Vintage "Old Hickory" knives from Ontario Knife Co?

Cool info.

I just snagged a great condition Old Hickory 8" Chef Knife from the local flea market over Labor Day weekend. Cleaned it and sharpened it and was cutting my dinner the same day. Didn't need hardly any work. Cuts great and takes a wicked edge.

If I find another I'll probably modify it into a more santoku profile to mix it up some.
 
HARDBALL said:
Hi BC,

Nice find on the "Old Hickory 8" Chef Knife!" I'd like to find one of those OH Chef's myself. Here is what Jeremy of JKL Knives did with my old (found in the trash) broken "Old Hickory" Butcher Knife.
SCARY sharp! http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dtZhlUNuzOI/UxN6iAqkADI/AAAAAAAADxQ/p3Y8EZqqAp8/s1600/IMG_7766.jpg

HARDBALL
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Love the scales on that mod. Great contrast. Is that Bocote?

Here is a pic of the Chef Knife I picked up.
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I have an Old Hickory I'm working on. It's got a 10" blade that is thick at the spine and ground like a left handed Deba. It would be the perfect chicken knife for a lefty. I ground the tang for a Wa handle. I love Forgecrafts too they have the sweetest profile. Here's one I finished recently - round spine and choil and moved the new handle back a bit for better balance. The handle is ironwood, flame maple with cream/black/cream spacer and liner.

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I also like Forgecrafts. I have a couple Carvers I'm converting. I just recently finished one. Photos to come.

The Forgecraft Chef's are hard to find, especially the 10". They can get expensive on fleabay as I've bid on a couple 8" but let them slide. I'm very happy with my Old Hickory Chef, I just wish it was full tang like the Forgecrafts so I could replace the handles on it easier.

Edit for Photos

2 converted carvers. The front pin looks low because I removed some handle stock under it and the tang was too hard to redrill another pin hole.
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Shot of the bottom of the handle to show the Lacewood matrix from this angle.
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Any body else have some old Hickory or Forgecrafts they want to show off?

I might just start a new thread for kitchen knife mods since I've been working on a few myself.
 
Can anyone tell me what this knife is for, and maybe what vintage it is?
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Mine was also a swap meet rescue. It's become my favorite watermelon knife, but after seeing some of these mods, I'm considering making a bushcraft knife out of it. It would be an easy mod from the looks of it. I can find a cheap(er) knife for melons. This one was just a few bucks, but it's got soul Dang it! Absolutely love the patina too. No rust. My daughter left it in a wet sink over night (they know not to do that with a custom) a coating of red rust covered the blade and I was a little heartbroken, but it simply wiped off with a paper towel.

These are cool blades!
 
^^^That's a good looking Old Hickory Butcher knife. Looks to be a 7" blade, which is common. I'm not sure how old it is, but either way it is a good knife, and a great platform for customization. I would give it a go. If it turns out different than you want, the Butcher patterns are pretty common, so you should be able to get another to try again if you really want to.

Here is an old Dexter that I found at a thrift store. I dropped the point on it for a more Japanese style profile. Its a little thick at the edge from use and sharpening, but the spine is thin, so it should still slice very well. Plenty of life left in this blade from what I've seen of some old kitchen knives sharpened down to tooth picks.
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Very nice! The new Dexter Russell knives are junk, at least the ones I've used. The edge has an uncanny ability to roll, but also be chippy. :D

That one there I'd love to have. Thanks for telling me a bit more about my knife too.
 
CutsLikeAWife: I just bought a Butcher Knife as illustrated in your first picture. It was shiny until I wrapped it in a White Vinegar-soaked paper towel and aluminum foil for 45 minutes. It now wears a neat "forced patina". This will help prevent the accumulation of the "demon red/brown" rust. The Paring Knife looks the same, and holds a razor's edge.

The nice part about these knives is that they will out-perform most of what passes for kitchen cutlery from China. I am so glad I bought these knives and will buy their 8" slicer next month.

"USA born" in the 1890's and branded "Old Hickory" in 1924, the 1095 carbon steel of their blades is excellent and will likely outlive me. at $10.00 + shipping NIB the "Old Hickory" line has more to offer than a number of other makers at triple the price.

Kitchen cutlery's "best kept secret".
 
deltaboy said:
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My Collection
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Yeah, buddy! That's the stuff! They work and work well. Ontario Knife Company has been doing this since the last decade of the nineteenth century. This says a lot for the "ancient" 1095 steel alloy. Yes, some modern kitchen knives can hold an edge while retaining a status of being stainless (VG 10 springs to mind). The problem with the cutlery manufactured from this steel is the cost of the materials and workmanship.

"Old Hickory" has the wonderful attributes of:

a) Lower cost,

b) great edge holding ability,

c) great "antique" looks.

While it has it's drawbacks, 1095 carbon steel has more in the "plus" column than in the "minus".

Great collection, Deltaboy. :thumbup:
 
Thanks Captain the top on a custom one by late Bill Mayfield of Clarendon Ark. It made from recycled Saw Mill Band Saw Blades , Recycled Solid Copper Ground Wire and Cedar Wood from his yard. I cut the Holiday Hams and Turkeys with it.

The Cleaver is a Utica. And Slices like William Wallace's Broad Sword ...... I stretched that one a wee bit but ham bones do cry uncle. :D
 
Knives and kitchen cutlery like this is few and far between. You're fortunate to have some of the early examples of great cutlers. As Bill DeShivs has observed, it's a dying art. While the "Old Hicory" line may be a bit "rough around the edges", for the most part they're solid useful knives.

Today's people are a bit "soft" and like to have everything "polished". The "Old Hickory" line has a solid history of service since 1924 and Ontario Knife Company has been around prior to that. This should tell us that this type of kitchen cutlery has a permanent place in America's kitchens and those around the globe.
 
nice knives. old hickory are some of best basic kitchen knives around. since they were made by the millions, unless you have a one off in perfect condition with box...., they are not worth much $$ wise. i would sharpen them to a razor edge and use them in the kitchen till they wear out.
scott
 
Many of you know the Old Hickory knife line made by Ontario Knife. They are solid basic high carbon steel kitchen knives that are great values. I love to mod them since you can get these knives for less than $10. This was a 7" blade kitchen knives that I cut and re-profiled the blade, blued the blade, reworked and sanded the hickory scales and finished with a light coat of finger rubbed tong oil. This knives are easy to sharpen and hold a very nice edge. It makes a nice inexpensive camp/utility/feasting knife. The sheath pictured here is another good value, its a leather sheath made of the Kabar fighting knife and it fits these OH knives perfectly.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Ka-Bar-...hash=item5ae72f1f0e:m:miqoCLSdniGo8y5-C3eUm_w







 
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