What was your greatest find?

navihawk

navihawk

Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Messages
4,677
For me it was a Samual Barlow small barlow with one piece steel bolsters anda razor type blade.
 
I found a Marbles D'all DeWeese in the original tube sheath for $10-15 (I'm getting old), and sold it for $970 (I remember that price!)! It's now worth twice that after 4 years or so.
 
Navihawk, your best find is very similar to mine. It is a late 18th century Sheffield barlow I paid $20 for. The most money I have made on a find was an old Case catalog from the early thirties that I paid $1 for.
 
As far as scarcity is concerned my best slipjoint find ever was on Ebay about 10 years ago. I didn't even have a home computer or an ID of my own. I found the knife while browsing at the library and then had a friend bid on it for me. I didn't "steal" it, but it went way below what it was worth to any knowledgeable Keen Kutter collector. It was a Keen Kutter Balloon Whittler in pearl in HONEST near mint condition. It had a spear, pen and manicure blade. It was 2 7/8" closed. It had engraved aluminum bolsters and was a salesman sample:eek: I eventually sold it to a good friend of mine for what I had in it with understanding that he could not sell it unless he sold it to me along with it's larger mate which he owns. He still has both of them. I shouldn't have ever sold it, but I take comfort in the fact that it ended up with someone who appreciates what it is perhaps even more than I did. Sadly, I don't even have a picture of it, but maybe I can talk him into letting me take some someday.
 
My greatest find was meeting a Mr. WT Fuller, old time knife maker, who with Harvey McBurnette and Dick Dorough built some of the first front locking custom folders. WT spent time with me and gave me an itch for customs. I built his workshop and really got to know him. If it was not for him, my love of knives may never have come about. I have never forgotten his passion for workmanship and doing things right. He loved what he did. So there it is, My great find. A great friend. A mentor.

In Memory of Him and other past greats,
Gone but not Forgotten

James
 
Well, not counting finding this part of the forum and the good folks on here.... Hmmm.

I've gotten some great deals on the bay just by being stubborn about what I would pay (and being too broke to pay much anyway :D). I guess the best would be a mint Camillus Moose pattern, Delrin scales, bulk style with no box. It walks and talks, half stops even. All for a whole $5 + shipping.

Best found it find? My wife found an Uncle Henry large stockman at the small town library she used to be the head of. I found her using it for something odd one day and immediately told her I would give her a knife that would better suit her. I.e. one she could misuse without me having issues. It was in great shape. I just wish I hadn't sold or traded it off later.
 
I paid $4.00 for that barlow. I traded it for a handmade, I don't even remember the maker. It was a fine knife though, a folding skinner with impala horn and engraved bolsters.Back then estimated value for the barlow was about $250. I wonder what it would go for now?
 
My gratest find was last week at an antuque store it is my EDC now. I really love this knife, it's my favorite. It's a Scharade Walden Birdseye stock knife.

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I got an old I Wilson Beef skinner with the 5 pin handle and 1/2 tang. The blade is full and has a honest patina, as does the handle. I payed 2$ for it at a flea market. I also have a full set of 6 Keen Kutter butcher knives in the original box / display that Ii payed only 20$ for. Nothin fancy but I love those knives and the connection they have to our past. The Wilson beef skinner was a knife I had been dreaming of finding for a long time. Joe
 
A small (sub-3") Boker stockman in brown bone that I found on the side of the road. The pen blade is broken off, but hey - what do you want for free!
 
My best find was just this past August. I found a 1989 Case 5125 1/2D small coke bottle with fat stag handles and a damascus blade for $20 at an antique co-op in Brenham, TX. It had never been sharpened.
 
Iwas at an estate sale(addicted to those also)and was out back of the house,going into what served as a shop.I happened to notice a stacked leather handle sticking out of a wooden box.The stacked handle belonged to a pat.1916 Marbles woodsman,dropped point blade.He had been using it for a putty knife..50 cents! Cleaned up nicely.some pitting,but nothing to get worked up over.Gives some character to the knife.Besides,i don't intend to sell it and i used it on my 6 by 5 Roosevelt's last year.Dale
 
Greetings: By far, my greatest knife find happened to me about a year ago. I tend to troll the bottom on ebay quite a bit and found an auction titled, "3 old Hunting Knives". There was 1 rather blurry picture and virtually no written description. The sheath on one of the knives caught my eye as I thought it sure looked like a 30's Heiser fold-over sheath. And the more I looked at the picture, the knife in it began to look like it COULD be a Scagel. The other 2 knives were junk. I didn't ask the seller anything as I didn't want to get him thinking or attract attention. I threw a proxy bid of $100 on it, thinking I might win the thing and the sheath alone would be worth much more than that. There were 5 days to go on the auction. Well, the auction ended and I got the lot for $46. I quickly paid on PayPal and WAITED... About 5 days later the box comes and sure enough upon opening it there was a genuine Wm. Scagel hunting knife with its original Heiser sheath inside. The knife also had the VL&A stamping on the back. I about fainted.... I showed it off to some friends and made some inquires as to what it could be worth and stuck it back on ebay the next week. It brought $12,000. Needless to say, I still troll the bottom on ebay and do still find some amazing stuff that gets missed, albeit not another Scagel yet... FB in VT :D:D
 
My greatest find was 2 weeks ago at a local auction. I bought 3 pieces of plywood with about 100 knives each wired to it. The knives were covered with dirt dust rat crap rust and every thing else that time can deposit on an item left sitting in a barn for 30+ years. I paid a total of $250.00 for all three boards. Aprox 300 knives.

When I got them home, I started cutting them off the board. I nearly had a heart attack. Every knife I cut off was made from about 1875-1940. Case tested, Cattaraugus, Challenge, E.C. Simmons, Keen Kutter, Wards, H. Sears, and so on. I was like a kid in a candy store.

Now for the sad part. Some of these had turned into nothing but piles of rust. Rust so bad it had pushed the liners and scales out. I realized that the three boards were the progression of someones collection. As the first board was filled the next was started. The ones off of the 3rd board were in considerably better shape and I have found some real prizes. A lot of them have broken blades or handles but that okay. It has been like Christmas seeing knives that I could never afford to possibly own in mint condition, such as a Case Tested 5294X 2 Blade gun boat, Handles are worn but intact and blades although severely worn still snap like new from the factory. I have a lot of them soaking in mineral oil right now and after I get them "cleaned up" so to speak, I will post some pics. I wish I had taken some pictures before I cut them off the boards.

I have some where around 5000 knives but this is my greatest find and has been more fun than any other purchase. My Dad and I spent hours looking through these and telling stories of other knives and people.
 
Snipe 1 said:
My best find was just this past August. I found a 1989 Case 5125 1/2D small coke bottle with fat stag handles and a damascus blade for $20 at an antique co-op in Brenham, TX. It had never been sharpened.
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I have that same knife, IIRC the damascus was 512 layer made by Parker Cutlery, I believe I paid about $30 new for mine.
 
Some of the "old members" have seen them.

Two from a garage sale about 3 years ago that came my way at the price they were asking (both under 10 bucks or so).

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