"Old Knives"

Utah, I was thinking maybe your knife was originally a 3-blade stockman with a broken or otherwise damaged main blade, and someone took out the main blade and second spring. That would explain the nicks being on the opposite side from the shield.
 
philllll said:
Utah, I was thinking maybe your knife was originally a 3-blade stockman with a broken or otherwise damaged main blade, and someone took out the main blade and second spring. That would explain the nicks being on the opposite side from the shield.
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Thanks Phil. It's really an interesting piece and somehow, like you said, the word "cobbled" keeps coming to mind. :) Did you see the top view of how the blades nest? Only enough room for the 2 blades, and that just barely. BTW - that's the fattest squirrel I've ever seen. Looks like he ate his entire stash all at once.
 
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Re: VF tang stamping: it's not any one feature, just my initial overall impression was that it doesn't seem right. Same for the knife. Bernard Levine has discussed this in his forum: that when you have seen/handled thousands of knives you can get the feeling that a certain knife or stamping "doesn't seem right".
There are lots of fake knives in circulation done by a guy who always uses a curved tang stamping of less common USA brands. He goes to knife & gun shows in the East with buckets of them for sale. He is up front that he made them, but once in circulation they get represented as all original.
kj
 
Every bit of metal has been heavily resurfaced.

Another possible explanation for pile side nail nicks is that it may have originally been a 3-blade and a broken main blade and spring may have been removed.

I suspect that it's a parts knife but you could post it in BRL's forum.
 
philllll said:
Utah, I was thinking maybe your knife was originally a 3-blade stockman with a broken or otherwise damaged main blade, and someone took out the main blade and second spring. That would explain the nicks being on the opposite side from the shield.
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Oops! Phil beat me to it.

The high sitting sheepfoot blade also suggests that it was originally a 3-blade.
 
Took me awhile Jack but I finally posted this here. ;)

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I love advertising knives, there's always so much variety in patterns and quality to make it interesting to collect. Above is a knife for the Good Roads Machinery Company they were in business with that name from 1892-1907.

Good Roads Machinery Company patented the "American Champion," the first four-wheeled pull grader, in 1877. It was reorganized under the American Road Machine Company name in 1889 after opening plants in Delphos, Ohio, as well as Groton and Marathon, New York.

The Good Roads Machinery Company was organized as the firm's sales branch, and Good Roads became the brand name under which the equipment, which included graders, rollers and rock crushers, was manufactured, although the American Champion name was continued for graders. The Good Roads name was a direct allusion to the Good Roads movement, under which dirt farm roads throughout the United States were being improved for automobile traffic.

The firm expanded into Canada in 1888, and the Copp Brothers firm of Hamilton, Ontario, gained sole licensing rights for American Champion graders in Canada in 1892. John Challen, the manager of Copp Brothers, bought the company out in 1896 and renamed it Good Roads Machinery Company, not to be confused with the sales agents of the same name for American Road Machinery. Challen's firm failed in 1907, and he became a salesman for American Road Machinery, which apparently acquired the firm's assets.

A new group of investors bought the former Challen firm in 1908 and reorganized it as Canadian Road Machine Company Ltd., and this firm also failed and was reacquired by American Road Machinery in 1909 as American Road Machinery of Canada.

New & Used Heavy Equipment http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/index.php/Good_Roads_Machinery_Company#ixzz3JxLCPOTs

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There was no tang stamp but on the corner of the stamped handles were the name Bastian Bros Co. Rochester NY. Here's a little history on them, seems like they started their company around the same time. Robeson was contacted to make the knives while they stamped the handles.

history on the stamp Bastian Bros Co Rochester NY...

Bastian Company Profile

Bastian Company was founded in 1895 and was incorporated as Bastian Brothers Company initially operating as a jewelry store. Shortly after it’s founding, Bastian Brothers became one of the first firms in Rochester, New York to become a Union Shop and continues today to be a totally unionized firm. Within a short period of time, the firm became known for its custom recognition and award products and underwent a rapid expansion. Soon after moving into a larger facility, Bastian expanded its sales and marketing efforts to eventually cover the entire United States and today has numerous customers located outside the United States.

Since 1895, Bastian Company has been recognized internationally for its quality, craftsmanship, and integrity in the production of emblematic jewelry, lapel pins, medallions, belt buckles, paperweights, key tags, convention badges, police-security-firemen badges and insignia, and automotive decorative emblems.

Not bad for a $10 flea market find. :)
 
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Fascinating post Ted :thumbup:

Not sure how I got so far behind with this thread :o
 
utah_fish said:
I agree guys. She's a cobbled bit of this and that. That said.............I like it. :)
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There was a time when that would have surprised me but it seems to be the norm now. If you search for "mint" or "rare", you'll find a lot more parts knives. The knives themselves aren't necessarily bad but the untruths that follow them have destroyed the hobby of vintage knife collecting and appreciation for history in my opinion. It's up to the owner to fairly represent the knife and that's the case here so no harm done.
 
Neat knives, guys. And that was a nice bit of history, Ted. I have a couple advertising knives and need to look up the company histories.
 
.........and isnt it great to find out that such a fantastic Knife company like Robeson are most likely to have made that knife! Great Thread filled with the most stunning knives - and the people behind the posts are pretty darned cool as well :thumbup:
 
I really like those two, Tongueriver. Two of my favorite brands. Great swedge and matchstriker pull on the Challenge. Really love the Keen Kutter, don't see many stockman with a spear master blade. Appears as if there may be a stamp on the back tang of the spear blade? Is that a pattern number?
Dan
 
I like the jigged bone on that Keen Kutter a lot. Good color and texture.
Charles
 
Alvin Sellens book say the 33721 was manufactured from 1913 right thru to 1934. I have to agree with Chuko, the bone on that one is very nice, as is most old Keen Kutter bone, all old bone for that matter.
Dan
 
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