Whatcha got on order? (Traditional Knives Only)

Jolipapa said:
Nice one! Szankovits knives are among the best made in Hungary. Unfortunately to get one of his knives you better go to his shop. Szentendre is a very nice old village, north of Budapest in the Danub's loops, very traditional and preserved, well worth a visit. It used to be a place where Serbs and Greeks found refuge when their countries were invaded by the Turkish Empire.
Nothing special in the video, he explains he was born in a family of smithes and makes only traditional knives, with traditional ornaments (sun, moon, his trademark rooster, etc) and scrimshaw (great plain's horsemen, scenes of an inn, farm well, grey longhorns, etc) and uses only "noble" materials for the handles.
Problem with Hungarian cutlers is that most are "old minded" and it is difficult to buy a knife if you're not in the very shop! Even within Europe it is not easy, Paypal still unknown to them. Except Hungarian, they often speak German (300 years of Austrian occupation have left traces... ).
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Thank you for commenting and providing interesting insight and information. Greatly appreciated. This Fejesgörbe is a solid, well built pocket knife and a pleasure to carry and use. As you mentioned, not only are Szankovits hard to come by, but information is scant, unless you speak Hungarian. One thing that still puzzles me is why Szankovits stamps "Hungary" next to the rooster on some blades but not others, even just within the Fejesgörbe line.

I was very lucky to find this knife and get a great price at the large online auction site. The knife was shipped to me, from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and without any ownership history. When asked, the seller stated the knife was found at a local flea market. Looking at the sellers other offerings online, this Fejesgörbe is just a little jewel that seems so out of place among the much lesser knives. I've read that many Hungarian immigrants settled here in the U.S. in Pennsylvania and likely this knife once belonged to someone of Hungarian decent but I will never know for sure.

A picture after initial cleaning and sharpening ...

Kjz7kvw.jpg
 
BrotherJim said:
Thank you for commenting and providing interesting insight and information. Greatly appreciated. This Fejesgörbe is a solid, well built pocket knife and a pleasure to carry and use. As you mentioned, not only are Szankovits hard to come by, but information is scant, unless you speak Hungarian. One thing that still puzzles me is why Szankovits stamps "Hungary" next to the rooster on some blades but not others, even just within the Fejesgörbe line.

I was very lucky to find this knife and get a great price at the large online auction site. The knife was shipped to me, from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and without any ownership history. When asked, the seller stated the knife was found at a local flea market. Looking at the sellers other offerings online, this Fejesgörbe is just a little jewel that seems so out of place among the much lesser knives. I've read that many Hungarian immigrants settled here in the U.S. in Pennsylvania and likely this knife once belonged to someone of Hungarian decent but I will never know for sure.

A picture after initial cleaning and sharpening ...

Kjz7kvw.jpg
Click to expand...
Before change of political system, there were many specialized 2-3 persons ventures allowed called "maszék" where you could find things unavailable in bigger state-owned outlets. Cutlery was one of those, I remember a dad's cousin, who was a top worker, making surgery tools.
Maybe Szankovits was one of those, and "Hungary" stamped because this was intended for export, trying to get these much looked after currencies Dmark, dollar...
 
Jolipapa said:
Before change of political system, there were many specialized 2-3 persons ventures allowed called "maszék" where you could find things unavailable in bigger state-owned outlets. Cutlery was one of those, I remember a dad's cousin, who was a top worker, making surgery tools.
Maybe Szankovits was one of those, and "Hungary" stamped because this was intended for export, trying to get these much looked after currencies Dmark, dollar...
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Jolipapa Jolipapa The export idea is one that has crossed my mind. Interestingly though, Szankovits sells their knives ONLY in their shop and no where else either online or outside of Hungary. They even state this on their Museum website. So, that idea doesn't seem relevant. I emailed Szankovits with a couple of questions and one was concerning the "Hungary" stamp, but I have not heard back from them. My email was in English and so that may be an issue. Other thoughts concerning the stamp are that it is in some way an indication of the age of the knife or socio-economic-political conditions and circumstance in Hungary at the time the knife was made, that you explained. However even currently, I still see on their site that some are stamped "Hungary" and some not ... and I noticed that in the video I posted earlier as well.

We personally sell our knives only in Szentendre. We believe that our costumers have to touch the knives to get a closer relationship with them before they can choose the best one.
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Link: Szankovits Keseshaz Muzeum

EDIT to add: I'm very fond of this knife. It is a favorite in my collection. I will carry and use it (respectfully) often.
 
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Got home from Trick or Treating with the kiddo to see an email with a smooth, undyed bone, single-blade Case Peanut with a special Zippo shield staring at me. That didn't take much thought... 😬
 
I have a Western L66 on the way to me. Probably the most popular deer hunting knife back in the day here in the South. The L66 was also the Boy Scout fixed blade I had in the 60's ... with "Boy Scouts" stamps of course.
The one on the way appears to be lightly used and little or no blade pitting. Got be from 1977 or before. Stamped "Western Boulder Colo U.S.A.". And it has the split tang with "H" shaped stacked leather washers. After Western moved to Longmont, they went to a single tang and "O" shaped stacked leather washers. When Coleman bought out Western, there were other changes as well.

Thing is though, as pristine as this knife looks, it DOES NOT come with an original sheath ?!?!?! It's a complete mystery to me why such a well cared for knife wouldn't have the original sheath. Maybe it was a display for a good period of time and the sheath misplaced. I'll never know. SOoooo I will be researching options for an aftermarket or reproduction sheath for this Western L66. Advice and recommendations are greatly appreciated !!! :)

3uiTIu5.jpg
 
BrotherJim said:
Probably the most popular deer hunting knife back in the day here in the South.
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The 66 Could have been the most popular in the East, West, and North, back in the day, too.


I had an L66, in Junior high and highschool.
My step pop had the F66 "Black Beauty" version with alternating black fiber and aluminum washers.
One of my friends had a W66 with wood handle.

I'll try and find the link for the article that states "Western owned the hunting knife market in the 1930's to 1970's."
If memory serves, the 66 was the most popular of the Western hunting knives, according to the article.
 
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afishhunter said:
The 66 Could have been the most popular in the East, West, and North, back in the day, too.


I had an L66, in Junior high and highschool.
My step pop had the F66 "Black Beauty" version with alternating black fiber and aluminum washers.
One of my friends had a W66 with wood handle.

I'll try and find the link for the article that states "Western owned the hunting knife market in the 1950's and 1960's."
If memory serves, the 66 was the most popular of the Western hunting knives, according to the article.
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I found this to be a pretty good article ... https://www.hwsportsman.net/WesternKnives.html
... and they state, "Western pretty much owned the market from the mid-30s to about the mid-seventies."
 
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BrotherJim said:
I have a Western L66 on the way to me. Probably the most popular deer hunting knife back in the day here in the South. The L66 was also the Boy Scout fixed blade I had in the 60's ... with "Boy Scouts" stamps of course.
The one on the way appears to be lightly used and little or no blade pitting. Got be from 1977 or before. Stamped "Western Boulder Colo U.S.A.". And it has the split tang with "H" shaped stacked leather washers. After Western moved to Longmont, they went to a single tang and "O" shaped stacked leather washers. When Coleman bought out Western, there were other changes as well.

Thing is though, as pristine as this knife looks, it DOES NOT come with an original sheath ?!?!?! It's a complete mystery to me why such a well cared for knife wouldn't have the original sheath. Maybe it was a display for a good period of time and the sheath misplaced. I'll never know. SOoooo I will be researching options for an aftermarket or reproduction sheath for this Western L66. Advice and recommendations are greatly appreciated !!! :)

3uiTIu5.jpg
Click to expand...

You might try to find a local craftsman. I have an L66 that was given to me, let's just say, "a few decades ago." 😁 I never had a sheath for it. A while back I mentioned it to Pat, the owner of the local knife shop, and he recommended a local maker. I gave the knife to Pat and he passed it on to the local maker with instructions to do some Internet research and try to match the design of the original Western sheath. He did a fairly good job and charged me $25 for the sheath.
 
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