Franklin Mint tractor knives

glocktenman

glocktenman

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A friend of mine gave me 15 new tractor (Deere, Case, IH etc.) slip joints. :D They're all different and Franklin Mint put them out. They are rectangle in shape and china made. I looked on the FM site but couldn't find any info about them. I did find lots of them for sale at various web sites however.

Anyone know how many were included in a set of these or have any other info on them? I can post a pic of them tomorrow.

Got the pics done today. There are actually two types of knives. I like the ones with the farm backgrounds. There is one in particular that I like. It has one of the John Deeres on it and it looks like the tractor is going over a field of wheat. It's in one of the pics. Enjoy!
 
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Are they decent knives ? Compare favorably with Rough Riders ?
I've often wondered what the quality is of the many Franklin Mint knives i see on ebay.
roland
 
They're fair quality. Not much to say about the walk/talk. The old tractors on them are cool. Some of them have wheels that spin.
 
The Franklin Mint doesn't make quality cutlery, they make collectible(?) crap. I don't mean to sound harsh, but I doubt you'll find much information here on them, as they're not well respected, and thus not collected and used by the kind of people who frequent these forums.

If you want a John Deere knife that's actually quality and usable, Case makes a bunch of different patterns with yellow or green bone and the John Deere logo. I've got one myself. My grandfather, a farmer from Illinois, loved everything John Deere and used their equipment his whole life, so I carry the knife to remember him.
 
Hi,

I would love to see them when you get a chance to photograph them. I love old tractors too.

Dale
 
Ive only seen one Franklin Mint knife that could be called a decent knife.It was a Buck 110 believe it or not.It was all dressed out in the funky Franklin Mint style.I wish i would have kept it.Ive bought and sold them a lot and they are generally very poor quality.Not really even made to be a knife,but a display piece.Some have cool pictures and themes on them like the tractors.
 
Planterz said:
The Franklin Mint doesn't make quality cutlery, they make collectible(?) crap. I don't mean to sound harsh, but I doubt you'll find much information here on them, as they're not well respected, and thus not collected and used by the kind of people who frequent these forums.

If you want a John Deere knife that's actually quality and usable, Case makes a bunch of different patterns with yellow or green bone and the John Deere logo. I've got one myself. My grandfather, a farmer from Illinois, loved everything John Deere and used their equipment his whole life, so I carry the knife to remember him.
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Oh wow, thanks for the info about Franklin Mint. If no one knows anything about them I guess we'll just take a look at them.

I've seen the Case John Deere knives and they're nice. I like the canoe with the smooth green bone they put out a few years ago. It's a great tribute to your G-Pa to carry something he'd be proud of. If you'd like one of these Franklin Mint John Deere knives to keep in his memory let me know and I'll send you one of you're choice.
 
I doubt Franklin Mint makes any knives. They are all SFOs from various knife factories. Sure most are very low end, but there may be some decent "Franklin Mint" knives. I say "may" because i don't know but it would be neat to hear from someone who does.
roland
 
Hi,

A fun collection! But I have a soft spot for such old iron. Not everything in this world is meant to have a practical existence. I think these fall into that category.:)

I like the IH/Farmall ones. But then I owned an 806 and M. I still own an H with a Stan Hoist loader. Enjoy the collection, I know I would.

Thanks for sharing them!!

Dale
 
glocktenman said:
If you'd like one of these Franklin Mint John Deere knives to keep in his memory let me know and I'll send you one of you're choice.
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There was actually one of these in the small assortment of old pocket knives of his that I received after his passing - that's how I know that they're of low quality, as far as being a usable pocket knife. Walk and talk is more like stumble and mumble. The scale on the obverse side is gone. It's at my parents' house where it does what it's meant for - sit around and look nice.
 
looks like some fun little knives you got! i don't know about the knives but i know people collect coins the franklin mint makes. the coins aren't amazing quality IIRC, but people collect them purely because the franklin mint makes them. i'm sure you'll find someone to buy them down the road if you'd want to sell. but they are nice knives just to admire.
 
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