Marbles Pocket Knives

Plantman

Plantman

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Oct 29, 2009
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143
I believe that this is one of the first sets of Marbles slipjoints marketed and sold by the late David Shirley in the early 2000s. The knives came in a glass-topped walnut case and with individual orange boxes depicting the old Marbles factory in Gladstone, Michigan. This set was purchased by me on ePray years ago, and I later saw a set in the same walnut case for sale at the Wolverine Knife Show in Novi. I’ve heard that the knives were made by Queen in Titusville when Bill Howard was in charge of production. They are all stainless steel stamped ‘01’ as indicated on the tang of the easy-open jack shown. I don’t know if Mr. Shirley had any role in assembly. I would appreciate learning more about these knives and seeing photos of others. Apparently, Marbles offered pocketknives in the early 1900s that were produced for them by other companies. It would be great to learn about them as well, and especially to see photos of the originals. Thanks in advance for any info that knowledgeable BF members would be kind enough to provide!IMG_4874.jpegIMG_4871.jpegIMG_4872.jpeg
 
Very nice stag handles in your set. I know very little about the US made, second generation Marbles Knives, except that I owned one, an Atlantic Pearl handled heavy jackknife. I no longer own it but I do have a picture, tang stamped MSA 01.
 

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They are Queen made. The Stockman in lower left is a 49.
Here's a couple of pictures I quickly found.
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Queen was making the MSA slipjoints for Dave Shirley in the early 2000's, and that collaboration continued as Dave shifted over to his Northwoods brand.

Here are a couple more Dave Shirley Marble’s…

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Plantman said:
I believe that this is one of the first sets of Marbles slipjoints marketed and sold by the late David Shirley in the early 2000s. The knives came in a glass-topped walnut case and with individual orange boxes depicting the old Marbles factory in Gladstone, Michigan. This set was purchased by me on ePray years ago, and I later saw a set in the same walnut case for sale at the Wolverine Knife Show in Novi. I’ve heard that the knives were made by Queen in Titusville when Bill Howard was in charge of production. They are all stainless steel stamped ‘01’ as indicated on the tang of the easy-open jack shown. I don’t know if Mr. Shirley had any role in assembly. I would appreciate learning more about these knives and seeing photos of others. Apparently, Marbles offered pocketknives in the early 1900s that were produced for them by other companies. It would be great to learn about them as well, and especially to see photos of the originals. Thanks in advance for any info that knowledgeable BF members would be kind enough to provide!View attachment 2637446View attachment 2637447View attachment 2637448
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Very nice set of Marble’s! 😎👍🏻
 
You got it. Probably because both brands are currently owned by SMKW. Marble’s slipjoints are now produced overseas like RR. I drove by the old Queen factory in Titusville the other day. It was sad to see that big ca. 1902 empty brick building that was built to lure the newly-formed Schatt & Morgan Cutlery Company away from Gowanda, NY. The adjacent little ribbon factory looked like it was still in business. Back in the early 2000s Queen also made Mr. Shirley’s Scagel and Northwoods pocket knives, and a reissue of Marble’s safety folders. I’ve been incorrect in using ‘Marbles’ instead of ‘Marble’s’ in this thread.
 
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Here are a couple of WWI navy knives manufactured by Schatt & Morgan in that historic factory. Top is US. Bottom is Canada. I had both in my pocket when I toured the active Queen factory during an open house that coincided with the nearby GEC Rendezvous in 2016.
 
Plantman said:
You got it. Probably because both brands are currently owned by SMKW. Marble’s slipjoints are now produced overseas like RR. I drove by the old Queen factory in Titusville the other day. It was sad to see that big ca. 1902 empty brick building that was built to lure the newly-formed Schatt & Morgan Cutlery Company away from Gowanda, NY. The adjacent little ribbon factory looked like it was still in business. Back in the early 2000s Queen also made Mr. Shirley’s Scagel and Northwoods pocket knives, and a reissue of Marble’s safety folders. I’ve been incorrect in using ‘Marbles’ instead of ‘Marble’s’ in this thread.
Click to expand...
Yes the ribbon factory is still in business. In fact they bought out the Queen 1/2 of the building, and expanded their operation to take up the entire complex.
 
I wish I would have picked up a few of the 2000-02 or so Gladstone slipjoints when they were easier to get. I did get into
quite a few of the fixed blades. The fixed blades and slipjoints are some darn fine knives.
I have zero interest in the ones made after that era.
Greg
 
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