Imperial Cattleman w/ Rodgers bone handle

kamagong

kamagong

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Jan 13, 2001
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I recently bid on, and won, an Imperial Cattleman knife. For those not familiar with the cattleman, think equal end stockman with a spear point main blade. The stockman is my favorite slipjoint pattern and the cattleman is an interesting variation. I've been looking for one for a while now ever since I lost out in an auction for the very first one I saw. Our very own Waynorth knew of my search and encouraged me to stick with it. Well I did, and my perseverance was rewarded with this little beauty.

imperialcattleman1jb4.jpg


These are the seller's images. I'll post my own pics when I receive the knife.

I'm a bit excited as this is my first "quality" antique slipjoint. I finally get to experience firsthand the type of treasures that many of you here grew up with.

Do any of you have information on this type of knife? I'm curious as to why the clip point serpentine stockman became popular while the spearpoint equal end disappeared. Any idea as to when Imperial made this type of knife?

Thanks for the help.
 
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Here's a couple more.

imperialcattleman2tj3.jpg


imperialcattleman3lo7.jpg


Sorry about that, it seems that I'm having trouble uploading my images.
 
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Nice catch. Most people associate Imperial with the cheap shell handled knives, but they did make some higher quality knives like that one.

I lost out on an auction for one of those Imperial cattle knives several years ago.
 
Looking forward to seeing pictures when you recieve it.

I was the second high bidder,nice to see a fellow BF member got it.

I won a Ward 4 blade Cattleman and a Western pen from the same seller that night.
 
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Todd A,

Can you send an email to me? I'm having trouble contacting the dealer and I was wondering if you could forward me his address.
 
Left you a message in your profile.

Oh and Imperial used that tangstamp from 1936-1952. Best range of your knife's age I can give.
 
fine looking knife.

i too wonder why the swayback stockman became more popular...i like the looks of that knife alot.
 
I received the cattleman yesterday. It's a fine knife. There's nothing especially remarkable about it, but it seems that this is the type of knife that a hardworking, blue-collar type would have been proud to have in his pocket.

The knife is still sharp after all these years. The edge is a bit rougher than I like, but it should polish right up. All three blades have good snap, and I was very pleased to find that there isn't any play. The sheepsfoot feels a bit gritty though. I'll hit it with a few drops of oil and see if that improves the action.

There is a small problem with the bone handle. The scales are still whole, but it seems as if they have dried out a little. The ends of one of the scales have pulled away from the brass liner, leaving a very noticeable gap when I hold the knife up to the light. I'll give it a mineral oil bath and see if that helps. Anyone have tips on fixing this little problem?

All in all I have to say that this knife is in great shape for being 50-70 years old. I have a feeling it'll quickly find a place into the rotation.

imperialcattleman1dq0.jpg


imperialcattleman2ja8.jpg


imperialcattleman3fe3.jpg


imperialcattleman4le9.jpg


imperialcattlemanandkisce3.jpg
 
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Nice knife! I still haven't recieved mine from him yet.

Sorry,I am the reason you paid what you did.Had I been able to tell that you were a fellow forum member looking for their first vintage knife ,I would have cancelled my bids.

Thanks for the pictures.
 
That's a fine looking, useful knife. Enjoy it!
 
kamagong, That is great old vintage knife. The Rogers bone handles are beautiful. To fix the handle problem wash the Knife in dish soap and hot water well. If you can't blow it out with air hose dry it out with a hair dryer. Now you can squirt super glue in between the scale and liner and clamp with a spring clamp. Be sure you have your clamp ready.Clean up any excess with acetone. Now you can soak in mineral oil for a couple of days then wipe off access.
 
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Thanks for the help.

I've slathered the knife with mineral oil. A few drops of oil in the joints have really improved the walk and talk. I do not think that this knife was ever used as the walk and talk on the blades as I received it was gritty, not gummy as you often find with user knives. There is a lot of grit coming out of the blades as I open and close them. It's probably the polishing compound that was left in the knife as it came from the factory.

There is an interesting detail on the pen blade of the cattleman. The blade stock is thinner than the spring, so Imperial used a small piece of brass as a sort of shim to keep the blade from flopping side-to-side. It's a fascinating solution, and one I'd never seen before (I gues that just shows my inexperience). I don't know why Imperial didn't just use thicker blade stock.

Thanks for consideration Todd. Don't worry about it, you win some, you lose some. I feel bad myself taking the knife away from you.
 
kamagong said:
There is an interesting detail on the pen blade of the cattleman. The blade stock is thinner than the spring, so Imperial used a small piece of brass as a sort of shim to keep the blade from flopping side-to-side. It's a fascinating solution, and one I'd never seen before (I gues that just shows my inexperience). I don't know why Imperial didn't just use thicker blade stock.
Click to expand...


Tony Bose pointed that out to me on an old Winchester I picked up at Blade. Called it a "Catch Bit" or "Catch Piece". (Not sure which at the moment.)

I've since noticed it on a few of my other knives such as the Case 06247 (and 06247PEN) which is a double-end premium jack.

It allows the pen blade (on a double-end) to pass the master blade when opening/closing.
 
That knife is in great shape Kamagong! You did good!! I like the nice dark brown handles!
 
excellent condition on your cattleman kamagong! Here's one I recently found as a cheap buy it now, it's been around the block a little but not too bad, IMO.

Russell

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That's a nice one Rusty1. It looks as if the former owner knew how to care for a knife. It's good to know that these cattlemen have carbon blades, my knife will definitely go into the rotation now. At the moment it's at home getting the scales fixed, but once that's done I'll put a good edge on it.
 
I love these finds. Even when they are not mine, I smile. There is something about these older knives with worn bone and or stag that have seen some use that strikes me.

Even with some very nice knives to choose from in my carry rotation, I enjoy toting a couple of knives that are almost twice as old as I am. I am amazed how with honest use and a little care how their actions can be so crisp and they illustrate how quite a bit more attention to detail went into to them than we see in the more modern production knives in general.

Thanks for posting those pics guys. It seems quite a few of us enjoy them.
 
You said it, Gus.

It's funny, Kamagong had originally emailed me for some advice on selecting a particular knife but ended up writing me afterward when he purchased that lovely Imperial.

As what "goes around/comes around", his purchase of the cattle knife has influenced me to go out and make some inquiries with the result that I should have a few vintage cattle knives inbound in the next few days. :cool:

(Cue theme from "Rawhide" here...;))
 
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