Well, That Was Cool

[Dranrab]

My wife is well aware of my recent pursuit in collecting knives that are in some way "interesting." Today she walked out of the back of the house and handed me a small box. She had been digging around in her "junk box that she deposited things that were of no use to her, but that she couldn't get rid of. Over 20 years ago, her grandfather passed on this Japanese Frost "Little Trapper." It's a pretty nice knife. Fit and finish is respectable and it's perfectly snappy. It most assuredly checks the interesting box. I have no idea when it may have been made. If it has been used, the use was light.

 

[afishhunter]

I'd guess it is from the 1970's or 1980's.

 

[Dranrab]

I did a little searching and reading. It looks like they were made in the 80's. They have no value, but the story that put this one in my hands is kinda neat.

 

[TouhouFan]

Looks like a great knife. Maybe you should carry it for a while?

 

[5K Qs]

I did a little searching and reading. It looks like they were made in the 80's. They have no value, but the story that put this one in my hands is kinda neat.

It's a GREAT story!! I have a somewhat similar story.

In January of 2014, during a blizzard, my wife of almost 20 years at the time happened to find an old Imperial jackknife her dad had given her when he got a new knife. She put it at my spot at the kitchen table, I cleaned it up that afternoon, and decided I ought to start carrying a pocket knife again after not doing so for almost 45 years (since I left the dairy farm on which I'd grown up and used a knife in various ways every day). That eventually led me here and to a collection of pocket knives MUCH larger than I could ever have imagined for myself! Here's a photo of my FIL's old knife that "re-started it all" for me.


- GT

 

[Dranrab]

It's a GREAT story!! I have a somewhat similar story.

In January of 2014, during a blizzard, my wife of almost 20 years at the time happened to find an old Imperial jackknife her dad had given her when he got a new knife. She put it at my spot at the kitchen table, I cleaned it up that afternoon, and decided I ought to start carrying a pocket knife again after not doing so for almost 45 years (since I left the dairy farm on which I'd grown up and used a knife in various ways every day). That eventually led me here and to a collection of pocket knives MUCH larger than I could ever have imagined for myself! Here's a photo of my FIL's old knife that "re-started it all" for me.
View attachment 2652065

- GT

I used to carry some form of pocket knife everywhere I went. Following 9-11 I lost too many to airport security and got out of the habit. II just got back into it. Ya know, it's way cheaper than gun collecting.

 

[TouhouFan]

It's a GREAT story!! I have a somewhat similar story.

In January of 2014, during a blizzard, my wife of almost 20 years at the time happened to find an old Imperial jackknife her dad had given her when he got a new knife. She put it at my spot at the kitchen table, I cleaned it up that afternoon, and decided I ought to start carrying a pocket knife again after not doing so for almost 45 years (since I left the dairy farm on which I'd grown up and used a knife in various ways every day). That eventually led me here and to a collection of pocket knives MUCH larger than I could ever have imagined for myself! Here's a photo of my FIL's old knife that "re-started it all" for me.
View attachment 2652065

- GT

I like the watch too!

 

[afishhunter]

It's a GREAT story!! I have a somewhat similar story.

In January of 2014, during a blizzard, my wife of almost 20 years at the time happened to find an old Imperial jackknife her dad had given her when he got a new knife. She put it at my spot at the kitchen table, I cleaned it up that afternoon, and decided I ought to start carrying a pocket knife again after not doing so for almost 45 years (since I left the dairy farm on which I'd grown up and used a knife in various ways every day). That eventually led me here and to a collection of pocket knives MUCH larger than I could ever have imagined for myself! Here's a photo of my FIL's old knife that "re-started it all" for me.
View attachment 2652065

- GT

A great Imperial. I'd wager it still takes a "razor edge" too.

I like the watch too!

Agree. Pocket watches are nifty.
Nice Waltham.
Is it lever set (Railroad grade) or crown set?
Luv the hunter case, too.

 

[Bigburly912]

Carry it, use it, love it and give it some value. : D

They have no value

 

[5K Qs]

I like the watch too!

A great Imperial. I'd wager it still takes a "razor edge" too.

Agree. Pocket watches are nifty.
Nice Waltham.
Is it lever set (Railroad grade) or crown set?
Luv the hunter case, too.

Thanks.
The watch is a "family heirloom" that my dad gave me; he got it from his dad; he got it from an uncle, who worked many years for an Illinois railroad that gave him the watch as a 25-year reward. I'm not sure I have all the details right, and I don't know much about the timeline, other than my grandpa was born in 1888 and moved to the US from the Netherlands about 1903, and if his uncle immigrated about the same time, he couldn't have earned the watch until about 1930.

I don't know much about pocket watches, but I set the time on it using the same knob/stem on top that's used to wind the watch. Is that "crown set" (even though the watch was allegedly presented by a railroad company)?

- GT

 

[afishhunter]

Thanks.
The watch is a "family heirloom" that my dad gave me; he got it from his dad; he got it from an uncle, who worked many years for an Illinois railroad that gave him the watch as a 25-year reward. I'm not sure I have all the details right, and I don't know much about the timeline, other than my grandpa was born in 1888 and moved to the US from the Netherlands about 1903, and if his uncle immigrated about the same time, he couldn't have earned the watch until about 1930.

I don't know much about pocket watches, but I set the time on it using the same knob/stem on top that's used to wind the watch. Is that "crown set" (even though the watch was allegedly presented by a railroad company)?

- GT

Yep. That would be Crown Set.

Railroad regulations for pocket watches used on the lines after c.1899/1900 (The Ball regulations, adopted by the Feds and forced onto the railroads, following a very bad accident) required lever set to prevent accidentally changing the time.

They also had to be accurate to at least +/- 5 seconds a month.
In addition, they had to be serviced on a fixed schedule, by authorized watchmakers, among other things.

A retirement presentation watch did not necessarraly have to meet the service/working watch's requirements.
(and, of course they cost significantly less than a service/working watch.)

"Fun" Fact:
Time Zones are the railroads invention.
"High Noon" - the sun directly overhead is different in cities just 30 miles apart, traveling east/west.
"Time Zones" made scheduling much easier.
Recall: In the 1800's there were just one pair of rails, with trains traveling both driection on them.
Scheduling when "passenger train b" east bound HAD to stop on a siding so "freight train a" traveling west bound on the same set of rails did not crash head-on into each other.
(freight trains were/are much longer and heavier than passenger trains, thus harder to stop and get moving again.)