Napanoch

Mike Robuck

Mike Robuck

Joined
Oct 11, 2001
Messages
3,702
Here's a Napanoch banana knife that is 5 1/4 closed. The scales are more brownish in person, although the pile side does have a red tint to it. Case and Remington also made this pattern, and maybe others as well.

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Rhett Stidham published a small pamphlet, which included some catalog pages, a while back on Napanoch. I'd love to see more if you have them. Thanks.
 
Nice rare knife, Mike! Quite beautiful in general. The blade shape and grind are very pleasing to the eye!
You have been digging up some great old antiques in the last while!!
 
Thanks guys. Charlie, I'm on the bean diet with you.

Here's a saddlehorn that belongs to Tony Bose that was made by Napanoch for Wilbert. (Scans by Charlie.) Napanoch also made knives for Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett, Challenge Cutlery, Henry Sears, Cooper, Will Roll Bearing, Hickory, Ulery, and Keene, among others, according to Stidham.

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I think Napanoch had some talented cutlers!
Probably one of the reasons Winchester bought them out.
 
Wow...those two knives are just spectacular!...The one of yours Mike is just unbelievable!...what a lovely knife! that blade looks nice and full too!
 
I've gotta say I have taken a liking to the ENORMOUS lockbacks (5" and up). Doesn't hurt that these have some stunning bone as well. I think I could afford one of the Remington repros :p
 
Thanks for sharing Mike! That sabre ground blade has wonderful proportions:thumbup:
 
Duncan, I don't think it has been used, but there are rub marks on the pile side of the blade from pushing it over against the liner when opening and closing. Also looks like one area on that side has been sanded a bit, but not the whole blade.

According to Levine and Stidham, Napanoch was in business from 1900 to 1919 before, as Charlie mentioned, Winchester bought it out. Ex Napanoch employees started Honk Falls in the old Napanoch building and that business went from 1921 to 1929. A former Napanoch employee bought the Napanoch name from Winchester and made knives in a converted barn from 1931 to 1939.

I have no idea when the banana knife was made. There are several different Napanoch stamps, but I don't know if they are a way of dating them.

Napanoch's slogan was "Napanoch, a White man's knife with a Red man's name," which obviously wouldn't fly these days.

I also thought "Napanoch" bone was one style of jigging, but it seems as though they had several, including the worm groove on Tony's knife. Thanks all. Hope to see more.

Here's a Honk Falls harness jack. (Owned by Tony, pictures by K. Hampton.)

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I use to have a Remington lockback that looked very similar. It was a nice knife but just slightly to big for my taste. Like my old Rem. that is good looking knife all the same!
 
Nice pick-up Mike! That one looks great. Love the saber grinds
and of course the bone... Congrats on another fine pick-up buddy.

Jason
 
This was posted in "Old Knives" a while back and it seems like a good idea to post it here too. :D

Napanoch Knife Company operated under that name from 1900 to 1939 and used the odd motto in the post title...definitely not PC by today's standards. Here we have a dandy repair kit with all tools intact and, with the exception of some spotting/patina, looks like it's never been used.

I have pictured it here with a reproduction of a Napanoch catalog open to the page picturing the exact tool kit.

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Dang, nice repair kit. Those seem to go for a lot on the world's largest online auction website, and they usually seem to be missing a few of the attachments.
 
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