Winchester and John Primble / Queen "Black Box" Stockman

supratentorial

supratentorial

Joined
Dec 19, 2006
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I just ordered a Winchester and John Primble stockman and will post more after they arrive. I think both knives were made in 1988 by Queen. ...both knives come in a black box. ;) ...And the two knives look a lot alike, except that the Primble has a long pull and the Winchester has a federal shield. I really like the long pull and less common shield on the Primble. :thumbup: Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think that the Primble has 1095 blade steel -- same as the Winchester. Also, I heard rumor that Queen used old stock jigged bone from Utica on these knives -- can anyone verify this for me? The jigged bone looks somewhat similar to the jigged bone on my Wards cattle knife, which I think was was made by Utica.

John Primble
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Winchester
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Browsing around the net I found a photo of another Primble but this one has a nail nick instead of a long pull... looks even more like the Winchester except for the shield.
JPMLBLST-CK.jpg


Both knives appear to be made by Queen in the USA but some of the newer Primble knives are being made overseas. The artist rendering of the knife looks to say USA but the description of the knives indicate foreign manufacture.
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Yes, Queen did use the old-stock "Utica bone" for these knives. I have several Winchesters dating from the late-80's that all have "Utica bone" on them.

Ron
 
Nice knives, Jake! I particularly like that Winchester. I don't see that handle shape too often but I like it.

This Bill Kennedy Jr. slipjoint of mine is said to have "Utica Bone" scales. Looks kinda similar to the bone in the artist rendering. I have been curious about its origin.

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Thank you, guys. Rick, that's an interesting example. I need to take a Jig 101 class to learn about the different styles.

I also bought a knife kit and I need to figure out how to dye and jig. ...actually, I tried jigging one of my dogs chew toys for practice... it didn't work out so well.
 
Jake..you hit the spot with me with these knives, I love the Primbles, and the Winchesters, The Primbles I have are Queen made, and as are the Winchesters....they are such lovely knives!!
Jake, I cant quite see the stamping of the Primble...does it say India steel works?...if so ( please forgive me if I am wrong ) this means that queen didnt make these-as the India steel works were earlier???
 
Thank you, Duncan. The tang stamp does say "India Steel Works". It was made in 1988 for Blue Grass Cutlery. I think the Winchester was made by Queen for Blue Grass Cutlery around the same time . The two look so similar. I'll post a side by side when I get them.

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Thank you for that Jake, I will have to try and find more time to learn more indepth about these knives, I always presumed that the India Steel Primbles were earlier-Great to see
 
"The jigged bone looks somewhat similar to the jigged bone on my Wards cattle knife, which I think was was made by Utica. "

i have a Wards cattle knife, three blades. the bone on one side is completely different in color than the other side.
well made knife with strong back springs.

any information about the maker Ward , bone , and years of business is appreciated

buzz
 
Those Queen Winchester's are just everything. I have a Moose, and it's one of the best knives I've got. Nice buying :)
 
Noddy said:
Those Queen Winchester's are just everything. I have a Moose, and it's one of the best knives I've got. Nice buying :)
Click to expand...

I can agree with this--I have had two, the coffin bolstered jack (now in Duncan's collection), and I just received one of the dogleg/teardrop jacks. I have to say that the quality of the coffin jack was just a hair better (the backing for the small blade wrapped around to fill in the empty space in the blade side of the frame--I like that), but the blade to backspring fit on the dogleg is just about as good as on my Case-Bose dogleg, which cost quite a bit more.
 
markv said:
"The jigged bone looks somewhat similar to the jigged bone on my Wards cattle knife, which I think was was made by Utica. "

i have a Wards cattle knife, three blades. the bone on one side is completely different in color than the other side.
well made knife with strong back springs.

any information about the maker Ward , bone , and years of business is appreciated

buzz
Click to expand...

Buzz, I was basing that assumption on the similarity of my Wards cattle knife to cattle knives marked Kutmaster (Utica) but I just looked it up in Levine's Guide and Utica is listed as one of the manufacturers of knives for (Montgomery) Wards. There were other manufacturers also. Both Goins' and LGIV give dates between the 30's to 50's. There are a couple of entries but the dates are similar. Do you have a photo? I dunno about the difference in color. If it isn't a replacement, maybe it was originally mismatched. Is the bone lighter on the mark side and darker on the pile side? If it was displayed, sunlight may have faded the mark side. I'm sure that BRL could tell you a lot more with photos of the knife. Hope that helps a little.
 
Eric H said:
I can agree with this--I have had two, the coffin bolstered jack (now in Duncan's collection), and I just received one of the dogleg/teardrop jacks. I have to say that the quality of the coffin jack was just a hair better (the backing for the small blade wrapped around to fill in the empty space in the blade side of the frame--I like that), but the blade to backspring fit on the dogleg is just about as good as on my Case-Bose dogleg, which cost quite a bit more.
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And can I add to this....Eric beat me to that teardrop...:grumpy: :thumbup:, good timing Eric( trying my best to be all gentleman-like :D
 
Jake...neat thread...can I add to this?...please let me know if this is swaying away from your op knives...as I dont have any to the standard as your lovely India steel Primble...but I do have a few queen Primbles....they are up there with my favoutites...thats for sure...if this isnt ok...let me know and I will remove Sir!
Here is one of my best Primbles...the colouring is simply lovely..and what a knife!! I always look forward to this knife-always.
myknives008.jpg

Please excuse oil on blades...
myknives009.jpg

Another stunner from Queen made Primble..is this half Congress...Delrin...but you'd swear its Bone, and nice bone at that!!
myknives013-1.jpg

and this is the only India steel stamped one I have-quite old..but I hate to admit it...I really like this old funky Celluloid Dogs Leg ( just beginning to be educated on the dangers of Cell).
Long Pull, neat ol' Swedges....
myknives016-3.jpg
 
Duncan, Very nice collection of Primbles--thank you for posting them. :thumbup: The whittler is particularly stunning. Great color, cool shield... and the blades look full. :eek: I can see why you look forward to it!

I'm particularly fond of that color since it is similar to the color of my first custom.
 
I recently received an ebay knife, new in a blue box labelled: "John Primble/trademark/American Legend Series" and on the box end: " 5" Buffalo Horn Lockback w/Leather Sheath".
The knife is a replica of the Schrade USA LB7 pattern. Other than handle material, the only difference i can see is that the steel pivot pin end is visible in the brass bolster on the LB7, whereas the pivot pin is not showing at all in the brass bloster of this "Primble" knife. (could it be "Swindened" ?)
Mark side tang (which was shown in ebay pics): "John Primble/Manchester OH/USA".
Pile side tang (not shown in ebay pics): "JP 30 0100/Stainless/China"
The words "American" on the box and "USA" on the tang are there to mislead.
However it is a well made, sharp out of the box, solid knife and easily worth the $15 purchase price. For example, the blade spine/spring mating in the open position is perfectly smooth and lock-up is totally solid.
roland
 
rprocter said:
...
Mark side tang (which was shown in ebay pics): "John Primble/Manchester OH/USA".
Pile side tang (not shown in ebay pics): "JP 30 0100/Stainless/China"
The words "American" on the box and "USA" on the tang are there to mislead.
Click to expand...

At least it has a (faint?) etch rather than an even easier to remove sticker. But I really don't think USA should be allowed as a tang stamp... I wonder if they are illegal to sell in California.
 
I have a Winchester Medium stockman that was made in that time period. It's the only stockman I have with half stops, though this image does not show them off:
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