New EO Jack in jigged bone

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Brian.Evans

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Aug 20, 2011
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I picked this little Imperial up at an antique store today for ~$25. I love the size and the jigged bone handles. Apparently, my dislike for bails is less than I thought, as this knife will be my new daily carry, bumping out my TL-29 for a bit. (both knives have bails).

I am going to go home and polish the blades and bolsters a bit to knock the rust off, oil the pivots, and sharpen it up. It should take a nice edge. I'm assuming it was a working man's knife, seeing as it has steel bolsters. It has a small crack on one of the scales, but I'm going to stabilize it with a drop of CA before soaking the scales in neetsfoot oil for a day or two.

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Nice find! There's lots of life left in that old Imperial.
 
How old is this knife, roughly? I had thought about taking it apart as a pattern to reproduce it in new materials, but if it's old enough, I may not.
 
medicevans said:
How old is this knife, roughly? I had thought about taking it apart as a pattern to reproduce it in new materials, but if it's old enough, I may not.
Click to expand...

We need a closeup pick of the tang stamp. If it says:

IMPERIAL
Prov. R.I

Its c. 1936-1952
 
Very nice find. It's probably WW2 era due to USA stamping which indicate it was issued by the US army. Imperial and Camillus were contracted by US army during the war to manufacture pocket knives.

Mike
 
Love it!...EO's are just about the ultimate knife...nice find, and thank you for showing us!
 
I agree it's WWII era, and a nice, lightly used example at that!
I didn't know that the U.S.A. stamp means it was an issue knife! Is it true?
 
Yes Sir...from the previously posted tang stamp chart ( sorry can't remember who posted it...but would like to thank them ) its c. 1936-1952
 
I found the tang chart on another forum as well.

I'm curious too, does the USA mean an issue knife, or just a circa WWII knife?
 
Here you go Sir

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I have an imperial that has the hammar brand 1945 tang stamp on the main blade and the same as yours on the pen blade
 
Well, I can't remember where, but I've read that USA tang stamp is indicating army issued knife. There are EO knives with only the USA tang stamp and no other maker stamp, probably made by Camillus or Imperial.
I'd be glad to read other opinions on this subject.

Mike
 
Nice Imperial :) I like this old gem! Congratz on that find...

Kind regards
Andi
 
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