"Old Knives"

[Augie]

Another recent pick up is a large 4 1/8" Camillus Congress,92 pattern, decent condition. Some of the better jigged composition handles I have seen.

 

[SteveC]

Steve, I've got almost the same knife with a spear blade, mine looks like the stamp was ground off. I was thinking Winchester.

View attachment 876377

Nice one Augie, mine has the pen blade on the pile side so different than yours. A friend on another forum thinks it's a Queen #10 and after looking around it might well be.

 

[waynorth]

Back to Maher & Grosh, here's a pretty nice Heavy Jack, with the now infamous shield, followed by a probable Schrade or Ulster production M&G Cattle knife.

Roger C. collects M&G knives and contracts GEC to do his high-quality reproductions.
He said:
"Charlie,I have no documentation as to makers,only observations. New York Knife made some of the very early knives. Miller Brothers were a major supplier for many years and Ulster also.I haven't seen any obvious Empire made knives, but I am not that well versed on Empires. I would not be surprised if Camillus made some also. Many Camillus knives don't stand out much to me from some others.
Also later Schrade Walden-made bone knives stamped M&G and Schrade, and later Queen(both bone and delrin), Robeson(delrin) and Schrade (delrin).
In several older catalogs they had a what they called a "Forest service" knife that appears to be a Cattaraugus Junior Scout. The illustration doesn't show a tang stamp, so it may have a Catt stamp. They did the same thing with switchblades; many had the makers stamp, but I have seen M&G stamped ones.
As you know Empire and Miller Brothers quit making knives close to the same time.I don't know if I have cleared the waters or not. Roger"

Thanks Roger!!!

 

[Campbellclanman]

That is SO interesting Charlie.

In my heart I want it to be an Empire Knife- not because I initially had a thought it may be- but Empire- well you just do not see them all that much and when you do it’s great.

Ulster- Schrade- Camillus were all such iconic amazing companies and I think in a way it’s kinda neat ( although Brain teasing ) that at times it’s very hard if not impossible at times to tell who actually made a Knife.

The great thing about it is that it brings on great and informative talks.
Thank you all so far who have chimed in with nothing but awesome input.

 

[Campbellclanman]

With that Peach Seed Charlie - would you lean more towards Schrade with that lovely Cattle Knife?
I have an Ulster Stamp Knife such stunning peach seed ( also Blade shapes ) that make one believe it to be definitely Schrade made for Ulster.

 

[lambertiana]

Any ideas as to who made this knife ?

Rogers bone , brass liners, half stops ..... no tang stamp

The seller thought Remington and I think that might be right.

I have knives from both Camillus and Ulster that have bone just like that, so they are possibilities.

 

[LongBlade]

Nice knives Augie ... That Camillus is a sweet looking congress !

Thanks again Charlie and nice knives ... I had asked Roger back awhile which is how I learned about many of M&G's makers but not Empire as a definite ... but thanks Roger !! So to me Empire is still a possibility ... I like that - the infamous prop shield

 

[veitsi_poika]

Some great knives posted recently by Gevonovich, Railspitter, V.P., Lambertiana, Campbellclanman, Longblade, and waynorth!!!

Campbellclanman, Klaas from Solingen, Germany certainly did produce some high quality knives, and their recent (German) made knives aren't bad either.
I believe your wonderful Congress model dates to circa 1950s to 1960s. I don't have a catalog cut showing a post war congress model but do have a few pre-war illustrations with one enclosed.

Very nice pearl lobster model V.P. which dates to pre WWII and was not available after the war. Enclosed is a catalog cut from 1930.

View attachment 876069

View attachment 876074

I knew @herder was good... but to find a catalog cut!? AWESOME! Thank you for the info

- Kevin

 

[Campbellclanman]

THANK YOU Herder my friend for such an informative post on the Klaas.

It would have been nice to come across that Pearl lol. Interesting that you dated around that era as I was talking to Paul - because he receives my knives and I figured it to be 60’s possibly 70’s.

Again it’s interesting to see you state that the later model Klaas Knives aren’t too bad- I remember reading a few reports saying otherwise- perhaps that may have been a certain period or transition- or contract made Knives I don’t know- but you would know a hang of a lot more than me- so thank you so much.

 

[r8shell]

Great old Empires Charlie- Thank you for posting those old Beauties!

Here is a Knife that isnt too old, but would fit into the Vintage Category, I really like the slightly earlier Kissing Krane Knives- in later years different manufacturing came in and the renowned Quality went out the Window...
This Congress has Nice Stag, I like the detail and attention to each very tidy wee Blade, the walk and talk superb, extremely clean cut Swedge Work, Long Pulls - each Blade is right up there- a nice package!
I apologise for the VERY poor photos folks- rainy day when these were taken- yuk!

That looks like a gem of a knife to me!
I've got a little pen-knife marked Robt Klass Solingen. It may be a bit newer than yours, and is very neatly made.

 

[Augie]

Picked up this decent rusty E.C. Simmons Keen Kutter bare end jack, really has great bone. Main blade is close to unused and pen has a mystery, a perfect half moon taken out of the blade. Only thing I can figure is someone wanted to make a wire stripper out of it.

 

[veitsi_poika]

Picked up this decent rusty E.C. Simmons Keen Kutter bare end jack, really has great bone. Main blade is close to unused and pen has a mystery, a perfect half moon taken out of the blade. Only thing I can figure is someone wanted to make a wire stripper out of it.

View attachment 877650 View attachment 877651 View attachment 877652

Cool knife Augie! Does the pen blade look original on it or has it had a "nose job"? I have an old electricians knife that someone re-shaped the screw driver tool into a spear blade. That one was easier to figure out because it had the liner lock on it.

- Kevin

 

[Holdiedad]

Welcome to the Forums Sir !!!! It is good to have you with us . Pull up a seat on the Porch and enjoy yourself .
I do not think of this place as a new knife scene but a scene where there are Traditionals liked and shown , both new and old .

Harry

Good to know I’ve been on a few where if you asked a question people thought you should know about the new steel or locks you were pretty much ridiculed and made to look like a fool.

 

[rockman0]

Good to know I’ve been on a few where if you asked a question people thought you should know about the new steel or locks you were pretty much ridiculed and made to look like a fool.

Welcome aboard! You won't be ridiculed for asking questions. Everyone on the porch enjoys sharing knowledge.

 

[Lostball]

Picked up a Schrade Walden pruner, pretty common knife but what makes this one unusual is it has a Bartlett MFG Co blade etch, I have a Schrade Walden farmers jack with the same etch,Bartlett is an arborist supply company that is still in business.


View attachment 876380View attachment 876381 View attachment 876382

I was surprised to see your two knives with the Bartlett etching. I have an old Schrade Walden electricians knife with the same etch. I don't remember all the particulars but I remember looking them up sometime back and they have been around for quite a while. A business doing things right!

 

[LongBlade]

Cool knife Augie ... no doubt that half moon was not a flaw and as you said most likely had some repurposing as a tool ... I know for me I forget knives were for the most part tools of the past, and I would love to see the expressions of the old cutlery employees if they knew even half the discussions about old knives etc

Welcome Holdiedad ..

Lostball - Now that is cool that you have another Bartlett etch to match Augie's knives ...

Here's an old Wostenholm Whittler with what I believe are dyed pressed stag or horn handles (if I remember Lyle's reference info it was horn?) – and missing some dye on the edges.. Blades have great hard snap, tight and the tolerance between blades is amazing - that Sheffield quality. The spine of the master blade is pretty cool - almost 3/16" thick at tang and tapers down to the point like a small axe from the top view.. It is still showing some original crocus polish on blades and very lightly sharpened… Nice wedged spring and no doubt a whittler that is a solid feeling knife! (3 & ¼” closed). Hammered pins - I’m guessing early 1900s on date (maybe 1890s..)… (PS – Speaking of Sheffield quality it seems the Golden Age of Sheffield thread has been asleep for quite some time – also looks to have been decimated by the loss of Photobucket photos… maybe it deserves a resurrection?? – I quite enjoyed that thread…)… Cheers! Lee

 

[veitsi_poika]

Black Friday... Old Knives / Easter Edition Goins has a guesstimate of 1875-1900 on Eagleton Knife Co and Shackleford says Eagleton is a German import brand by Wester & Butz c.1890. I can see why the Wester & Butz knives are highly sought after, if this knife had no tang stamp and you told me it was a Schrade Cut Co or nice old Ulster, I wouldn't question it. Great half stop and conibear-like snap! Big knife too at 4-1/8" closed length.



- Kevin

 

[wlfryjr]

A real lovely knife Lee,from one of my favorite makers,and the most interesting handle material.

The pressed stag (I believe horn, I really need to take some and have it analyzed) has another peculiarity I have observed. I have never seen the carpet beetle holes in any of these handles, which I interpret as something in the process rendering the product disgusting to their larvae.
The above statements have led me to wonder if the molding process might have even included heated remnants of horn with binders involved,as heated horn was malleable.

Wester is a quality name in pocket knives Kevin. Did you ever trap muskrats? Grin'n

That knife has beautiful handles John.

 

[blademan 13]

Great half stop and conibear-like snap!
- Kevin

Nice knife. Hopefully not the same level of spring as those nasty ol' 330's

 

[The Gerbil Whisperer]

I decided to take my knives out of boxes and take pictures of them on the floor... Most of these are worn and I guess oldness is debatable. (If you know production dates let me know) Most of these will be restored and hopefully sold at some point in my life. If you guys see any that you think should be left alone please let me know!

Ugly Kinfolks 368:

West-Cut Boulder PAT 1.967.479 with invisible handle:

Case XX 482-5 Chef knife:

KJ Eriksson Mora Sweden:

Solingen 13159:

Broderna Jonsson Mora Sweden - Fishing knife:

Solingen Germany - no other marks, hollow plastic stag handle will be destroyed...

CW Dahlgren Sweden - I saw one sell on Ebay with the original metal sheath... doubt I'll ever find one. Love the thickness of this knife. The handle is cockeyed but there is no play at all. Not sure if I'm going to remove it.

Utica fish knife:

Unmarked Puukko - sheath says Made in Finland, style looks Swedish:

Fred MacOverland 325 - Made in Sweden:

Opinel pile imported from France - some pretty old and some pretty new. Anyone know of a guide to date these: