St. George's Notes VII - The Pocket Knife...

[St. George]

St. George's Notes VII... The Pocket Knife...
« on: August 04, 2004, 05:29:38 PM »     

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Perhaps one of the most indispensible companions a man could have - beyond a good dog - is a good pocket knife.

You're gonna need one for your impression, so knowing what to be looking for is important.

Mostly - it'll be a single-bladed knife and fairly plain, but depending on your station in life, you may also have use for a "pen knife" a small, two-bladed pocket knife with equal blades - originally designed for trimming a quill to make a writing point, and to trim pencils.
Two-bladed knives would follow as would "Farrier's Knives" - with their hoof picks (the Multi-Plier of their day), and there were also "Campaign Sets" - the much-beloved interlocking knife, fork and spoon.

Your choices are wide-ranging - whether for pocket or saddlebags.

As time went on, Walnut, Stag, Jigged Bone and other materials would find their way onto the scales - even the new-fangled celluloid - sometimes, to encase those racy photos of naked ladies.

Those kinds of knives were like a set of Gal-Leg Spurs, and the owner was most generally quite the sport...

The one thing that these knives all have in common is the fact that their blades are made from carbon steel - not "Stainless", or "Inox" or "Rust-Frei", and carbon steel needed a lot of sharpening, so many of their blades are badly worn and/or broken.

This makes it "interesting" for the guy putting together his outfit, since you'd surely want your stuff to look contemporary to the times and not worn to a nubbin.
Finding good examples of good-quality pocket knives can be a challenge - but a worthwhile one.

Here's a very short list of makers and their dates of manufacture - by no means all-inclusive.

American Cutlery - Northfield Knife Company (originally  the American Knife Company) - 1859 - 1919

American Shear and Knife Co. - 1853 - 1914

Belknap - John Primble (large Hardware supplier) - 1890 - 1985

C. Bertram (Hen and Rooster) (German-made) - 1865 - Present

Bruckmann (German-made) - 1891 - 1956

Boker (Tree Brand) (German-made) - 1867 - Present

Camillus Cutlery Company - 1876 - Present

Case Cutlery Company -  1896 - Present

Cattaraugus Cutlery Company - 1880 - WWII

Christy - 1890 - Present

Electric -  1873 - 1920 (originally Freidmann and Lauterjung)

Hammer Brand -  1878 - 1932 (first used by the New york knife Company, then purchased by Imperial Knife Company in 1936)

Henckels -  1731 - Present (Twins) (German-made)

Holley -  1844 - 1977 (perhaps America's oldest manufacturer)

Klaas - 1834 - Present (trademark - Kissing Cranes) (German-made)

Maher and Grosh -  1875 - 1991 (made knives for the Trade)

Marble's - 1875 - Present

Novelty - 1897 - 1944 (founded in 1879 by August Vignos - made celluloid-handled novelty knives - incluing political and risque')

Petty - 1858 - 1953 (trademark of a Barrel on its side - first appeared in 1791, first made Farrier's Knives and Trade knives) (English-made)

Robeson - 1894 - 1977

Joseph Rodgers - 1724 - Present - (trademark of a Star and Cross in continuous use since 1764.) (English-made)

Russell - 1832 - 1932 - (Green River, Russell Barlow)

Shapleigh - 1843 - 1969 - (foounded in 1843 as Shapleigh Hardware - in 1863, became A.F. Shapleigh and Company - in 1888, became A.F. Shapleigh Hardware Company - major supplier to the Trade - used "Diamond Edge" as their trademark)

Ulster - 1876 - 1972

Vanco - 1888 - 1940 (trademark of Van Camp Hardware)

Geo. Wostenholm - 1797 - Present (trademark - I*XL) (English-made)

There are many more -  when you factor in all of the European makers - especially those from Germany and England, where the cutlery firms were major exporters to America and the rest of the world.

Many of their knives were contracted for by the Trade and so marked with the buyer's logos - the major American Hardware suppliers of the time - Sears and Roebuck, Miller Brothers, Wright and Wilhelmy, Johnson Hardware, Paxton & Gallagher, etc.

The stockyards came into play as well and you'll see pocket knives marked to the major stockyards - the ultimate ending to all of those cattle drives.

If it could be shipped in any manner - rail, stage or freight -  or mailed - these firms moved to to fill the needs of America as she grew.

Good Hunting.

Scouts Out!

[St. George]

There are more - I'll post later on.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Mossyrock]

Good gravy!!!!!!  The thought of a farrier's knife in pocket format intrigued me, so I did some digging on yon interwebs.....  There ain't many of them floating around!  Found this one, though.....  Better have DEEP pockets!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/MAPPIN-WEBB-SHEFFIELD-LARGE-FARRIERS-KNIFE_W0QQitemZ180439798694QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a030cd3a6

[St. George]

Yup...

'But' - it's one of 'those knives' that you can suddenly encounter, and most folks think that they're one of the post-WWII Japanese-made or European-made  'camp knives' that were trying to compete with the newly-popular Swiss Army knives, and look no further than that.

As I've said many times before - 'Treasures Abound' - it's just up to you to know what they look like.

Good Luck!

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Dr. Bob]

You can often find them at a good gun show.  Most run $100 - $300 depending on condition and maker.

[St. George]

The European-made ones are the most well-developed (for lack of a better term) and often feature stag scales.

Remember - not everyone had one, but during the era, they were a handy thing to keep in your saddlebags.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[GunClick Rick]

This is a good place to start for treasures like St. George says.

http://www.rubylane.com/item/632886-2-1-10-110/Solingen-Pocket-Knife-Ern-Celluloid

http://search.rubylane.com/search/,ss=pocket%20knife

[St. George]

Actually - 'all' of the auction sites come up with things of note - even the gun auction ones do.

It's up to you - the prospective buyer - to be able to know enough about the field to recognize them.

Oftentimes the best way to find things is a relatively 'pure' source like aan 'actual' estate sale, and not one that's been 'seeded' with some goodies.

Good Hunting!

Vaya,

Scouts Out!