July Knife World

P

pa knives

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Jul 28, 2004
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HI!


Gang, myself and a good friend Gary (bladerunner) have articles in the July issue of Knife World and would love to hear from our fellow knifers on the varioius subjects. We can take it so let'er go. Gary has done a GREAT job all old Case knives and he throughly impressed me with his knowledge. I have a controversal subject that I would like to get more input from . Thanks and please let us know your thoughts.

David L. Anthony
Pa knives (you mean they made knives other places than Pennsylvania):eek:
 
A controversal subject.. I am intrigued :(

If it is anything like your first published article in Knife World I am sure I will enjoy it.. :thumbup:
 
PA Knives,

Since you asked for opinions, I'll take the bait :)

I don't think your topic is all that controversial. The gist of which is that if someone doesn't want to pay full price or can't find one, buying a less than perfect knife is another option. This is why there are thousands of antique shops throughout the US selling what was once thrift store furniture or garbage as antiques.

From your article, you don't collect knives you collect tang stamps, thus broken knives have appeal. I would say that for most knife collectors broken knives are trash or a source of parts to build a complete knife. I would disagree when you say most collectors would shy away from a broken handle, but buy a knife with a broken blade. In these days of modern glue, a cracked handle and some broken ones can be easily stabalized and even carried. I have a Sears Dr. knife with pearl handles that I fixed and stabilized with expoxy. It stands up to pocket carry.

You need to be able to resell your less than perfect knives when a good specimen comes around.
At the knife shows I go to, I see knives with handle problems in cases to be sold, but those with broken blades are in bins or open for all to handle. I see people buying knives that are in used condition, but they buy them at discounts and to fill holes in their collections, not as the basis of their collection. I don't see many people buying well worn knives, unless they are old and rare, and then they don't go cheap. Broken knives have to have some type of real appeal to move, such as rare 18 or 19 century blades.

Like your last article, this one is basically an editorial, i.e. your opinion. In the future give us some facts to spice it up. For example, go to some shows and look at the availability of some models in good, used, and broken condition. Are there really all that many broken knives out there. There may not be many Beaver Creek knives out there, but that could be true of both broken and whole knives. Many people thow broken knives away, use them for parts, rehandle them for another generation, etc. Go to Oupa's site on knifeforums to see what some people do with broken knives. You could also compare prices between good, used and broken condition. On the aggregate how much money do you save buying broken as opposed to used? You could talk to collectors and sellers and see what type of market is there in second tier and broken knives. What about "cleaned-up" knives. Are they cheaper on the floor than used knives that haven't been cleaned-up?

Don't get me wrong, I liked reading your article. Keep em comin.
 
Brownshoe,

Excellent response, you bring up some very good points. One thing that may have not been clear in my article was that "as you pointed out" I am focused on pocket knives from the the late eighteen hundreds through about 1940. What I consider the highest quality period of cutlery production. If you look at the photos of the knives in the article you will soon realize that none of these are readily available and all but one was made prior to 1900. The Albertson from kane would be the exception. Made in the 30's. The point that I was trying to make is that rarity of the knife and difficulty in locating a good example may require one to lower their standards. I agree that you should buy the very best available. But my focus (and wallet) doesn't always allow for that to happen. For instances: I would love to own a Binns and Mason from Pittsburgh Pa. Circa 1860. I found one that is in excellent condition for $3,000 and another in fair condition for $200. Obviously I want the lesser becuase I could afford it and not the other. I am sure that they both will increase in value, but the not in equal amounts. I have found that even in the lesser condition, value increases due to rarity. I don't beleive that newer knives fit into this situation at all. There are plenty of them in great condition. I want collectors to realize that there fields for them to collect that are within thier means to afford. I still spend considerable amounts of money on my collection and I am confident that it will increase in value. Again rarity I believe is the driving factor.

Thanks for critque and comments. I hope others will chime in.
 
Personally, Ive been collecting for over 27 years. From shows, to flea markets, to yard sales, stores, auctions, estate sales, the net, etc.
"Fads" change, peoples tastes change. Knife companies come and go, as do peoples wants. There are some factors to what sells and what doesnt, but these change also.

In my own opinion, "what to collect", "what not to collect", or "what is collectable" it's all relative guys! We could talk about it all day and it could be different tomorrow!! :)

We all collect what we want!!! :D
 
I haven't got my Knifeworld yet, but I'm anxious to read the article. I'll buy a broken knife in a second, if I know I can fix it up and use it.
 
I'd love to know more about this thread, but don't have my issue of KW yet. In fact I'm surprised anyone has one!! I subscribe, and read avidly, even had an article published, but have never gotten mine nearly this early in the month. Where did you folks get yours:confused: :confused:
 
I got mine in the mail. It can come anywhere between from the 20th to about the 15th of the following month. The mail's quicker in June because us Father's don't get as much attention the Mother's do in May :)
 
Just got mine today, both articles were very well written!

PA KNIVES, on your topic, I enjoyed it very much. I frequently kill time and gun and knife shows going through those "everything in this box $5.00-$10.00" boxes on the corners of dealers tables. I enjoy buying vintage knives to use, rarely do I buy knives just to collect. Vintage "less than mint" users are what I always consider great finds. Yeah, they may have a blade that's 80 percent, and a bump or ding here and there, but there's something about carrying and using a old knife that I enjoy.

Kudos to both authors!
 
I also enjoyed both articles.

The article on Cases was a good break down of history with some pictures of some great knives in that history.

PA's article also hit home and I agree with Rev whose post resembles Mark Z's comment at the end of his editorial.

I love carrying older knives and at time used ones can pop up for a "song". Sometimes the quality of the old pups exceeds anything that is being made today by the factories.

I also have an old DR knife in my collection with a pen blade that looks more like a punch than a blade. It is a Cattaraugus from the turn of the century.
I might never see one in mint or near mint, so I have been happy to add it to my collection. I see PA's point which to me says given a choice buy the one that is the nicest, if that is not possible (even in the forseeable future) I will usually consider a worn or used specimen. I just have not gotten to the point where a broken one would float my boat, but that is not to say it would not happen and I easily understand how it could to some one.
 
At last, I got my Knife World! Gary's Case article is a nice historical summary, and a good cautionary tale on how to avoid going wrong when collecting Case, nicely done! I'm partial to some of the old Case knives, and have several!
I can really relate to your approach to collecting, David! I collect a rare pattern, and so am always looking for different tang stamps, and variations. Sometimes you have to settle for a knife in relic condition, because that's all that is available. I mean, how many Ralph Brown Harness Jacks do you see?? Thanks for putting in the effort! I wrote an article for KW last August, and it took me forever to polish it, and keep it cohesive, so I have an inkling of what it takes.
Ever Grateful,
Charlie C.
 
Waynorth,

Thanks, you have captured my thoughts exactly. RARITY out weighs condition in some instances. A Ralph Brown in most any condition is valuable to me. Thanks for chiming in and we will be watching for your article. Mark Z. is a great guy and so helpful. He taught me how to take all the photos in my article. Gary did his pics to. NICE JOB GARY
 
Thought you might like to see this David! Not such a relic! Poor quality pic though.
ralphbrownharnessjack1.jpg

Do you think Gary would mind looking at my old Case HJs and giving an age opinion? Gary, are you there?
Thank you both again for the great articles!
Charlie
 
Thought I'd take my own scan of that Ralph Brown.
RalphBrnHJ.jpg

This one's a lot clearer. I think I'll start a new thread on the Case HJs, rather than hijack this one. I'm kinda going off on a tangent here.
 
GORGEOUS knife. That's what I'm talking about. you have a real keeper in that one. No it is not mint, but I doubt that a mint one exist. I would have loved to have that photo in my article for sure. I imagine you have read Levines book on the old knife makers of SF?

I am sure Gary would help you. He is great guy and VERY knowledgable.
 
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