Vintage Traditionals?

[Tsujigiri]

I did a little searching and couldn't find much on this, but I might just be incompetent. I'm sure there's a decent supply of used vintage traditional folders out there, but I have no idea how to discern the good ones from the bad ones (not many antique shops here, so I can't handle them. I'd be buying online). Are there a few easy to find and good quality brands I can keep an eye out for? Are vintage folders a better buy for the price compared to modern traditionals? I suspect some of you traditional guys might collect fountain pens, too, so I guess I'd be looking for the knife equivalent of an Esterbrook J or Eversharp Skyline. I know the RI Imperials are pretty common and cheap; I suspect they'd be better than similarly priced Rough Riders. Any others? Thanks in advance!

 

[WA Martin]

Someone else will stop by with more appropriate advice but I think a lot of it will be trial and error. As you read the threads you will find that cetain brands have had their good years, their bad years, their good management, their bad management, their good materials, their not so good materials. You will have to form your own opinions and you will eventually settle into knowing what you like and what you're comfortable paying for it. My personal opinion is that the Rough Riders are much superior to the imperials. I bought one and the fit and finish was horrible. I kept it to remind myself not to expect too much out of a $9 knife. It's one thing if you by a cheap knife. It's another if you buy what you think is a "good" knife at a cheap price and it turns out to be a cheap knife at a expensive price (compared to the quality you expected.)

 

[silenthunterstudios]

Trial and error, definitely. Lots of Imperials and Colonials out there, but they're not bad knives. I think I used up all of my luck on Monday when I found a couple of old Remingtons hidden in a display case (the dealer must not have wanted to sell them). I wish I had taken pics, but one, with beautiful wood scales, barely had any blades left, from being sharpened down so much. A really nice looking cigar stockman had a bad case of the wiggles, and the one I bought, a serpentine jack I think, was pretty heavily sharpened but had a lot of blade left.

I've seen a few other Remingtons, notably a big barlow with a broken pen blade, at a local junk shop. The price is too high, but the walk and talk on the main blade is great.

I've found a few Kutmaster/Utica models at flea markets and gun shows. I've also found knives that have been re worked, new parts etc, at different junk shops, sold as originals, or no explanation at all.

I've gotten hosed a couple times, hopefully learned from my mistakes. I was all too excited to find a Kabar barlow one time, and realized I'd overpaid for it. Same with a couple other knives. At one junk shop, there is a really nice Case barehead trapper, but it is overpriced for me. Might be cheap, but I am not willing to pay the asked price, and the dealer has never emailed me back concerning my offer (not lowballing).

Other than my ideas of what I like in a knife, I look for snap, walk and talk, the scales are still there, the blades aren't worn down or rusted out. A little bit of wiggle is one thing, sharpened nubs or a blade that feels like it might go backwards are a no no for me.

I found an old Vess two blade jack for about 8 bucks at the same junk mall I found the Remington jack at, sent it in to someone to be cleaned up and fixed (missing a pin). I bought an old Camillus daddy barlow at another junk mall, with the intentions of sending it back to the same guy for a new spring. An old, well used knife doesn't bother me, and people crow about not restoring an old knife, but I don't care. I love to carry these old knives.

I really enjoy visiting knife shops, gunshops, sporting goods stores, anywhere that has a knife selection. But you just can't pass up hunting for these old blades at the junk malls, flea markets, antique shops, yard sales etc. I've gotten great deals on old kitchen knives too. If you look long enough, you'll find the good stuff. I've gotten a few full kitchen sets, with block, for a couple dollars.

York County PA is my favorite hunting ground, but from about Chambersburg to Lancaster, I've found a few good knives. You'll get a feel for where to look.

Unless you are collecting a specific brand, I would look at everything out there. Not just slipjoints, but old fixed blades, and ethnic knives like puukkos and douk douks. I see a lot of Kabar, Case, and a few Remingtons and even an old Marbles.

The thrill of the hunt is what it's all about.

 

[Tsujigiri]

Thanks! Looks like it will be a learning experience.

 

[LKJW]

Camillus, Schrade...you can generally tell pretty well buying online if there are good pics and the seller has a good reputation. Old timers abound. Old work patterns like TL-29s are a good bet. Made in the USA with carbon steel blades, hard to go wrong.

 

[coniferwoodsman]

Tsuji, any vintage Old Timer will give you an "Esterbrook" feel, with the older Ulster made ones equating the more rare Esties. Camillus is a good match as well, particularly in relation to their abundance in the wild. Both pens were considered " working class", so any vintage stockman, trapper,etc. would fill te bill in that view. Like most have said, it is trial and error. If you have an affinity for pens then this may lead down the path of no return, pocket knives are somewhat addicting in and of themselves.
All, the best and welcome

 

[midnight flyer]

Someone else will stop by with more appropriate advice but I think a lot of it will be trial and error. As you read the threads you will find that cetain brands have had their good years, their bad years, their good management, their bad management, their good materials, their not so good materials. You will have to form your own opinions and you will eventually settle into knowing what you like and what you're comfortable paying for it.

Nicely said. I think that like collecting anything, the classic advice stands the test of time: "never buy anything you don't like".

It eases the sting if you paid too much and makes it all the more enjoyable if you came out ahead dollar wise. But if you really like the knife and you are comfortable with the amount you paid for it, you win any way you look at it.

Here locally in South Texas, there isn't much to be found as a bargain in a flea market, junk mall, or resale shop. The knife culture is so strong here that folks just don't get rid of them. They show up at estate sales, or so beat up you can't really tell what brand you are looking at.

Around here knives are passed down over and over, or gifted to someone that appreciates them. I am part of that tradition myself. I just got my grandfather's Barlow, one that was purchased somewhere in the late '20s. It is going nowhere, and in turn will be passed down.

However, those malls and markets aren't the only venues for me. With great care and caution I have bought some nice ones on the Bay, but a good catches are few and far between. But is fun for me to look at all the old knives, so I bid low, and if I get it great, if I don't, that's great too.

The good thing about collecting these days is that just about any type of information is available on the internet. This is a good thing, as there have been so many old traditional knife companies from Germany and America that have resurfaced in China after going out of business it is hard to keep count.

And apparently there is another fun thing going on with one of the old German traditional knife companies that went out of business long ago. According to more than a few sources on a dedicated pocketknife forum this company assembles the knives they sell in Germany from parts made in China. I have seen the boxes and they say "Solingen" and some are even stamped with that on the blade. Yet none claim they were actually made in Solingen, Germany.

I found that out when looking up a really nice looking stockman patterned knife I liked from the company in question, but was surprised that no one was bidding it up. The answer was a few clicks away.

Good luck, and be careful!

Robert