Sweet Home Alabamy - A Doglegged Cat is Homeward Bound

Primble

Primble

Gold Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
8,640
I'm Alabama bound, Alabama bound,
If you like me, honey babe, you've got to leave this town.
She said, "Don't you leave me here, don't you leave me here,
But, sweet papa, if you must go, leave a dime for beer.

If this train don't stop and turn around
I'm Alabamy bound, I'm Alabamy bound


Cat boarding train:

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last saw 3:00 p.m. Monday on a train leaving town and south-bound:

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Cat, after her make over, visiting with her Kinfolk - other Cats

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I posted this as a private message to Old & in the Way, but, I thought he would not mind if I shared the post with others here. I thought a few might be interested:

Stephen,

I got back from my walk yesterday and learned that Dogleg Cat had packed up and left town. My neighbor, who had grown quite fond of her, told me that he saw her with her bags/wrap and she told him that she was home sick and off to the train station. I jumped in my car and sped to the train station, however, as I pulled up, I noticed Cat boarding the train and waving goodbye to me. ;)

I will have to say that she looked quite beautiful to me as she closed the door and the train sped away, before I could make it to the station. The train station master told me that she told him she was on her way home, to the lovely coast of Alabama. He told me that she had told him of her vacation in the Bluegrass and about her make-over. He said that she was quite the looker. He said that she told him that she was proud of her "new look" and that she expected she would turn a lot of heads, back in the deep south. He said the last thing she uttered was that she enjoyed her stay, but, was tired of all the picture sessions and that her heart was still in Alabamy.

I asked the station master if he could verify the destination and he handed me this:

USPS Tracking Number: (Old & in the Way only)

Please let me know when/if she makes it home and then I can rest easy, knowing that the beauty made it home safely.

I took a lot of pictures of Cat during her stay and I will supply them to you, after I know that she has made it home. Maybe you can post them in the "Old knives thread". She made me promise not to show you too much until she could surprise you, upon her arrival home.

Photos of Cat when she arrived on her vacation:
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Best regards,
Primble
 
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People do get attached to knives! Especially when they are beautiful!!
:D

Tell us more of the story, Primble!!
:confused:
 
waynorth said:
People do get attached to knives! Especially when they are beautiful!!
:D

Tell us more of the story, Primble!!
:confused:
Click to expand...

OK - sorry Waynorth - there are a few members that might remember my post last week on this old Cattaraugus knife, which actually belongs to Old & in the Way. I posted it as my carry of the day over in the "What Traditional Knife are you totin today thread".

I posted a before and after teaser photo for Stephen to see, after I had worked on the knife for a little while. The post generated some interest from some of the members and that is why I am posting it now. I only included the one after photo of the knife at this time because I wanted to tease Stephen a little more and I wanted him to be somewhat surprised when the knife gets back home.

This all came about when we had a private conversation about restoring old knives and I offered to restore a knife for Old & in the Way. He declined at first, but, we later made a deal on the restoration of the one knife he characterized as "special" to him. The degree of restoration was determined by him and I tried to comply with how I understood he wanted it finished.

Hope that helps and I will post or Stephen can post some opened blades photos after he gets to see it. :D

It is a good thing that she departed while I was out for my walk because I had become rather attached to that beautiful ole Southern Belle! ;):p

Here is part of the reply from Stephen and I enjoyed the song:

I enjoyed reading about Cat's travels, and the Alabamy Bound lyrics were a great touch and made me smile. I suspect it's not a song too many people are still familiar with and I'm not sure what that says about either of us ;), but again, it was a terrific touch. Of the many renditions/versions, my favorite is Lead Belly's 1940 recording and that's what I was hearing in my head as I read your message (although his lyrics were a little different). Here's a link to his recording that I found on YouTube,
if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlvTTzw4t2c.


P.S. - not intended in any way of generating interest for me restoring knives - my fingers are too sore! :D
 
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This is already a fun thread that I have saved on my favorites. Can't wait to hear the rest of the story.

Waynorth ~ I believe I would become attached to her as well.
 
This should be interesting...
 
Primble: I don't mind you sharing this at all. To my thoughts, it's an interesting story which you've done a great job telling, and your knife restoration magic is just too terrific not to share.

For everyone else: I thought the knife was beautiful before I sent it to Primble for a makeover, and based upon the two pictures he has let me see so far ;) he's far exceeded my wildest hopes for how nice it could look. I'm really looking forward to seeing it in person, and as I understand Primble has taken a few more photos of it, will ask that he post those once I let him know that 'Cat' is back home in my hands. You've all seen plenty of his photos and mine, so you'll already know that his will be infinitely better than mine. :)

As we are all aware, this forum abounds with wonderful and wonderfully generous members, and Primble is certainly in my mind one of our finest. The Cattaraugus adventure he described above began when I reached out to him to inquire about his techniques for restoring old knives. He patiently answered all of my questions and then went a step further and offered to Primble-ize (credit to Gevonovich) one of my old knives. That opportunity proved too enticing to pass up, so we finally reached a 'deal' that we could both live with - although now I'm having a tough time doing just that as the 'deal' was ultimately far too skewed in my favor. My problem in rectifying that situation is that Primble is one of the few people that I've encountered who is as stubborn as I am. I'm hoping in the end though that my dogged-determination will win out against his good nature and unselfishness. To be continued...

I'm fortunate enough to own some really nice knives, both new and old, made by some terrific production and custom makers, but I'm looking forward to my "Primble-ized" Dogleg more than any of the rest. :D
 
Old & In The Way said:
I'm fortunate enough to own some really nice knives, both new and old, made by some terrific production and custom makers, but I'm looking forward to my "Primble-ized" Dogleg more than any of the rest. :D
Click to expand...

I told you not to expect TOO MUCH and now you say this. :eek:

This is going to be a train wreck! :eek:

Oh - I hope not - I forgot that Cat is on a train, heading home. :o

"Primble-ized" - another nickname - ohh - I am afraid this one might stick too - thanks to my BF friends Gevonovich and Stephen! :cool:

A closeup photo of the clip blade upon arrival:
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Nice and full blade, but, some pretty ugly scratches. I am confident that it was in the same condition that Stephen found it. ;)
 
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I have added another closed picture and will add the opened photos when I hear she has arrived home safely:

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Nice thread Primble, great pics as always, and great work. Your beautiful knife just got even more lovely Stephen :)
 
I got home from work today and happily found a package postmarked from the Bluegrass State. The old Cattaraugus had made it home and in far better condition in every way than when it left. Primble warned me not to get my expectations too high, but as I've already told him; he vastly exceeded my highest hopes.

Happily I now have an answer to a question that I've struggled with in the past; 'What's your favorite knife?' :D

Hopefully, Primble can be lured back into this thread and persuaded to post some of the photos he took. I've taken a few, but think it would be a disservice to his work not to have the photos from the master himself.

Primble - thank you my friend!
 
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Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. bone handled Dogleg Jack, Little Valley, N.Y., 1950's or earlier era.
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Stephen,

I was glad to hear from you and learn that Cat made it back home safely. She was a welcome guest for about one week. I hope she impresses you as much as she did me and also my neighbor, who was quite star struck by her good looks. I wanted to add a little bit of advice for some of those that think they might be interested in restoring an old knife.

Some of my experiences:

I recognize that restoring an old knife might be a touchy subject for some knife owners or collectors, but, I ask you to understand that the knives which I restore nearly always have one or more conditions that many knife owners would find undesirable.

I just ask you to be a bit open-minded about it.

I used to be against it, but, as years passed by, I discovered that I had been missing something. Since I started restoring some of my old knives, I have learned quite a bit and it has become another and separate hobby, which I also find very enjoyable.

One thing that I want to stress is that I have always collected antiques and have refinished or restored some fine old antiques. I always let the antique or old knife's condition provide me with information on where I want to take the knife or where I should take it. I think I have also learned when to stop.

That could mean simply cleaning the knife and removing the germs and pretty much leaving it as found, or a more thorough cleaning and some light rubbing to make the knife look nice and sleek. The condition of the knife and my imagination of where I want the knife to end up dictates the amount of time spent.

I do not try to remove all traces of wear from an old knife. It took me quite a while to learn that you can easily over clean and ruin the antique aura and/or value of the knife. I usually leave the back springs alone or just a quick gentle rub and the same with the tangs. I leave the little good pits and again only lightly rub them. If you are taking material from the tang stamps or making the tang stamps less visible, I would say you should not and stop.

On some knives, I might fix a spot or two on a blade(s) and then re-patina them. My usual goal is to give the knife a fresh look or clean look, but, at the same time, retain some of it's age or use marks, which give it an old timey character.

About the best advice I can give you is if you decide to take on an old knife restoration, is be patient and hand clean. Stop and examine often.

I am not an expert restorer, but, have gained some experience at it, and just wanted to pass along some information. :)

I borrowed this edited graphic from another member, with his permission. The correct pronounciation for Cattaraugus is:
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It is really quite amazing what you have done. Thanks for sharing.
 
Cat-a-raw-goose.
Primble-ize.
Learning new things everyday!

Thanks also for sharing your insight on restoration of knives. I don't have the slightest idea about knife repair/restoration and I don't own any old knives but I read all the information you provided with rapt interest. Like I said, new things to learn from here everyday.
Linus
 
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