Were Marbles fixed blades considered "heavy duty" work knives?

[Macchina]

I'm a Michigan boy and while we now have Bark River, a lot of our traditional knife history is in Marbles Knives. The were sold and went to China a few years back but before that they were a long selling brand of knives made just for the outdoors.

If anyone remembers them from their more popular days, what did most use them for? Were they primarilaly hunting knives or were they used for all outdoors tasks? Though they are very nicely made knives and had models (such as the Woodcraft) that were made for wood use, did the welded stick tang ever make people question their strength? Marbles also always seemed a bit "fancier" than most work knives of earlier times but I don't know if that made them more expensive back in the day.

I would love to own a Gladstone-made Fieldcraft someday to have something to keep from a great Michigan company.

Any stories or pictures of genuine Marbles knives would be great!

 

[MarkPinTx]

I'll let those with actual experience speak, but drop this item of information on you. The Marble's Ideal was the model for the Knife, Fighting Utility, Mk. 2, aka the KaBar. I guess you can quibble about the strength of the stick tang and some other features, but the Ideal/KaBar is about as heavy duty a general purpose knife as you could find.

 

[Old Hunter]

I remember seeing Marbles ads when I was a boy in Outdoor Life, American Rifleman, etc. This one belongs to an old friend of mine (he is now in his mid-80's) - he told me he bought it for hunting use when he was in his 20's or 30's. He built several heavy duty knives from old sawblades many years ago (his family owned the local sawmill), so he knows something about knives and Marbles was his choice - guess that says something. OH

 

[SALTY]

I always appreciated the few Marbles knives I have owned but never viewed them a "heavy duty" knives. Back in the day, before all of the tough knives we have today - the KaBar was the heavy duty knife and my trusty Buck 110, 112 and Marbles knives were for field dressing and skinning deer, hunting tasks generally and cutting - yes cutting, as that's what we typically did with knives back in the day.

I still have two of the older ones in (IIRC) 52100. The grind, edge profile, size weight and handles all make for a very nice knife - for what it is.

 

[screened porch]

I believe Marbles used to do a spot-weld sort of deal just forward of the blade shoulders, creating a soft spot that made the tang less likely to break off. I might still have pictures somewhere.

 

[Hammer67]

I supposed it depends somewhat on how one defines "heavy duty" and what tasks are included in that. Marble's was always known for building a high-quality knife that was certainly up to the tasks they were designed for. However, many today define a "heavy duty" knife as one that can survive being thrown at a cinder block, cut through sheet metal and lift a manhole cover.

Among other Marble's offerings, the Marbles "Trailblazer" would definitely be considered a heavy-duty knife according most reasonable definitions of what a heavy-duty knife should be capable of doing (below is the 7-1/2" blade version):

You might also want to check out this thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1202974-The-Marble-s-USA-Thread?highlight=Marble's

:thumbup:

 

[Old Hunter]

However, many today define a "heavy duty" knife as one that can survive being thrown at a cinder block, cut through sheet metal and lift a manhole cover.

Ah man, you got me laughing good with that statement - ain't it the truth! OH