Please Advise: Shopping for 100+ year old pocket knive

[Recon_Tanto]

Howdy!!

I have completed my Reading of the entire message titled "Real Pocketworn Knives".

I now Have a Desire to seek out Very Old knives. I Would be Fascinated to Carry and Use a pocket knife from Over a Century ago!!

I would Like Advice on What do look for when shopping Very Old knives. I have begun to look At Empire Winsteds - What Other specific Brand Names can I plug in to my searches???

 

[lambertiana]

There are a number of brands to look at if you want something of good quality that is over 100 years old. A few of the major brands would be:

New York Knife Co (the original company, not later reincarnations)
Ulster Knife Co
Challenge
H&B
Southington
Empire
Walden


Some brands go back that far but also made knives well past that hundred year mark, such as Camillus, Remington, and Schrade.

There are so many brands to look at and others will chime in with other brands. If you see something you like, post pictures here or in Bernard Levine's subforum and ask about them. As long as you are not linking directly to an active ebay auction, we all can give information. Remember that a number of the older brand names have been resurrected more recently by other companies that have purchased the name rights for defunct brands. That is why it is important to ask before buying. And beware that, especially for the well known brands, counterfeits are numerous and some are quite clever (I have seen a fair number of very clever fakes posted on this forum by people who were unsuspecting buyers).

 

[r8shell]

Welcome! I am a big fan of carrying and using 100+ year old knives. They're really not too hard to find, unless you want one in pristine condition. I sometimes even prefer ones that show signs of use and wear, because I feel more comfortable sharpening and using a knife once its "museum quality" has been worn down.

I'd say start by checking out this thread:

Thread '"Old Knives"'

Jan 21, 2008

I myself do not have anything new to show off,that you have not seen me already show off,but,check this out ,not mine but just sharing
-Vince

• VCM3
• Replies: 27,446
• Forum: Traditional Folders and Fixed Blades

• 

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Cattaraugus Cutlery, Little Valley NY
G2

 

[Railsplitter]

Oh boy! You have taken on an incredible journey.

Lots of good advice in the previous posts. Enjoy it. You might sometimes be disappointed but with a little discretion and research, you will be well rewarded.

Personally, I would love to own an original Northfield knife in decent shape. Many things about the history of that brand strike my interest.

 

[Hickory n steel]

One thing I will suggest is to expand your parameters a bit up to pre war.
Your options should open up a bit, there won't be that much difference in knives, and realistically a number of companies had tang stamps that went for 10-30 years.
If it doesn't have to be positively confirmed as over 100 years old you'll have an easier time finding something with full blades and healthy back springs.

This Schrade walden pen knife that I recently received could be 109 years old or only 80 based on the tang stamp, and I could easily say over 100 if I wanted to.


The best advice I have is to avoid anything priced like it's valuable until you're experienced enough to avoid counterfeits ( it scares me how hard it is for me to tell ) anything is possible but there's little money in faking low value worn users and counterfeits aren't often used because people originally but them thinking they were valuable.

Also if you don't mind well used knives less blade than they started with you'll find far more options as well.
I'm cursed with an affinity for full blades, so knives this old are often out of my budget.

 

[afishhunter]

There are also:
Böker Tree Brand, , and several other Solingen, Germany makers.
Many makers in Sheffield England; such as Ibberson, A. Wright & Son, Westenholm (spelling?), Taylor's,and many more.
Until the mid 19th century, most cutlery in the USA was imported from Sheffield, England, and Solingen, Germany.
There are also French, Spanish, Italian and other Euro nations with cutler manufacturing traditions going back several hundred years.

Other high quality US bands to look for are pre-Depression Russell, Robeson, Utica, Illinois Cutlery, NOT GEC made Tidioute, and Nothfield UN-X-LD (both these brands date back to the 1800's)

There were literally hundreds of knife makers 100 years ago in the US, Germany, and England. Sadly, most went out of business before the great depression because the owner died.
(Challenge Cutlery shut down in 1928, because the founder and owner passed. Challenge was one of the first if not the first US cutlery company to offer stainless steel blades, starting in 1916.)

 

[not2sharp]

Howdy!!

I have completed my Reading of the entire message titled "Real Pocketworn Knives".

I now Have a Desire to seek out Very Old knives. I Would be Fascinated to Carry and Use a pocket knife from Over a Century ago!!

I would Like Advice on What do look for when shopping Very Old knives. I have begun to look At Empire Winsteds - What Other specific Brand Names can I plug in to my searches???

I would add that they need not be expensive, especially if you are looking for a good user. The collector premium usually applies to knives in excellent + condition. You should be able to find many solid examples with 5-10% wear that would last you the rest of your life.

N2s

 

[Recon_Tanto]

There are a number of brands to look at if you want something of good quality that is over 100 years old. A few of the major brands would be:

New York Knife Co (the original company, not later reincarnations)
Ulster Knife Co
Challenge
H&B
Southington
Empire
Walden


Some brands go back that far but also made knives well past that hundred year mark, such as Camillus, Remington, and Schrade.

There are so many brands to look at and others will chime in with other brands. If you see something you like, post pictures here or in Bernard Levine's subforum and ask about them. As long as you are not linking directly to an active ebay auction, we all can give information. Remember that a number of the older brand names have been resurrected more recently by other companies that have purchased the name rights for defunct brands. That is why it is important to ask before buying. And beware that, especially for the well known brands, counterfeits are numerous and some are quite clever (I have seen a fair number of very clever fakes posted on this forum by people who were unsuspecting buyers).

Thanks you for Such an informative response!!

How About the Brand line HOWARD??

I have been Seeking a Half Congress and this one was Listed as Circe 1890

I Will Certainly do more research on these Brands and the ""Old Knives"" topic!!

 

[r8shell]

Thanks you for Such an informative response!!

How About the Brand line HOWARD??

I have been Seeking a Half Congress and this one was Listed as Circe 1890

I Will Certainly do more research on these Brands and the ""Old Knives"" topic!!

You're always taking a risk on ebay, but if the price is low enough and you don't mind cleaning out decades of old wd-40 and pocket lint, you can find some treasures.

That Howard looks good to me.

Gratuitous photo: I have a "Howard Bros." that I don't know much about, but seems to date around the same time as "Howard" (1885-1905. according to Goins' Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings)

 

[lambertiana]

Thanks you for Such an informative response!!

How About the Brand line HOWARD??

I have been Seeking a Half Congress and this one was Listed as Circe 1890

I Will Certainly do more research on these Brands and the ""Old Knives"" topic!!

According to Goins, Howard was a brand name used by C. B. Barker. There are countless minor brands, the larger manufacturers did a lot of contract work for various businesses that wanted their own brand names.

One thing that should be done before purchasing anything like this is to ask if the blades have snap. Some of these older knives have no snap left and the blades just flop open or closed. If it is not expressly stated in the description and the seller won't answer that question then I would advise passing on it. This Howard looks nice if the price is right. I found the fleabay auction and the price is good (so far) and the seller says it has good snap. It has pin cracks on the mark side (one of them rather large), but if you are buying this as a user a little clear epoxy might be a good idea to make sure the crack doesn't turn into a bigger problem. r8shell does a lot of old knife rescues and could probably offer some advice about how to deal with that pin crack. Otherwise this looks like a good one.

 

[calm]

Victorinox or Wenger.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

https://flic.kr/p/2rZ1wZU

https://flic.kr/p/2rZ2dGk

G2

 

[black mamba]

I have several Robesons that were bought reasonably which can be dated from 1911-1939, so just as Hickory n steel said, could be 85 or even 115 years old. Quality made knives.

 

[Recon_Tanto]

I have several Robesons that were bought reasonably which can be dated from 1911-1939, so just as Hickory n steel said, could be 85 or even 115 years old. Quality made knives.

I enjoy the Looks of Those Robseon Brand pocket knives!! I will expand my search criteria to Include that Brand.

For Now I will seek out folders under $50.....

 

[Hickory n steel]

I enjoy the Looks of Those Robseon Brand pocket knives!! I will expand my search criteria to Include that Brand.

I wish you luck.
I'm probably not persistent enough and or don't search frequently enough, but I haven't found any yet that weren't highly priced.
It would also help to do some research and narrow in on a specific knife I'd like and do a saved search on eBay with email alerts.

I just know I wanted one of their pocket-eze knives, but not sure what pattern.

 

[dsutton24]

Not really advice, but an observation: Most people date knives as being much older than they really are. I would dig up some old books and learn the characteristics and manufacturers of the knives that you're interested in. The internet is highly variable as far as accuracy goes.

 

[black mamba]

. . . but I haven't found any yet that weren't highly priced.

The last one I posted, the black handled stockman, was purchased just last week off the bay for $40 shipped. I don't consider that highly priced.
It still has full blades and good snap, and if not for the patina you might think the knife only a few years old. They don't come along all the time, but they're out there.

 

[Hickory n steel]

The last one I posted, the black handled stockman, was purchased just last week off the bay for $40 shipped. I don't consider that highly priced.
It still has full blades and good snap, and if not for the patina you might think the knife only a few years old. They don't come along all the time, but they're out there.

That's good to hear, I guess I really need to get serious about looking.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I wish you luck.
I'm probably not persistent enough and or don't search frequently enough, but I haven't found any yet that weren't highly priced.
It would also help to do some research and narrow in on a specific knife I'd like and do a saved search on eBay with email alerts.

I just know I wanted one of their pocket-eze knives, but not sure what pattern.

Exactly most people who love old things like it when they're as old as can be.
The Schrade pen I posted could be from 1917 based on the tang stamp and a lot of eBay sellers would probably suggest so, but my gut feeling tells me 30's is most likely.