Old John Primble Knives & Belknap Hardware History

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Primble said:
John Primble India Steel Works Crown Jack with rare black stag circa 1890-1940:
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Functions as perfect as a new GEC.
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I know this is a hard question to answer, but: where do you find these beautiful old knives? I go to every antique store, mall, swap meet, yard sale and estate sale I can find and never see knives like you so often come up with. What's your secret?
 
Macchina said:
May maybe he actually is THE John Primble...
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Ha! If he's like 150 years old or something, which would explain a lot. If you look at some of the photos posted earlier in this thread you'll see a bevvy of museum quality displays that are, like the knife pictured above, simply breathtaking. I would love to find just one rare, breathtakingly pristine old knife, I just wondered how he finds so many of them.
 
Sonny14 said:
Ha! If he's like 150 years old or something, which would explain a lot. If you look at some of the photos posted earlier in this thread you'll see a bevvy of museum quality displays that are, like the knife pictured above, simply breathtaking. I would love to find just one rare, breathtakingly pristine old knife, I just wondered how he finds so many of them.
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He seems to only use money from the 1800's or earlier... All signs still point to his true identity.
 
Is it just the photo, or are the backs of the blade where it meets the spring actually rounded off to make the knife more pocket friendly?

Wolfe
 
Sonny14 said:
I know this is a hard question to answer, but: where do you find these beautiful old knives? I go to every antique store, mall, swap meet, yard sale and estate sale I can find and never see knives like you so often come up with. What's your secret?
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This knife and about six other old Primble knives that I now own came from an estate sale from a very large Primble collection and ended up with an Antique knife dealer. I was able to get the ones I wanted most by negotiating. I rarely find a good knife at an antique store, mall, or yard sale. I won't say more because it is generally forbidden to talk about where you got knives here, but, will say that the good ones seem to be getting harder and harder to find. :) Perseverance is key. ;)

Macchina said:
He seems to only use money from the 1800's or earlier... All signs still point to his true identity.
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:eek::thumbup::D:D:D

Gevonovich said:
:eek::eek::eek: oh my heart!!!
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I wish you could see this one in person Gevo. It really is a special knife. :)

Catherine_Montana said:
That is a beautiful knife!

Cate
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Thank you Catherine. :thumbup::)

wolfeknives said:
Is it just the photo, or are the backs of the blade where it meets the spring actually rounded off to make the knife more pocket friendly?

Wolfe
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Hard to know what all a knife goes through in it's life. The pen is rounded off at that location and the main less so. They still tend to lock up tight at the proper angles, but, probably was done by a previous owner for the very reason you proposed. Worse, at some point, an owner decided to take what I guess was a Dremel tool to clean ( a long time ago it appears) the flats of the blade and left shallow divots in both sides. I loved the old patina so much that I left it alone for over a year, but, that abuse with a power tool kept bugging me and I finally decided to correct it by sanding the flats smooth and flat again, all carefully and by hand. I re-patinaed with vinegar and tried to leave the rest alone. I intentionally left some of the pitting and the springs and tangs still have original wear showing. Always a tough call for me. As you certainly know with your background, a Dremel sanding disc should NEVER be used to clean a knife blade. :eek::) There are probably some that would say I should have left it alone, but, I am who I am and find it hard to tolerate the abuse created by a previous owner. I did not like the story this one told. :eek:
 
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Pretty bone color on that one ! What tang stamp does it have ? :)
 
Got this Genuine Ivory John Primble Belknap Germany in today. I was excited to add it to my collection - firstly, I had no Ivory knives - secondly, I had no Germany made Primbles - thirdly, I really liked the fact it had a stamped main blade. Read about Belknap knives and the era is listed at around 1955 for the knives marked J. Primble, Belknap, Germany. Using Primble logic, that converts to maybe 1954, the year of my birth. Think back to 1954 and 1955 and you will find transportation overseas was much slower than today. I was thinking today that this knife might have been made on my date of birth - well - who knows !! ;):D:D

It really is a beautifully made knife in hand and the workmanship was very well done. The closed length is 3.25 inches and it appears to have the original blade edges, pinned oval shield, and NS pins. The mark side Ivory has diagonal striations that I failed to capture in the photos. It came to me pristine ( minus a couple tiny pepper spots on the blade spines ) and like many Ivory knives, I suspect, it has been in the hands of collectors since it was first sold.



Other things of interest around 1954-55:

1954:

President Eisenhower signs into law the new social security bill funded by employers and employees.

Rationing finally ends in Great Britain

NBCs The Tonight Show was first aired

Marilyn Monroe marries Joe DeMaggio

Elvis Presley begins his music career

Boeing 707 ( America's First Jet Airliner ) takes it's Maiden Flight

The first mass vaccination of children against polio begins

The First all Electronic Color television goes on sale from RCA the CT-100 selling for $1,000

Average Cost of a new car $1,700.00

Average Cost of new house $10.250.00

Cost of a gallon of Gas 22 cents

1955:

Great Britain declares State of Emergency due to National Rail Strike

The first Commercial TV Station with advertisements starts in London, England

British Newspapers Not Printed for 1 month due to strike in Fleet Street By Maintenance Workers

The popular Western show "Gunsmoke" debuts on television.

Disneyland opens in California on July 17th.

James Dean killed in car accident near Cholame, California

Chevrolet manufactured the 1955 V8 Chevy Belair, a vehicle destined to be a classic car.

"The Mickey Mouse Club" debuts on ABC

Steve Jobs born February 24th
Bill Gates born October 28th
 
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Happy Birthday and i am very happy to see the Primble thread spring up!:D;):D Just an exquisite piece and a fine piece of ivory.
 
Well said, Paul! Stunning was the word I was going to use also.

Just beautiful, Rob!
 
That is an amazing knife.
Congratulations are most definitely in order!
 
Very nice addition to the on growing collection. The ivory looks great and the stamp on the main blade is great addition

Mike
 
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