that I was told was built by an old Camillus employee.

 

[paulhilborn]

Paul, Everything about that knife looks like Kutmaster/Utica except for the shield and the tang stamp. It could have been made during lunch at the Utica factory, or Case factory using Utica parts, or at someones personal workshop. The "Dusty Duck" sold a lot of Kutmaster parts knives. I've owned a few of them and they are nice knives with good carbon steel. I carried one for a while.

brownshoe makes a very good point.

I agree with you Jake, Kutmaster/Utica runs through this knife in every way. When I emailed pictures of the knife to the CASE historian she did say Utica contracted CASE for a run of knives and that's why she felt that a CASE employee may have made it? I have seen many of these knives like you mentioned sold by Dusty Duck.

I agree, they are a solid knife with great carbon blade:thumbup:

 

[supratentorial]

There's definitely some Utica DNA. Whoever made it was experienced and it looks well put together. The bolster/pin (3rd to the last photo) suggests to me that an assembled knife had been taken apart by someone with skill. It's an interesting knife. The ones that I've seen were little tanks. Very solid knives.