Since the 33OT was a long time personal EDC favorite I have always been interested in 2 blade jacks. I picked up a Providence made jackmaster as an example of what was around before the Old Timers. I've always been intrigued by the Jackmasters and their shell handle construction, but I never carried one as a user. I was wondering what those of you who had carried one of the shell handles as an EDC knife back when they were popular thought of them as users. Were they any good, or were they useless as working knives and just for kids? Thanks.
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Imperial Jackmaster questions
- Thread starter Bartleby
- Start date
textoothpk
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- Sep 24, 2003
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Oh,yeah, I carried them. And somewhere here recently, I showed off an old cardboard dealer counter display and otherwheres I showed a pile of shell-handled texas toothpicks. Not bad knives, but recall please that at one time Imperial's RI plant was turning out 10000 a day of those things. They were never met to last long, but a sturdy user, and the cell covers (they are very thin, applied over the light metal 'shell') made for a pretty, eye catching knife. The average life expectancy of a pocket knife, I have read, is 3 years before it is lost, broken, whatever. About the life span of those things, I guess.
As I already showed off the more modern cardboard display, here is a nice, older, wooden and steel one with the original decals and a glass top. I tossed a handful of shell handles in for the photo. Right now it is on the coffee table in my 'man cave', holding a few knives that I have had sheathed by resident 'Sheathmaker', Paul.
Still fun knives to collect! And cheap as well.
Phil
As I already showed off the more modern cardboard display, here is a nice, older, wooden and steel one with the original decals and a glass top. I tossed a handful of shell handles in for the photo. Right now it is on the coffee table in my 'man cave', holding a few knives that I have had sheathed by resident 'Sheathmaker', Paul.
Still fun knives to collect! And cheap as well.
Phil
Thanks for the information, gents. I never really considered the average life expectancy, but it makes sense. (It sounds like the shell handled knives filled the same place in the market of their day as most of the low-end Chinese disposables out there currently). I suppose that the reason the Old Timer and Uncle Henry knives always have had a strong appeal is that they were a great deal better than the disposable knives they competed with, while still taking full advantage of mass production technology to keep costs affordable to the working man.