Knife dealers from the past.

Dan Lurie for that martial ninja gear and some knives IIRC.
Still have a wooden tonfa from the store that used to be on the Nassau/Queens border ages ago.
 
Westbury Sales.... now that brings back memories.
Mercator Black Cat knife.... and the Elephant knife. Had an elephant under the lucite handle and the rear bolster was shaped sort of like an elephant head.... had a kid in my freshman HS class who'd do group buys. Don't know how he got the checks by his folks or if he just wrote them!
The Cutting Edge mailer was devoured upon arrival, as was The Cutlery Shoppe catalog.

All the big stores in the 60s seemed to have a Western or Buck display. Some had both. Stores like Sears & JJ Newbury.

Paragon was great.
American Outdoor Sports was worth the trip. They were on Rt 110 across from Edelmanns gun store. Edelmanns was featured in the Walter Matthau & Robin Williams survivalist movie....

Fun thread!
Thanks :)
 
Ebbtide said:
Westbury Sales.... now that brings back memories.
Mercator Black Cat knife.... and the Elephant knife. Had an elephant under the lucite handle and the rear bolster was shaped sort of like an elephant head.... had a kid in my freshman HS class who'd do group buys. Don't know how he got the checks by his folks or if he just wrote them!
The Cutting Edge mailer was devoured upon arrival, as was The Cutlery Shoppe catalog.

All the big stores in the 60s seemed to have a Western or Buck display. Some had both. Stores like Sears & JJ Newbury.

Paragon was great.
American Outdoor Sports was worth the trip. They were on Rt 110 across from Edelmanns gun store. Edelmanns was featured in the Walter Matthau & Robin Williams survivalist movie....

Fun thread!
Thanks :)
Click to expand...
Last time I was in Paragon they didnt have any more knives.
First time I went there they had Sebenzas in the display case but IIR were very high priced.
 
I haven't been there in decades. In the 80s & 90s it was always worth a lunch hour hike down there.
Years later I was shooting pool in a room in Queens and met a guy. I told him he looked familiar.
He said he got that a lot cuz he worked in Paragon for years.
Knife counter? "Yup"
Small world.....
 
When I was a kid in the 80s we had a VanLeunans and Kmart that I would buy knives, sling shots, and pellet guns. I also got my first Marlin 22 from a store beside VanLeunens that they owned called All about sports. I miss those old stores. Long before Walmart came to town.
 
Ebbtide said:
Westbury Sales.... now that brings back memories.
Mercator Black Cat knife.... and the Elephant knife. Had an elephant under the lucite handle and the rear bolster was shaped sort of like an elephant head.... had a kid in my freshman HS class who'd do group buys. Don't know how he got the checks by his folks or if he just wrote them!
The Cutting Edge mailer was devoured upon arrival, as was The Cutlery Shoppe catalog.

All the big stores in the 60s seemed to have a Western or Buck display. Some had both. Stores like Sears & JJ Newbury.

Paragon was great.
American Outdoor Sports was worth the trip. They were on Rt 110 across from Edelmanns gun store. Edelmanns was featured in the Walter Matthau & Robin Williams survivalist movie....

Fun thread!
Thanks :)
Click to expand...

I definitely remember the elephant knife, it was one of the biggest knives in the catalogs. Here's a pic of one version below (I remember they also came with white handles). Another was the "wolf" swing guard, and the tiger and lion swing guards.

I remember a stiletto with what looked like a picture of a black panther in the jungle under a clear plastic handle, and a swing guard stiletto with a whiie wolf image on it. But I have never been able to find a picture of either online.

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Here's a pic to show the size of these knives.

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JPD1998 said:
There was a sporting goods store on the east coast, Herman's
They had a pretty good knife counter and I always wanted a Gerber dagger that they had in the case, but I couldn't afford $75 for it.
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LOL...100% me at Herman's Atlas Sporting Goods in the late '70s, right next to the Tyson's Corner Mall in McLean, Va...
 
LimpCroissant said:
I really like AG Russell. They've been around forever and still continue to hang on. They've had knives made by all sorts of companies for them throughout the years, as well as selling all kinds of knives from other companies, that I don't think get seen by many people on here any more. I like to browse what they have, if nothing else to pay homage, from time to time.
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I like them too. Last year I ordered a Dozier Fighter from them and Goldie Russell herself called me to tell me it would be a little delayed. They carry things (often in the AG Russel brand) you don’t see anywhere else.
 
TC said:
LOL...100% me at Herman's Atlas Sporting Goods in the late '70s, right next to the Tyson's Corner Mall in McLean, Va...
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Do you remember a gun shop in Annandale not far from braddock rd?
 
Triton said:
My understanding is that before that A&F was the outfitter par excellance for your complete expedition. Want to go on safari in Africa? The real kind with gun bearers and a decent chance of becoming lion chow? You would call up A&F and they would have pallets waiting for you on the dock that had everything from guns and ammunition to mosquito nets to salt and pepper. It was a different world.
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Different world indeed.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Curious George In a store like that the man gets talked into and sold his trademark yellow hat. (They told him yellow was the new kahki.) Along with everything else he would need for a safari.
 
eveled said:
Different world indeed.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Curious George In a store like that the man gets talked into and sold his trademark yellow hat. (They told him yellow was the new kahki.) Along with everything else he would need for a safari.
Click to expand...
I haven't seen it but maybe I should!😀
 
Kilroy1107 said:
Anyone remember Phil's Fine Cutlery in Las Vegas NV. I remember meeting and buying from him at the great knife shows that use to be held at the old Riviera Hotel and Casino Las Vegas in mid 90s. Still have his knife catalog with prices and descriptions. Before computers and websites only mail order back then. View attachment 1928359
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I bought an first run James Bros auto from Phil, maybe '98
 
The Edge Company Catalog mail order 1980s. Located in Vermont. They sold knives and Switch blades and out the front spring knives in legal kit form back then. I guess to bypass the laws of that time. I probably still have a OTF and a side opening knife somewhere at home. They were cheaply made. But to me they were just a novelty of the times.

 
Kilroy1107 said:
The Edge Company Catalog mail order 1980s. Located in Vermont. They sold knives and Switch blades and out the front spring knives in legal kit form back then. I guess to bypass the laws of that time. I probably still have a OTF and a side opening knife somewhere at home. They were cheaply made. But to me they were just a novelty of the times.
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I recall getting my first order from them. I was unsure if they were for real until the package arrived. I loved it. I ended up giving away two of the 3 knives thinking I could order more but they went out of business before I could. Autos were semi difficult to find back in those days. Later I could buy trainloads of them for prices I'd love t see them at now but for a while autos were rare.

Brigade Quartermaster, Cutlery shop and Cavalry were catalogs I had around but my primary way of finding knives I wanted was gun shows. Someone always had the newest and rarest knives and I learned to build relationships with the better ones. Later I became one doing the gunshow circut on off weekends and that really helped me be able to find whatever I wanted. Most other dealers were great and would not only offer me dealer prices but would bring me knives I asked for to the next show. I learned how many of those guys do pretty well without being a an official company dealer. That was before price controls designed to protect actual dealers in brick and mortar stores. Even with help many of those went under eventually anyways because of Amazon, Wal Mart. etc.
 
Wow, this thread is wonderful trip down memory lane! In the early 80’s (I graduated in 81) I used to get all the catalogs; US Cavalry, Brigade Quartermasters, Edgeco…and I’d read them until they fell apart! I wish I had the money I spent in cheap knives out of the backs of American Survival Guide, SOF, and the other magazines of the time.
 
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