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Inherited a knife collection

B

Beth4150

Gold Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2025
Messages
4
I inherited a knife collection several years ago. The first thing we did was remove all the ones China made along with a few others. Second thing I did was store the ones with celluloid handles far from all the others thanks to a tip. Boy was that a good tip. Next I put everything that was still in boxes, in excellent condition, or were names I was familiar with in a box and stored them. I've realized that rather than being in a box for many more years, it's time to start selling them so they are in the hands of people that will use or enjoy them.

Don't worry, I've read the rules and didn't plan on asking how much all of these are worth. I am interested in getting suggestions on the best book, website, and\or location to start gathering information and verifying the identity of those that don't have boxes. I assumed I could start typing in Boker 5974 Stag Handle and the internet would tell me everything I would ever need to know. Maybe it will on that one, idk, but it turns out that isn't the case (no pun intended, the internet knows about them). I also know enough to know that eBay isn't the answer on lots of things. I've searched forums here and on other pages with no luck on many.

I would like to be able to date them, learn about them (handles, crocus, blades, etc.), and yes get a general idea of what they are worth. You suggestions of where to start would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
 
Kind of a buyers' market right now. So consider that. You might want to watch the sales forum here, but -- sadly -- most sellers remove the price quickly so we don't have much of a consumer-friendly mindset here.

Arizona Custom Knives will sell knives for you, if they are reasonably valuable. They also leave their sold prices up, so that helps with value.

eBay lets you search past sales for the sold price, but those prices tend to be all over the place.

You might want to hang around a while and get a better feel for the knife arena. Knives are infinitely complex. You'll be surprised.
 
I am in the process of the exact same thing. Let me run you through my process. Maybe it will help.

1. First thing i did with the collection was to try to basically organize it into brands or types of knives.

2. I separated the ones I KNEW were of high value so they didnt get lost or misplaced. I think there were 18 Randalls and some specific knives that he carried while deployed in Vietnam. This was the most important step. The "special" knives needed to go to specific family members. Those people needed to know the significance of the knives and the story behind them.

3. When all the family was together basically everyone picked what they wanted. Thankfully there was no conflict at all and everyone just enjoyed the memories and knives. Most people just picked what they thought looked cool. Most people were not "knife educated".

4. There was still a LOT left over. The spouse just wanted it gone. She wasn't concerned about value or the money of it. I boxed up about 6 flat rate boxes and shipped about half of it home. The rest I will get box at a time over the next year or two.

5. I became a paid member on this sight. Sorted the knife into some type of system. All the Buck folders, or all the Gerber fixed blades. Just some way to make it manageable. This helped when researching value. For example, i had 5 Buck 119. Once I start researching date codes on 119s I can date them all at once. I tried to find out if there are variations or rare models. I also just looked for a basic idea of price. I am sure I missed some rare ones and people got deals. But that's just fine with me.

Depending on how many knives you have or how much time you want to put into it will determine how accurately you want to price them. But I had about 12-20 Buck 110. Some were really old, some newer. I picked a few older ones and tried to get a little more from them. But basically, sold them all about the same price. It wasn't worth it to me to nit pick every last deal. I am sure I passed along some good deals to members.

Mostly I looked at the new prices. Then at ebay sold auctions. Then tried to find them here on the knife exchange. Then I priced them a little low to try to have quick sales. If they sold really quickly, I probably underpriced them. If they sat then i probably overpriced them.

I did do enough research to catch a few gems that might have ended up slipping thew the cracks. In one of my "cheap junk" flat rate boxes I found a excellent condition 1968 Gerber Mark II. I would have figured it was a $15 knife. It sold for $2200 the other day. Some Victorinox and cheap folders I sold 6 at a time for about $10 each. Some knives I sold for $400 each. The more time you spend the more you will get. But you have to decide if $5 extra is worth it to you.

If you dont need the money, then just take your time. Sell it off little at a time when the weather is crappy and you have nothing else to do.

Also, if I like something I set it aside in the keep pile. I can always sell it later when they are all gone if my "keep" pile is to big.
 
rc51kid said:
I am in the process of the exact same thing. Let me run you through my process. Maybe it will help.

1. First thing i did with the collection was to try to basically organize it into brands or types of knives.

2. I separated the ones I KNEW were of high value so they didnt get lost or misplaced. I think there were 18 Randalls and some specific knives that he carried while deployed in Vietnam. This was the most important step. The "special" knives needed to go to specific family members. Those people needed to know the significance of the knives and the story behind them.

3. When all the family was together basically everyone picked what they wanted. Thankfully there was no conflict at all and everyone just enjoyed the memories and knives. Most people just picked what they thought looked cool. Most people were not "knife educated".

4. There was still a LOT left over. The spouse just wanted it gone. She wasn't concerned about value or the money of it. I boxed up about 6 flat rate boxes and shipped about half of it home. The rest I will get box at a time over the next year or two.

5. I became a paid member on this sight. Sorted the knife into some type of system. All the Buck folders, or all the Gerber fixed blades. Just some way to make it manageable. This helped when researching value. For example, i had 5 Buck 119. Once I start researching date codes on 119s I can date them all at once. I tried to find out if there are variations or rare models. I also just looked for a basic idea of price. I am sure I missed some rare ones and people got deals. But that's just fine with me.

Depending on how many knives you have or how much time you want to put into it will determine how accurately you want to price them. But I had about 12-20 Buck 110. Some were really old, some newer. I picked a few older ones and tried to get a little more from them. But basically, sold them all about the same price. It wasn't worth it to me to nit pick every last deal. I am sure I passed along some good deals to members.

Mostly I looked at the new prices. Then at ebay sold auctions. Then tried to find them here on the knife exchange. Then I priced them a little low to try to have quick sales. If they sold really quickly, I probably underpriced them. If they sat then i probably overpriced them.

I did do enough research to catch a few gems that might have ended up slipping thew the cracks. In one of my "cheap junk" flat rate boxes I found a excellent condition 1968 Gerber Mark II. I would have figured it was a $15 knife. It sold for $2200 the other day. Some Victorinox and cheap folders I sold 6 at a time for about $10 each. Some knives I sold for $400 each. The more time you spend the more you will get. But you have to decide if $5 extra is worth it to you.

If you dont need the money, then just take your time. Sell it off little at a time when the weather is crappy and you have nothing else to do.

Also, if I like something I set it aside in the keep pile. I can always sell it later when they are all gone if my "keep" pile is to big.
Click to expand...
Great post!
 
You can search for something specific in only the classifieds here to see if something like that has been sold and possibly get a price if it's been left up. Ebay's "sold listings" filter is good, too, but only goes back a few months.

Based on the few that you mentioned, I'm guessing this collection is focused on traditional knives? Otherwise there might have been some nice Chinese stuff in there, they now do some high end modern folders. For traditionals, there are some books out there, I've heard of the Bernard Levine one for instance. Also there are forums specifically for old knives like All About Pocket Knives and Talkblade that might have more info. Check out the traditionals subforum here as well.
 
Most higher end knives have makers marks or stamping somewhere to identify the blade. Putting that information into the auction site and searching sold listings can tell you alot. As can this site with that same information. Google will also search an image for other similar images although I never tried with a knife pic but I am about to. Get the gold membership and start taking pictures. Welcome to the forum.
 
I think Bladeforums would be a good place to seek information about the knives you have. There are members here who actually enjoy researching knives for people :) .

I suggest posting pictures of the knives you are seeking information on. At your current membership level you would need to use a photo hosting site like Imgur to post pictures here, but if you were a Gold member or higher you could post pictures directly from your computer by clicking on the little photo icon at the top of the posting box, to the left of the smiley face (see pic below)-

Screenshot 2025-08-16 073753.png

To learn more about becoming a Gold member click on "Paid Subscriptions" in the dark blue strip across the top of the screen.


As for the Boker 5974, I've never seen an example of that model with genuine stag handles. I've seen ones with smooth bone and jigged bone handles, then later Boker switched to jigged Delrin handles, those last two can be mistaken for genuine stag by people who aren't familiar with such things. But never genuine stag.

In some Boker catalogs they refer to the jigged Delrin handles as "Improved Stag Type Handles", but "Improved Stag Type" isn't genuine stag.

This pic is from a 1972 Boker catalog. But Boker produced the 5974 over many years, with different handle shields.

Screenshot 2025-08-15 180421.png

In this hardware store catalog reported to be from 1910, the store refers to the handles of the 5974 as "stag", but again, I've never seen an actual example of one. It's possible the hardware store was fibbing a little, or perhaps they reinterpreted Bokers description of the material as "stag", sort of like reinterpreting "Improved Stag Type" as just "stag".

s-l1600 (3).jpg
 
rc51kid said:
I am in the process of the exact same thing. Let me run you through my process. Maybe it will help.

1. First thing i did with the collection was to try to basically organize it into brands or types of knives.

2. I separated the ones I KNEW were of high value so they didnt get lost or misplaced. I think there were 18 Randalls and some specific knives that he carried while deployed in Vietnam. This was the most important step. The "special" knives needed to go to specific family members. Those people needed to know the significance of the knives and the story behind them.

3. When all the family was together basically everyone picked what they wanted. Thankfully there was no conflict at all and everyone just enjoyed the memories and knives. Most people just picked what they thought looked cool. Most people were not "knife educated".

4. There was still a LOT left over. The spouse just wanted it gone. She wasn't concerned about value or the money of it. I boxed up about 6 flat rate boxes and shipped about half of it home. The rest I will get box at a time over the next year or two.

5. I became a paid member on this sight. Sorted the knife into some type of system. All the Buck folders, or all the Gerber fixed blades. Just some way to make it manageable. This helped when researching value. For example, i had 5 Buck 119. Once I start researching date codes on 119s I can date them all at once. I tried to find out if there are variations or rare models. I also just looked for a basic idea of price. I am sure I missed some rare ones and people got deals. But that's just fine with me.

Depending on how many knives you have or how much time you want to put into it will determine how accurately you want to price them. But I had about 12-20 Buck 110. Some were really old, some newer. I picked a few older ones and tried to get a little more from them. But basically, sold them all about the same price. It wasn't worth it to me to nit pick every last deal. I am sure I passed along some good deals to members.

Mostly I looked at the new prices. Then at ebay sold auctions. Then tried to find them here on the knife exchange. Then I priced them a little low to try to have quick sales. If they sold really quickly, I probably underpriced them. If they sat then i probably overpriced them.

I did do enough research to catch a few gems that might have ended up slipping thew the cracks. In one of my "cheap junk" flat rate boxes I found a excellent condition 1968 Gerber Mark II. I would have figured it was a $15 knife. It sold for $2200 the other day. Some Victorinox and cheap folders I sold 6 at a time for about $10 each. Some knives I sold for $400 each. The more time you spend the more you will get. But you have to decide if $5 extra is worth it to you.

If you dont need the money, then just take your time. Sell it off little at a time when the weather is crappy and you have nothing else to do.

Also, if I like something I set it aside in the keep pile. I can always sell it later when they are all gone if my "keep" pile is to big.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the detailed information. I feel better as I have followed several of these steps. Family and friends have all gotten anything they wanted, I picked a few, and everything else has been sorted by brand. I completely understand the multiples of the same knife. I think my dad operated on 1 is none and 2 is 1. I don't expect any of them to bring tons of money and any I get will go to my mom. I genuinely feel bad that they have been in a box stuck in the back of a closet for years.
 
killgar said:
I think Bladeforums would be a good place to seek information about the knives you have. There are members here who actually enjoy researching knives for people :) .

I suggest posting pictures of the knives you are seeking information on. At your current membership level you would need to use a photo hosting site like Imgur to post pictures here, but if you were a Gold member or higher you could post pictures directly from your computer by clicking on the little photo icon at the top of the posting box, to the left of the smiley face (see pic below)-

View attachment 2951439

To learn more about becoming a Gold member click on "Paid Subscriptions" in the dark blue strip across the top of the screen.


As for the Boker 5974, I've never seen an example of that model with genuine stag handles. I've seen ones with smooth bone and jigged bone handles, then later Boker switched to jigged Delrin handles, those last two can be mistaken for genuine stag by people who aren't familiar with such things. But never genuine stag.

In some Boker catalogs they refer to the jigged Delrin handles as "Improved Stag Type Handles", but "Improved Stag Type" isn't genuine stag.

This pic is from a 1972 Boker catalog. But Boker produced the 5974 over many years, with different handle shields.

View attachment 2951442

In this hardware store catalog reported to be from 1910, the store refers to the handles of the 5974 as "stag", but again, I've never seen an actual example of one. It's possible the hardware store was fibbing a little, or perhaps they reinterpreted Bokers description of the material as "stag", sort of like reinterpreting "Improved Stag Type" as just "stag".

View attachment 2951452
Click to expand...
Thank you! You have pointed out exactly why I searched out a group like this. Looks like I need to take some pictures, get a solid catalog of what I have, and look into a subscription.
 
Thank you all for the kind words and taking your time to help!! I should have said all of the knives I have are vintage folding knives. Mostly pocket size with a few large one tossed in. The brands I currently have are I'm going to spend some time getting pictures together by brand and start there. Some of the easy to identify brands I have (because they are in boxes) are Zwilling J.A.Henckels, Boker, Schrade, Parker, (Parker IMAI, Parker Eagle Brand, Parker Shiloh), Buck, Frost, and Case. Then there are the ones without boxes. Some are truly brand new and others should have probably been put out of their misery years ago.
 
Beth4150 said:
Thank you all for the kind words and taking your time to help!! I should have said all of the knives I have are vintage folding knives. Mostly pocket size with a few large one tossed in. The brands I currently have are I'm going to spend some time getting pictures together by brand and start there. Some of the easy to identify brands I have (because they are in boxes) are Zwilling J.A.Henckels, Boker, Schrade, Parker, (Parker IMAI, Parker Eagle Brand, Parker Shiloh), Buck, Frost, and Case. Then there are the ones without boxes. Some are truly brand new and others should have probably been put out of their misery years ago.
Click to expand...
There is an entire sub forum here dedicated to traditional and vintage knives.

Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades

Discussion of classic Hunters, Trappers, Lockbacks, Slipjoints, Skinners and other classic designs
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

And for help identifying them:

Bernard Levine's Knife Collecting & Identification

Moderated by Bernard Levine, "The Knife Expert"; author of Levine's Guide to Knives and their Values, Blade Magazine Correspondent (since 1974) and Knife World Editor (since 1978).
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
Beth4150 said:
Thanks for all the detailed information. I feel better as I have followed several of these steps. Family and friends have all gotten anything they wanted, I picked a few, and everything else has been sorted by brand. I completely understand the multiples of the same knife. I think my dad operated on 1 is none and 2 is 1. I don't expect any of them to bring tons of money and any I get will go to my mom. I genuinely feel bad that they have been in a box stuck in the back of a closet for years.
Click to expand...

Its OK that nothing is especially valuble. The goal is to keep some that bring a smile yo your face. Get the rest in the hands of people that enjoy them. I sold a lot of $30-50 knives. Let me tell you it adds up fast. Last hunting season i treated myself to a $1800 scope paid for by multiple small sales.
 
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