RE: I Inherited a massive knife collection

The link works. Have you had these appraised? There's a couple of really nice knives in the photos.
 
David Yellowhorse should be reachable from here: http://www.yellowhorseltd.com/home.html

The other stuff, as far as I can tell, is all production cutlery. If it were mine to deal with, I'd divide it up and assess values based on brand first. That way you can weed out a large number of low-value items (by selling in bulk or whatnot) and have less work to do when assessing the rest of it.
 
They look like relatively cheap knives thus far. I don't think I saw one in that first set of pictures that would fetch more than $15-25. Winchester, Colt, and Rough Rider are "value" brands for the most part, but I don't know much about their extended catalog and there may be some gems in there.

Also, you're going to want to go into your permission groups in your profile. Go to Settings > My account > Permission groups, select the gold membership level and save. Otherwise, nobody can tell you have a gold membership.
 
Wow, that's a mixed bag. It's going to be impossible to extrapolate a value of the entire collection based on those examples.

Most are low-priced current-production imports. For example, that Rough Rider USMC is only $35 brand new. Many of the others are probably $5-10 each, even brand new.

On the other hand, that David Yellowhorse is quite collectible, and one just like it sold on eBay recently for nearly $300.
Link to completed auction:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/David-Yello...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Fortunately with those pics, it seems like every knife is a common brand name. You should have no trouble looking up values using the same method. Custom knives, vintage knives, uncommon knives, or off-brand knives are much more difficult to valuate.
 
Bob W said:
Wow, that's a mixed bag. It's going to be impossible to extrapolate a value of the entire collection based on those examples.

Most are low-priced current-production imports. For example, that Rough Rider USMC is only $35 brand new. Many of the others are probably $5-10 each, even brand new.

On the other hand, that David Yellowhorse is quite collectible, and one just like it sold on eBay recently for nearly $300.
Link to completed auction:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/David-Yello...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Fortunately with those pics, it seems like every knife is a common brand name. You should have no trouble looking up values using the same method. Custom knives, vintage knives, uncommon knives, or off-brand knives are much more difficult to valuate.
Click to expand...

Yea I guess most of them are going to be common. Like those larger hunting knives at a glace I have about 20 each give or take. Then like a hundred more in other brands or styles. I just saw another one of those david knives sell for 400 ish on a website. So maybe I will luck out and get a few more gems.

That survivor knife seems neat tho. Having the hilt be a bit of rope. But I have about 10 of them so they must be a novelty knife also.
 
p.s. If, after going through the collection, you end up with a few knives you can't figure out yourself... Bladeforums has a sub-forum dedicated to knife identification. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/f...-Levine-s-Knife-Collecting-amp-Identification
To get good information out of that forum, or anywhere else, you'll need good quality photos. A flat view of the overall knife is critical, but so are closeup pictures of stamps and markings and other unique features.

Wish I could see the pile in person; I could probably cherry-pick the more interesting, collectible, and potentially-valuable knives for you to focus efforts on.

Best luck to you, and I'm sorry for your recent loss.
 
novic3 said:
I just saw another one of those david knives sell for 400 ish on a website.
Click to expand...

You really have to closely match the knives. I saw some others that were similar to yours that sold for $500 or more, but they weren't the exact same.

That survivor knife seems neat tho. Having the hilt be a bit of rope. But I have about 10 of them so they must be a novelty knife also.
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with that exact marking, but to me it looks like flea market fodder. Maybe $10 when brand new, but worth even less on the secondary market. But again you have to look close and do the research; a similar-looking knife with a cord-wrapped handle by an actual maker or a higher-end production company could be worth hundreds of dollars.
 
lol, Im not trying to brag at all its more of me just complaining. But that's not even half of the crap in that room.

Organizing and researching all this is going to take a while. My family is tempted to grab the local pawn shop and just strike a deal.

None of us really want to deal with it. Im probably the one who has the most motivation. And im still trying to decided if its worth the work. I dont even know how to sell these common ones. Ebay seems tedious. I dont think I can unload a lot on Craigslist.

Maybe I can open my own traveling knife shop and hit up the county fairs. A once a month.

Im not nor is my family knife enthusiast at all. Just my wife's old man.
 
novic3 said:
Here is a pic of what Im working with. You can see why I have been a bit reluctant to dig into the room.

twreo3u.jpg
Click to expand...

It all looks like very recent stuff, although I can't read any of the boxes in that picture. And lots of boxes that all look the exact same, as if the collector was actually a flea market seller, or perhaps had recently bought out some store's or seller's inventory.

For quick sorting, anything that says Rough Rider, Fury, White Tail, or Chippewa are all low-price imports. You could find success selling them on eBay or a flea market or garage sale. Probably no one selling on consignment will be interested.
Brands that are very popular today and would sell fast for good money are Great Eastern Cutlery, Canal Street, Benchmade, Spyderco...
Mid-range brands: Buck, Case, USA Schrade, USA Old Timer, Gerber. Most models aren't worth much, but there are serious collectors that chase those brands and some specific models could be very valuable.
Custom knives or handmade knives... It's a toss up. Find a vintage knife by a well-known maker and it could be worth thousands. Find a 'custom' knife that was made from a kit by a neighbor's uncle, and you could have a hard time giving it away.
 
Looks like someone watched that show that sold like 200 knives for $100.00

You will know for sure when you find the "Whitehouse sword"..A true thing of beauty..
 
Find someone trustworthy that knows knives to help you out.

Selling them on Ebay might be the best method, but that will take a lot of time.

It would be better to sort through the mass and separate out the "junk" from the good stuff.

The photos are not very clear to be able to tell what you have. Yellowhorse knives can be worth money, but there are a lot of Chinese knock-off Yellowhorse knives out there.
 
the rough rider commemorative bowie was a standard issue back in WW2. i like the design. by case, i think.

$_12.JPG
 
The green boxes are hen and rooster I think. Honestly I think he was just ordering out of those knife magazines / catalogs.

I think there is a crap ton of Master Cutlery also. In another bedroom I came across a lot of Marine style swords. Obviously there not original's but I dont know if there some foreign knock offs or some sort of "official" approved reproductions.

Buck is another brand I see a lot so I guess I lucked out there.
 
I dont recall seeing any Case brand. But I have barley skimmed the surface.

Pics where taken with my phone its all i had available at the time.

Next week or the week after is when I will put any real focus on that room. As it stands now were still cleaning the house and just adding to the pile with what seems dozens of knives every day.

But this thread has all ready been pretty helpful. I will return with better pictures over the weekend. Wont be going over there for a few days.
 
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