I really want to like CS's new Arkansas Toothpick, but...

I went searching online to see if I could find pics of genuine antiques that were considered as being an 'Arkansas Toothpick'.
This one has a roughly similar blade design and the ball ending guard. The throat of the sheath is intact, but the chape is missing.
Anyhow, just figured I'd add in something as a reference to compare to...






I wonder what material Cold Steel chose to have used for the knife's pommel & guard, and for the sheath's chape & throat?
The likely possible materials could be...
*Nickel plated brass
*Nickel Silver
*Stainless Steel?... Maybe, but that may not have been the best choice for casting the designs in, plus more hassle in needing higher temps to melt that steel for the casting process.
*Zamac, (zinc alloy), but that would then absolutely place it into the cheap flea market product category!
 
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Man with no name said:
Gator handle at 14:00
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Yes, I have watched that quite a few times in the past few years... It's an awesome video on historical Bowie knives! :)

I do not have any original Bowie knives of the mid to late 1800's period, but... I do have this 1980's vintage half horse/half alligator Bowie knife that was made in Seki Japan for the Parker Cutlery Company. The pommel & guard are made of Nickel Silver, and it's handle scales are made of buffalo horn, (which are secured with SS pins). The depiction could have been done better on these as well, but the tail seems to be where they make it a half alligator...


 
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jlauffer said:
I think for me the pommel design and the balls on the quillons make it look too medieval. And while their description says that most were very fancy, most of the pics I can find seem more plain. A more simple guard and a coffin handle and I would probably get one. Even better, they could have made it a twin of the Laredo Bowie for a matching set!
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I agree, looks very medieval. Not getting an Arkansas toothpick vibe at all. There's no precise definition of a bowie knife or what makes an Arkansas toothpick different from a bowie knife, but I always thought the toothpick had a more slender look. But it shouldn't look like a Medieval dagger.
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Yes, I have watched that quite a few times in the past few years... It's an awesome video on historical Bowie knives! :)

I do not have any original Bowie knives of the mid to late 1800's period, but... I do have this 1980's vintage half horse/half alligator Bowie knife that was made in Seki Japan for the Parker Cutlery Company. The pommel & guard are made of Nickel Silver, and it's handle scales are made of buffalo horn, (which are secured with SS pins). The depiction could have been done better on these as well, but the tail seems to be where they make it a half alligator...


Click to expand...
That is a fine looking replica and it blows the CS Arkansas tp out of the water!
 
deadzonepatrol said:
That is a fine looking replica and it blows the CS Arkansas tp out of the water!
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Thank you! :)
I picked it up off of a Gun Show Vendor a few years back. He had purchased a collection of knives from an estate auction, and the collection had three Seki Japan made Parker Cutlery Company Bowie reproductions. I wound up eventually buying all three from him.
My definite favorite of the three is the Mother of Pearl handled model.




 
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PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Thank you! :)
I picked it up off of a Gun Show Vendor a few years back. He had purchased a collection of knives from at an estate auction, and the collection had three Seki Japan Parker Cutlery Company Bowie reproductions. I wound up eventually getting all three from him.
My definite favorite of the three is the Mother of Pearl handled model.




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Great pickups! I can't stop drooling!
 
deadzonepatrol said:
I agree, looks very medieval. Not getting an Arkansas toothpick vibe at all. There's no precise definition of a bowie knife or what makes an Arkansas toothpick different from a bowie knife, but I always thought the toothpick had a more slender look. But it shouldn't look like a Medieval dagger.
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One of the common traits of an AT seems (to me) to be a more triangular blade shape, rather than the typical dagger or spear point profile. Honestly the crude motifs don't really bother me...if everything else was "right" I could live with it. To me it's the medieval vibe that kills it. Guessing they took influence from an actual example, but really wish they picked a better one.
 
I know that this thread is not scientific in any way, but it seems that nobody has chimed in with saying that this new CS offering is a must have for them.
Usually you have many folks that feel the new product will wind up in their stable, (while, of course, you would also have some stating that it just doesn't "cut it" for them).
Thus far, the consensus here seems to be that they missed the mark in many visual ways.
My two cents of prediction is that this new product of theirs is heading for the flop category before it ever even hits the starting gate. If they made large orders for them, I can honestly see them winding up on many vendor's "clearance" pages.
All just a big guess, but I see very little enthusiasm building for this one.
 
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I would have to hold one before deciding whether I liked it or not. According to these specs, it's heavier than I thought it would be!
  • Item Number: 88GTP
  • Name: Arkansas Toothpick
  • Weight: 21.9 oz.
  • Blade Length: 13.25"
  • Blade Thickness: 6.0 mm
  • Handle: 6.00" Long Malaysian Sal Wood
  • Overall: 19.25"
  • Steel: 1055 High Carbon Steel
  • Sheath: Leather
  • Made in Taiwan
 
jlauffer said:
I think for me the pommel design and the balls on the quillons make it look too medieval. And while their description says that most were very fancy, most of the pics I can find seem more plain. A more simple guard and a coffin handle and I would probably get one. Even better, they could have made it a twin of the Laredo Bowie for a matching set!
Click to expand...

I agree, they really lost the plot on this one. Speaking for myself, I think it looks completely wrong on every level. Starting with the appearance, the style looks off by about five-hundred years. The faux engraving not only looks fake as hell, but it's also bad art. How in the hell do you screw that up?Moving along, the steel isn't anything I would deliberately choose for a weapon, and the entire package is absurdly heavy.

Summary: a wall hanging toy aught to be much better looking, cheaper, and made by someone else. A reproduction should look like a historic example. A weapon should be made of quality steel and designed to be useful as such-- for a weapon like this that means something relatively light and agile.

But that's just my opinion. If someone else owns and loves it they aren't wrong, we just have different tastes.
 
While I agree that the new Arkansas Toothpick model doesn't look "traditional" as I think of it, it's far more historical than I realized. I did some research and the ball-end quillons were actually fairly prevalent at that time.

IMG-1838.jpg


IMG-1840.jpg


IMG-1842.jpg


IMG-1846.jpg


IMG-1850.jpg


IMG-1841.jpg


IMG-1847.jpg


IMG-1848.jpg



As for the motif, it's also accurate and genuine for the period. That stylized alligator appeared on Bowies of the era.

IMG-1851.jpg


IMG-1852.jpg



Lynn's been a collector of historical knives his whole life. I'd be willing to bet that the Cold Steel Toothpick replicates one in his collection.


-Steve
 
The Whip said:
While I agree that the new Arkansas Toothpick model doesn't look "traditional" as I think of it, it's far more historical than I realized. I did some research and the ball-end quillons were actually fairly prevalent at that time.

IMG-1838.jpg


IMG-1840.jpg


IMG-1842.jpg


IMG-1846.jpg


IMG-1850.jpg


IMG-1841.jpg


IMG-1847.jpg


IMG-1848.jpg



As for the motif, it's also accurate and genuine for the period. That stylized alligator appeared on Bowies of the era.

IMG-1851.jpg


IMG-1852.jpg



Lynn's been a collector of historical knives his whole life. I'd be willing to bet that the Cold Steel Toothpick replicates one in his collection.


-Steve
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Hahaha!... I can't believe you found a similar platypus... uh, um, I mean, alligator, on a historical specimen! That's some good researching on your part, thanks for sharing :)
It does actually resemble the creature found on the new Cold Steel rendition.
So, maybe I shouldn't have been so hasty after-all :)

Although I still agree that the overall look somehow looks more medieval period, (or maybe too like a Fairbairn Sykes dagger on steroids), at least now the motif seems to actually have some 1800's Bowie period basis to it :)

Btw, the Bowie video posted up above by 'Man with no name', is one I have watched multiple times in the past few years. Even so, I went to it again and carefully paid closer attention to some of those "Half Horse/Half Alligator motifs shown in it... Well, I'll be darned, I noticed a couple of those Bowie' having motifs resembling that of the new CS Toothpick!
 
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I believe the full Cold Steel MSRP is set at $219 for this knife.
That said, I looked around the web to see what pre-order prices were being set at by different well established vendors.
Just two examples of this was one at $139, and another at $175, (both are big players, and imo, are both great in service to their customers)
So, it's obvious that shopping around can save you money on one of these if you plan on acquiring it.
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
I believe the full Cold Steel MSRP is set at $219 for this knife.
That said, I looked around the web to see what pre-order prices were being set at by different well established vendors.
Just two examples of this was one at $139, and another at $175, (both are big players, and imo, are both great in service to their customers)
So, it's obvious that shopping around can save you money on one of these if you plan on acquiring it.
Click to expand...
I was actually planning on buying a couple thousand of them for stocking stuffer's until you pointed out the many flaws, you sir are the Grinch incarnate!;)
 
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