My mysterious boy's knife, help needed

Tilley Knife

Tilley Knife

I'm Daniel, I make stuff
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Messages
2,264
Hello friends. I need some help on this one. I found this on the big auction site several months ago. It was located in Canada and listed as an unknown brand, two blade jack knife and that's about it. Although the photos were not of exceptional quality, I thought that I could detect ebony wood over steel liners. So, I took a shot and placed a very conservative bid that would not have left me sour should the "unknown knife" fall apart in my hand upon delivery. Well, I was apparently braver than anyone else because mine was the only bid.

A couple of weeks later it arrived and I must say that I feel like I robbed someone. It has a spear main, pen secondary, with top/bottom steel bolsters, steel liners, and steel pins. It has half stops and dark wood covers (possibly ebony). This thing opens and closes with authority. The walk and talk is probably the best of any trad knife that I own and I have some nice ones. The pull on the main is a hearty seven but it's smooth. The secondary is a five. This thing is built like a tank but it has no stamps or remnants of an etch. I have not polished the blades simply because I prefer to leave the hard earned patina on my vintage knives.

So, if anyone has any idea of the origin of this fellow I would love to hear it. I blame this knife for my lack of enthusiasm for the 14 Lick Creek. I bought three 14s and sold them because they just didn't compare to this guy. The sub .25" difference in length probably had a lot to do with that. I love the 15 so this one is a great compromise between the 15 and the 14. Anyway, the specs and pics are below and I appreciate your input. Blessings

Length closed: 3 1/4"
Main: 2 9/16"
Pen: 1 7/8"

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A 15 and Sodbuster for comparison

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You must have received a GEC 14 with end cap bolsters, ebony and nail nick that was sent back in time to the past and has finally made it back to 2016 right in time for the debut of the no.14 :D

Jokes but I've no clue, great looking blade though. Perhaps Imperial made? (I asked another member who's into vintage knives)
 
Well, I'm sure someone will chime in with some insight. But I must say you got a very nice catch there. Congrats.
 
Although you may not have "cleaned" the knife, someone did. The blades have been resurfaced. A stamp may have been removed when the blades were resurfaced. The bolsters appear to have been buffed.

Unfortunately, folks most often ask for an ID on heavily cleaned knives rather than knives in original condition. On Ebay guessing a heavily cleaned knife has been reworked will be more often right than wrong. The ID is not so important on a cleaned knife. It's no longer original anyway. The utility is still there though.

Can you add a photo of the spine/springs with the blades open (from directly above and straight down)? Are there any signs inside the well that the knife has been apart?

The covers look like cocobolo to me. Sounds like you got a good price and it looks like a good user.
 
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supratentorial said:
Although you may not have "cleaned" the knife, someone did. The blades have been resurfaced. A stamp may have been removed when the blades were resurfaced. The bolsters appear to have been buffed.

Unfortunately, folks most often ask for an ID on heavily cleaned knives rather than knives in original condition. On Ebay guessing a heavily cleaned knife has been reworked will be more often right than wrong. The ID is not so important on a cleaned knife. It's no longer original anyway. The utility is still there though.

Can you add a photo of the spine/springs with the blades open (from directly above and straight down)? Are there any signs inside the well that the knife has been apart?

The covers look like cocobolo to me. Sounds like you got a good price and it looks like a good user.
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Upon close inspection of the inside of the liners, there is no indication that it has been taken apart. It will be this evening before I can take a pic of the spines. This is a user to me so the fact that it has been cleaned means nothing. I'm not a collector. Apologies if it doesn't meet the vintage knife standard but I'm just looking for ideas, based on the pattern and materials, as to who may have made it and when.
 
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Condition is only a sign of condition as BRL says. But buffing bolsters is a finishing step for a parts knife. That is the reason that I mention it. Trying to ID a knife that was made in 2016 from parts of different old knives is a wild goose chase. IDs are only really meaningful if the knife is original and not made from parts. It's more difficult to distinguish a knife that is cleaned from a parts knife.

The pattern is a common pattern made by many knife companies over many decades. The knives made by Camillus are just one example. They are common enough to find on Ebay that it might be a good possibility. I haven't seen them with cocobolo covers. But I don't for sure that the covers are original to the knife. They might be. Off the top of my head some other well known companies that made similar knives are Simmons/Winchester, Remington, and Boker.
 
Thanks. Polishing bolsters is also the finishing process for cleaning up non parts knives. I buy a lot of vintage knives and unfortunately some folks clean them up before selling. That's just the way it goes. Anyone else?
 
Tilley Knife said:
Thanks. Polishing bolsters is also the finishing process for cleaning up non parts knives. I buy a lot of vintage knives and unfortunately some folks clean them up before selling. That's just the way it goes. Anyone else?
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Yes, it is common on Ebay. There are guys who fluff and buff and resell and guys who put together parts and resell. If the history is important to you, avoiding both is best. If an ID and history is not important to you, then it doesn't matter. Your knife may not be a parts knife. I can't tell for sure from your photos. I can only tell for sure that the brand is missing and it's been cleaned. If you search the vintage folding knife section on Ebay for "easy (open, opener)", you will see a lot of different brands made over a wide range of years. I always regret posting in these types of ID topics. It is clear my response was unwelcome and I apologize. I will stop replying to this topic but I honestly wanted to help. Hopefully someone else will give the answer that you want. Best wishes.
 
The covers look to have been replaced, or originally installed with semi-poor fit. Doesn't mean it's a bad knife. On the contrary, it looks really solid, just the wood looks kinda eaten up.

Doesn't remind me of any of the popular older brands I can think of. Interesting knife though! Possibly German in origin,
 
supratentorial said:
Yes, it is common on Ebay. There are guys who fluff and buff and resell and guys who put together parts and resell. If the history is important to you, avoiding both is best. If an ID and history is not important to you, then it doesn't matter. Your knife may not be a parts knife. I can't tell for sure from your photos. I can only tell for sure that the brand is missing and it's been cleaned. If you search the vintage folding knife section on Ebay for "easy (open, opener)", you will see a lot of different brands made over a wide range of years. I always regret posting in these types of ID topics. It is clear my response was unwelcome and I apologize. I will stop replying to this topic but I honestly wanted to help. Hopefully someone else will give the answer that you want. Best wishes.
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Your comments are always welcomed Jake and I respect your knowledge and opinions. I'm just looking for as much info as possible. I'm not arguing that it's a parts knife or that the wood is not original. If the wood was replaced, it was done a long time ago. I have EO model knives from Utica, pal, and camillus. They often have a bail or are in a teardrop pattern but I've never seen one exactly like this with this good of action. Thanks for all of the responses.
 
That looks like an American made knife for sure by the way its made. Could have had any name on it originally. Sometimes they were only etched with a store or wholesaler name.
 
No idea particulars but to me "you got a winner" as long as it's not to stiff to use.

Write this down. Your next two may be disappointing. (As in, if you've bought three used knives you probably got took on two of them!)
 
WA Martin said:
No idea particulars but to me "you got a winner" as long as it's not to stiff to use.

Write this down. Your next two may be disappointing. (As in, if you've bought three used knives you probably got took on two of them!)
Click to expand...

Lol, thanks Wade. No the pull is just right for me. I've had really good luck buying used knives over the years. A few lemons here and there but for the most part, I have found some great knives.
 
Reminds me of an old LF&C, with the slight swedge on spear.
Probably had celluloid handles that outgassed.
Will try to look up a pattern # for reference soon as I can.
 
Thanks Jody. I didn't see any sign of out gassing on the inside of the steel liners but it may have been preemptive. Thanks again and I look forward to what you find out.
 
I can't say why exactly, but that knife really makes me think of a pair of linesman's pliers and leather case/sheath my father had when I was young.
I believe the case/sheath was stamped "US ARMY".
 
One of the most prolific knife brands based in Canada was Premier Lifetime Cutlery. They were around from roughly 1920 to 1950, and are pretty obscure in the US, but common around here. The knives were made in Germany, Italy, England, and, later, Japan. Your knife could be one of the earlier European Premiers with the stamp worn off due to cleaning. All the examples I have are of generally good fit and finish, and yours looks like a pretty good one, it that is indeed it's origin.
 
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