Post your ordinary used knives. [Injudicious Revival: Let's let it die again]l

[screened porch]

I have one of those pearl-oid fish knives, if it's a Colonial.
Here's the first expensive knife I bought. I saved up $30 or so in the early 1970s. I was surprised when it turned out to be non-stainless.

 

[5K Qs]

...
I finally replaced the missing shield on my $2.00 Boker USA stockman: head of a roofing nail, flat side down. Pic coming.
And yes, I look very like Errol Flynn, in my dreams.
...

Pretty creative shield replacement! :thumbup::thumbup:
As for resemblance to Errol Flynn, I knew it, I just knew it!!

Thanks, Gary. :thumbup:
I'm trying to figure out what to do with this old Imperial. If inspiration hits, and I have the time, it'll probably be the next project.
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How big is that Imperial DE, Rachel? Is the handle celluloid over metal shell? I'm trying to figure out how closely it resembles an Imperial Diamond Edge I recently got from Markesharp. Mine is very slender, and has no cell left.

I look forward to seeing those beauts all gussied up.

I'll post pics here after my makeover attempt; don't expect some kind of Bruce Jenner to "Kaitlyn" transformation! I'm open to suggestions on how to polish up the handles of the Holub; I think the "red and smoky" could look really good if I can "bring it out".

Jack, I'm not gonna quote your post because it's just too full of cool old "ordinary" knives.

Ain't that the truth!! General Black overwhelmed us with superior force!! :thumbup::thumbup:

Here's a bunch of good old American knives in good old ordinary Delrin.
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That's an impressive collection, Rachel! It shows the kind of knives that pop into MY mind's eye when someone says, "Jack knives".

...This thread gives me a chance to post a pic of an unusual Imperial camp knife I recently acquired. It has a nice sheepsfoot and a screwdriver/scraper blade like a TL-29. With it is my favoritest ordinary knife... a USA Schrade 34OT.
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Dave, do you think the blades on the Imperial are "original equipment"? From the photo, I jumped to the conclusion that the screwdriver blade might have been a mod of a broken tip clip; any possibility of that?

- GT

 

[r8shell]

How big is that Imperial DE, Rachel? Is the handle celluloid over metal shell? I'm trying to figure out how closely it resembles an Imperial Diamond Edge I recently got from Markesharp. Mine is very slender, and has no cell left.

It's pretty chunky: 4", and I think it's celluloid over metal. It's got clipped on bolsters, and sounds sort of hollow if I tap the sides.
I don't know yet if I want to remove the cell or not.

I'll post pics here after my makeover attempt; don't expect some kind of Bruce Jenner to "Kaitlyn" transformation! I'm open to suggestions on how to polish up the handles of the Holub; I think the "red and smoky" could look really good if I can "bring it out".

If the covers are plastic, there are some products available to shine them up. If they are celluloid, it might be better to not do much beyond simple cleaning.

That's an impressive collection, Rachel! It shows the kind of knives that pop into MY mind's eye when someone says, "Jack knives".

- GT

Thanks.

 

[Jack Black]

I've never seen an Imperial like that (or anything else either, I guess). Is the screwdriver blade sharp-edged?

Me neither, interesting knife Dave :thumbup:

I like that truck knife Wazu

 

[davek14]

Pretty creative shield replacement! :thumbup::thumbup:


Dave, do you think the blades on the Imperial are "original equipment"? From the photo, I jumped to the conclusion that the screwdriver blade might have been a mod of a broken tip clip; any possibility of that?

- GT

The blades were unsharpened or modded.

"In like Flynn"

Dave

PS: On the Holub... Does it have Swinden key construction?

I liked the look of the knife myself and would have left the wood slabs alone except for furniture polish or lemon oil. Has a lot of blade play though.

Don't do the complete Kaitlyn makeover though. I'm guessing that would entail a pocket clip and thumbstud. A spa treatment might suffice.

 

[Jack Black]

Ain't that the truth!! General Black overwhelmed us with superior force!! :thumbup::thumbup:

LOL! I have cupboards full of ordinaryness! :thumbup:

 

[5K Qs]

It's pretty chunky: 4", and I think it's celluloid over metal. It's got clipped on bolsters, and sounds sort of hollow if I tap the sides.
I don't know yet if I want to remove the cell or not.
..
If the covers are plastic, there are some products available to shine them up. If they are celluloid, it might be better to not do much beyond simple cleaning.
...
Thanks.

Thanks for the follow-up, Rachel. Your Imperial Diamond Edge is definitely much larger than the one I have. That Holub TL-29 has synthetic handles, but I don't think they're celluloid; more like Delrin or Bakelite, I think.

The blades were unsharpened or modded.

"In like Flynn"

Dave

PS: On the Holub... Does it have Swinden key construction?

I liked the look of the knife myself and would have left the wood slabs alone except for furniture polish or lemon oil. Has a lot of blade play though.

Don't do the complete Kaitlyn makeover though. I'm guessing that would entail a pocket clip and thumbstud. A spa treatment might suffice.

Thanks, Dave. I'm quite sure the Holub is Schrade-made, and I've learned at BF that the words "Schrade" and "Swinden key" are associated, but I don't think I can recognize Swinden key construction "in the wild". I can see no hint of a pivot pin circle on either bolster, but given my inexperience (and vision), that may not mean much. I do know I can put the tip of a screwdriver between bolster and cover, and with not much pressure, pry the bolster so it's slanted a bit. So the bolsters are not real tight.

LOL! I have cupboards full of ordinaryness! :thumbup:

Maybe we need a photo of cupboards instead of kitchen table sometime!

- GT

 

[screened porch]

Thanks, 5KQs. I like that shield replacement myself. The hole was bugging me, and I'm a lot better at cobbling together things that don't belong together than I am at doing a proper job with proper tools and materials.

Just by the way, in case anyone thinks my Errol Flynn fancy is a serious delusion, let me stipulate:
I may be close to Flynn's height and coloring, but I have the hair of Yul Brynner, the face of Red Skelton, the abs of Orson Wells in his California-wine-advertising days, and the walk of Walter Brennan (in John Wayne's Rio Lobo or Rio Bravo, or perhaps both- the one where they called him Stumpy.) And I have a fair grasp of reality still.

My re-shielded Boker has just a little lateral blade play. I think they may have ground the tang a little thinner than the spring, in which case squeezing and peening won't help, so I'll leave it alone unless it gets worse.

 

[FordRanger]

I'd like to think that most of my knife accumulation is full of "ordinary" knives. I only own a couple of knives worth any real money because I use my knives a great deal and I don't want to accidentally ruin a nice knife. Once I am out of college and have a better job that will all change, because I catch myself drooling over GEC's every time I get on here; but for now I am very content with my "cheap" knives, and I agree with you that it just doesn't seem to fit right to post them along side others' very expensive knives.

First off is the second knife I ever owned, a Vic Deluxe Tinker from before they added the package hook. I've used this on countless scout campouts, and learned the hard way when I forgot to bring it why it is that a set of screwdrivers, toothpick, tweezers, scissors, and pliers are so necessary when you're surrounded by boys who don't know how to take care of camping equipment. It probably isn't worth much of anything, but its worth a lot to me, and its seen years of heavy use without showing much of it at all.



Second off is a John Primble folding hunter that was and still is my grandfather's. He carried it for years while I was a child, solidifying in my mind that a real man was supposed to carry a big knife that could take care of any job with ease, and to this day I don't like going without a knife that has a blade under 3.5 inches, though I can't really find a reason most of the time. These days the skinner blade is rusted shut, and he uses the main to clean fish with. When I looked it up to find out what brand it was in the first place, I found them for sale for very low prices so I plan on getting a duplicate for myself in better condition.



This knife might cause a disturbance in the force somewhere, but I like it for what it is. Taylor/Schrade is starting to make their Schrade copies nicer these days, probably due to all the bad press they got from doing it in the first place. I found this 858OT on sale at an online knife site and picked it up. At the time I only had small stockmen, and I was wanting a large Stockman for general carry and especially for camping. It still looks brand new but it has done a great deal of work cutting wire insulation, preparing meals, opening packages, and a lot of other ordinary cutting tasks, and the edge stays for a surprisingly long amount of time. Its cheap, but I like it. It showed me that "xl" Stockmen were the perfect knife for me, and I got a Buck 307 because of it. Now I use both a lot, but I do admittedly prefer the 307, just like everything else Camillus and Buck made/make.



This knife has been on my belt for a lot of hours, especially when I'm only carrying traditionals. I keep needing to open a knife one-handed, so when I'm only carrying slip joints a fixed blade solves the problem. Its small enough and old-timey enough that people just think it looks cool. I get people asking me if I'm a montain man or something with it on; but maybe that's just the scraggly beard talking. It slices cheese and every other food like it was nothing, and looks great while doing it. The sheath was one of the first I ever made, and it works admirably. Technically speaking though, this is the second one, as the first knife had its handle mangled while still in the sheath, so I just bought another and kept on going.



Finally the last knife in my long diatribe of ordinary knives, a knife that makes me smile just looking at it. I couldn't believe how cheap it was on the auction site, as I had lost out on three other Craftsman stockmen before this. Everything is tight, but the patina on it makes it look old beyond its years. It came butter knife-dull, but sharpened up faster than any knife I've ever sharpened. It has sparked in me the desire to start my first legitimate "collection," Craftsman branded knives. I always liked their tools, and still do despite what I've heard about their quality decline, and collecting their knives from days gone by just fits me perfectly. The bolsters are very worn but show no sign of pins, so I'm assuming its a Schrade 8OT variant, anyone want to confirm? I don't have an 8OT to compare to (yet..)



This is my take on your request for old/ordinary knives, thanks for reading! I just like showing off my knives like the rest of us :thumbup:

 

[Getahl]

Great knives, gang. Thanks for sharing. I have one or two nice ones with a bit of bone missing like a couple of Gev's. I'll have to try the dyed epoxy gambit on them.
I finally replaced the missing shield on my $2.00 Boker USA stockman: head of a roofing nail, flat side down. Pic coming.
And yes, I look very like Errol Flynn, in my dreams.

Hah, I did the same thing with a Colt Canoe, but with the head of a pan head screw.

Here is my contribution, my sapphire Classic. It was bought new at Target about eight years ago. The scissor spring has been replaced. The scales are reversed and Gooped in place. The knife blade is scraped up and sharpened down only a little, maybe 15%. It is my most frequently carried knife, because I sit at a desk most days, and I really only need it to cut the straps off a box of printer paper every so often. I have a paring knife in my lunch box if I need to cut anything bigger up for lunch, along with a spork and a small cutting board. It's scraped glue and gunk, trimmed nose hairs on a weekly basis, turned countless screws on my children's toys, tightened knobs on drawers and cabinet doors, pulled staples, and even helped change the brake lights in my Honda Pilot. It's inexpensive, easily replaceable, non-threatening, and not at all noticeable in the pocket of a pair of slacks. It's just about the perfect knife for my workday life.

I don't have pictures of them, but my two other beater knives are my Mora #2, with the red barrel handle and carbon blade, about four inches, and an Antonini Sodbuster, which is stainless and 3-1/4" long in the blade, which looks very much like the brown Mule. The Mora is pretty beat, and is the knife I stick in my pocket when out in the yard. It cuts sod and branches and bags of mulch and bark just dandy. The sodbuster is in better shape than my other two beaters, only by virtue of the fact that it's newer. Along with the Mora, it's my dirty knife. I like the feel of it in handle, nice heft, and has a point, unless my Case Sodbusters. Between the three, I think I paid all of $35 total. Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

 

[Brumby53]

A couple of nice old German Stockman Pattern Knives

 

[screened porch]

Brumby53, sorry I can't see your pictures.
FordRanger and Getahl, a Vic is sure hard to beat for practicality and endurance. I have one that went through a beverage-can-return compactor and is somewhat the worse for wear. I have to send it to Switzerland and see if they can fix it.
I like that sheath, Ford- it reminds me of one I made out of a '70s purse discarded by a girl named Irene. Except you did a better job than I did. And I think you're right about the Craftsman- it looks like a Schrade sheepfoot to me.

 

[Sonnemann]

I've never seen an Imperial like that (or anything else either, I guess). Is the screwdriver blade sharp-edged?

Dad's scout knife

 

[leghog]

In my pocket every day. Craftsman9507/Ulster 180. Made in the Imperial Knife Associated Companies Schrade-Walden plant in Ellenville, NY shortly after fire destroyed the plant in Walden, NY in 1958.

 

[AreBeeBee]

This knife or one of its relatives — meaning a 4-blade Scout/camper pattern, of which I have perhaps a dozen in all — is on board just about every day:

...along with a Vic Classic, for most of the same reasons Getahl mentioned (post #50).

 

[AreBeeBee]

Dad's scout knife

Sonnemann, that's a very interesting scout knife — who made it? Was the sheepsfoot main blade originally like that — or is it a reshaped spear blade? And the shorty "TL-29" screwdriver blade (instead of an awl) is unusual — and lastly, that's a curious scale pattern!

 

[Jack Black]

Maybe we need a photo of cupboards instead of kitchen table sometime!

LOL! You're right GT, that old table looks worse everytime I photograph it! :thumbup:

I really like that photo Leghog :thumbup:

 

[r8shell]

the ultimate ordinary user:


Or maybe it's this one:


They sure made a lot of 'em, but I still hate to think they could eventually become rare due to attrition.

 

[5K Qs]

Rachel, that's a splendid little single-blade Old Timer! :thumbup::thumbup:
I still haven't learned my common OT models.
What model is that and how big is it? Thanks.

- GT

 

[jc57]

Single blade is the 12OT, I believe it is called the Pal.