Ken Erickson Knives: A Retrospective

Thank you for your thoughtful reply, Ken. I enjoyed your comments. I agree with Frank. Your interest in the history of the knives really shows in the ones that you've built. I always look forward to seeing the next one.
 
Very nice, Ken. :thumbup::cool:

So...how many of those are you going to be making? :D I know that's a lot of work...not "cutlery work" per se, but MACHINE WORK... for a single blade. I have a seal cap project that I have had the blade and spring ready for about 5 months now that I have been putting off for easier jobs. Kudos to you for taking the time to see what it takes.
 
KnifeHead said:
Very nice, Ken. :thumbup::cool:

So...how many of those are you going to be making? I have a seal cap project that I have had the blade and spring ready for about 5 months now that I have been putting off for easier jobs. Kudos to you for taking the time to see what it takes.
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Not sure how many I will be making, but I can say I will not be making them by the dozen with a wholesale price of $9.00 per dozen:eek:

Looking forward to your sealed cap project, thanks for the kind words:D
 
Here are two teaser pictures for a knife I am taking to Blade Show 2012 this june. I had debated about posting any early pictures of this knife. I decided to go ahead for this reason. I think this one is going to be a milestone knife for me. I am sure many folks know what this knife is. More details on that a bit later. It might be fun to guess the maker and pattern number. Keep in mind, this is VERY early on in the build process.

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Ya got me swinging Ken! I think I'm seeing some kind of camper .... maybe? Whatever it is I know it'll be awesome. I can't wait to see what the other folks think.
 
Wow... cant wait to see this one finished. I'm sure it will be beautiful. Another knife crying out for stag scales or maybe smooth bone.
 
Wow, Ken...you ARE a glutton for punishment, aren't you. :D Keep in mind that the old cutlery companies cranked out hundreds of those knives and they figured out ways to simplify complicated mechanics with mass production. We do things the hard way compared to them even though our tools are more advanced. Mind boggling if you think about it. Good luck with the sportsmans knife.

On the seal cap pruner, they were indeed refered to as "seal caps". Some speculation was done above and, although no one knows THE answer as to the reasoning behind their purpose, the seal cap surely had a purpose. Tony and I were talking about it earlier today and here's some other ideas for them:

1. They allow the knife handle to be shaped by the stag that is used. Ken, you pretty much answered this question above when you said it looked like a lot of the old pruner handle shapes were based on the shape of the stag. Make the cap fit the end of the stag and you have a finished knife...no wasted stag goodness ;) .

2. Saves expensive steel. Anyone that cuts parts out to make a knife would figure this out pretty quickly. The back end of a knife spring is a pretty good sized chunk of steel that could be made of something much cheaper. The seal cap replaces that.

3. It "seals" the end of the stag. Look at almost any old kitchen cutlery set....seal caps.

I don't think they were made to be used as hammers. Any seal cap knife I have seen that was used that way was damaged. Maybe light crushing or pressing with the end but hammering, no.

Here's a couple images from old catalogs where they are refered to as "seal cap". I have seen other catalogs where they were just refered to as "brass cap" or "steel cap".

hsb_seal_cap.jpg


Remington_pruners_seal_cap.jpg
 
I'm going to guess this new one is modeled after a Joseph Rodger's Sportsman's knife. Seems to have a similarly patterned handle to one of theirs..
 
Ken, both "Horseman's" knife and "Sportsman's" knife have been mentioned. For the sake of clarity, it's only a "Horseman's" knife if it has a hoof pick (aka "stone hook").
Perhaps this Sportsman knife will look something like this ? (but 2 thick instead of 3)

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roland
 
Similar multi-tool knives with and without hoof picks were all called Sportsman's knives. With the notch in the handle, I supsect that Ken's knife will have a hoof pick. The inside of the pick attachment was flat and had ridges, like pliers. This, along with the notch in the handle, combined to form a nutcracker.

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p.s., that is a fantastic Rodgers Sportsman Knife rprocter.
 
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Kerry,

Thanks for your informative and enlighting post:thumbup:

Here is a picture of the Geo. Wostenholm and Son knife I am using as my pattern, along with a picture of my knife along side the knife in the catalog reprint. I just recently purchased the G.W. IXl on the bay, featuring two broken blades, LOL.

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This knife features a hoof pick/nut cracker, master spear blade, pen blade, fleam,awl, and cork screw. The catalog reprint is from a 1885 catalog.
 
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Ken,

This will be a fun WIP to follow. Hope I can see it in person at BF. How will you do the threaded bolsters?
 
Thank you S-K. My picture is not a good one. Your Sportsman's knife is a fine example as well.
Are we helping Ken any by showing our fine knives ? Hope so.
roland
 
Mike Robuck said:
Ken,

This will be a fun WIP to follow. Hope I can see it in person at BF. How will you do the threaded bolsters?
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Mike, I am not sure I will thread the bolsters , in keeping with the original. I guess I will be thinking about that one as I get further along.

rprocter said:
Are we helping Ken any by showing our fine knives ? Hope so.
roland
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Very much so Roland, pictures , discussion, always helps me get a "feel" for the knife as I build it. :)
 
I had a chance to work on the horseman's knife and have made pretty good progress. Pretty happy with my first attempt at a corkscrew. Keep in mind these parts are pretty rough yet , pre-heattreat. All parts are now here except the hoof pick. I ended up not having the right piece of 154cm in stock and had to order it. Should be here middle of next week at the latest.

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Everything is going pretty much as expected on this build so far. (keeping fingers crossed). I am not much of a drinker, but I think when this one is done, I am going to have to try the corkscrew out on a bottle of the bubbly;)
 
Ken, make sure when the corkscrew is closed, the pointy tip points downward. I have a very nice HSB OVB Bottle Opener Jack(likely made by New York Knife Co) in which the corkscrew tip is exposed when closed and it snags on everything.
But, who am i to give you advice ? Almost certainly you have already considered this.
respectfully, roland
 
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