Lineage & Tradition

[Blues]

A post in another thread got me thinking about the lineage and tradition of certain knives and patterns.

When I asked Don Hanson to make my single blade trapper, more than once I referred to the Remington pattern and its distinctive look.

Here's a group shot of three custom knives and an original Remington R1123 from the 1930's.

The knives (L-R) are by P.J. Tomes, Don Hanson, P.J. Tomes and the original Remington. The Tomes knives are based on the Remington R1306 lockback and are 3 3/8" and 4.5" respectively. The Hanson is 4 1/16" and the R1123 is 4.5".

Feel free to add images of your custom knives paying homage to the Remington line.

 

[Thomason]

Another by P.J. Tomes that is kind of Remington like. 3 7/8 inches.

 

[kamagong]

Is the Remington the inspiration for Tony's backpocket knife? My first impression upon seeing your new Hanson was that it was a fine BP.

 

[brownshoe]

I think it needs a thong or landyard hole like the original remington to be a back pocket.

I'm sure Don Hanson knows the remington pattern. He used to make single bladed remington trappers w/o lock in the "old days". Unlike the newer one, they had the the thong hole, brass liners, nickel silver bolster and were larger, more of the size of the original remington.

 

[Blues]

Is the Remington the inspiration for Tony's backpocket knife? My first impression upon seeing your new Hanson was that it was a fine BP.

Tony's "Backpocket" model has the swell higher up toward the bolster than the Remington though that doesn't negate whether Tony used it as a basis for his pattern:

 

[Mike Robuck]

Tony Bose's BP was based on the Remington 1123, which had two blades. Here is Mike Zcherny's rendition of Tony's BP and also one of the first slipjoints he made.

 

[Blues]

And like Mike's above...here's one by Joe Allen in the full 4.5" size which I purchased from Durwood some time back:

 

[Blues]

...And a two blade version by Mike Zscherny from the Blade Show this year:

 

[Blues]

When you compare the images above I think you can readily see the difference in the shape of the frames/patterns that are more direct replicas of the Remington and those that are based upon Tony's excellent rendition.

 

[kamagong]

It's hard seeing the differences sometimes. Even if you focus specifically on Tony his BPs have different lines from knife to knife.

 

[Blues]

It's hard seeing the differences sometimes. Even if you focus specifically on Tony his BPs have different lines from knife to knife.

That'll come with time and more experience with some of these patterns.

Nonetheless, it should be pretty apparent from the photos that the swell of the Remington pattern is lower down in the frame (toward the "head") when compared to those based on the Bose pattern which are up further toward the "foot" (bolster). Also it appears that the (non-Bose) Remington patterns appear to taper more (above the swell) as they approach the bolster.

 

[Will Power]

The bone on that old Remington is extraordinary, and to think that it's lasted so well and without cracking around the lanyard hole.

 

[kamagong]

Learn something new everyday, I didn't know that the joint end is the foot and that the other end is the head.

 

[Mike Robuck]

Remington made the Hunter-Trader-Trapper for one year in two sizes for the magazine of the same name.

Here's a scan of the ad from Tony:

Here is a 4-inch version by Reese:

And a 4-incher by Jerry Halfrich:

 

[Durbin]

wow... I think I just drooled on my keyboard

 

[Peregrin]

Allot of great information and great knives here fellas. Thanks.

 

[orca8589]

Man. I'm jealous - fantastic steel & work on all the pieces in this thread. The three customs in the OP are great, but I still like the original Remington the best. I bet that thing could tell some stories . . .

One of our thrift stores here got a similar knife in last year, but the blades were broken, and scales damaged beyond repair.

thx - cpr

 

[Peter Parker]

R1123 is my favorite style of the excellant trapper with or with out the end bolsters! Thanks for all the eye candy!

 

[Blues]

R1123 is my favorite style of the excellant trapper with or with out the end bolsters! Thanks for all the eye candy!

AFAIK, the R1123 is always a barehead (no cap).
(Naturally the shadow versions have neither bolster nor cap.)

 

[orca8589]

AFAIK, the R1123 is always a barehead (no cap).
(Naturally the shadow versions have neither bolster nor cap.)

Would the be 'Cap' be the pivot end bolster?

Shadows = knives with no caps, or any bolsters, right? How much 'usable' strength does a metal bolster add? (I didn't think of that before now.) Would the knife loosen up sooner?

By 'usable' strength, my question is would bone or other scale material provide the strength needed to use the knife under normal conditions?

I'm wondering, because in a Shadow pattern, that would be a BIG knife to have no pivot-end (cap) bolster.

thx - cpr