Let's see your "shell" manifactured knives.

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Hammer Brand (c. 1945-1955) A beautiful gift from my beautiful wife.
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Ace Rimmer said:
I don't know what you mean by "shell knives" and would appreciate any clarification anyone can provide. I saw a couple of Imperial Schrades today that look very similar to some of those pictured here. The blades had a sort of satin finish and I assume the covers are acrylic. I asked the store owner if they were carbon steel but he didn't know, but assumed they were stainless. (And Pat knows his knives, believe me.) They were quite attractive and priced at $10. I'm tempted to pick one up just for the novelty value.
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OK, I went back to the knife shop today and looked at the Imperial. It's not a shell knife, but rather just a Chinese-make knife of recent manufacture (I assume by Taylor). However, I did find a small Diamond Edge stockman that is obviously a shell knife (wasn't anything worth buying, though). Being able to get an up-close look I can see exactly how they are made. The bolsters look to be stamped and held on with tabs. Very interesting and glad to learn some new knife facts!

Oh, I did buy the Imperial, though. It's just a cheap mini trapper with low-grade steel, but otherwise appears to be pretty well put together. It will be interesting to see how long it will hold an edge.
 
Currently all I have are this imperial jackmaster Barlow R8shell gifted me as my first Barlow ( absolutely love it and carry it often )


And this little imperial peanut / serpentine jack that I won from fishcakes which was new old stock when I got it.


I'm indifferent to the shell construction itself, but love the overall package of the imperials that use it.
They're nice and lightweight in pocket, and the blades are super slicers that very easily take a razor edge and hold it respectably.

I've also got a made in China jackmaster lookalike that my grandmother gave me out of her toolbox, but I can't get the blades sharp enough to carry it.
 
My dad worked at the Richards factory when I was a kid, and their knives were sold in every newsagents, barber's shop, and hardware store in the country, plenty of other places besides. I must have picked up hundreds of them over the years, but only held onto a few. I don't have pics of all the ones I have, but here's a few of them, together with a few other shell-handled knives, mainly from Imperial or Jowika :thumbsup:































 
Nice collection there JB, I especially love that first one ( the John H Burnes ) and while not a knife I think that little oiler is also very cool.
I've got a small one from my grandmother's Underwood typewriter maintenance kit and I use it for things sll.the time.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Nice collection there JB, I especially love that first one ( the John H Burnes ) and while not a knife I think that little oiler is also very cool.
I've got a small one from my grandmother's Underwood typewriter maintenance kit and I use it for things sll.the time.
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Thank you very much, I only picked up the JHB the other week, though I have others of the same pattern :) That's a nice thing to have :) :thumbsup:
 
This serpentine jack is well proven to be solid, sharp and durable. 3 1/8 " of pure cutting performance.
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I look at all these knives, especially the ones made in England, and think that they were probably some young boy's treasure back when they were made. John
 
John A. Larsen said:
I look at all these knives, especially the ones made in England, and think that they were probably some young boy's treasure back when they were made.
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Absolutely! :) My very first pocket-knife was a Richards Little Chief - It had a Clip blade and a bottle-opener/screwdriver combination too, and a picture of a Native American Brave astride his horse! :) :thumbsup:
 
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