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Knife trivia- Feel free to answer or post a new challenge--

I'll start with an easy one- You probably all have seen this tang stamp or a variation there of on a Remington knife- What does UMC stand for??

A little tougher one- What famous author mentioned a particular style knife in two of his most famous works and helped make the knife famous ?? Name the author and / or the knife ??

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on September 3, 2014 at 18:26

Michael, you're close, but no cigar!! LOL

Michael D. said:

That's an easy one. It's a fear of more pain. It's derived from "fear (phobia) of mo' aches".

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 3, 2014 at 18:40

Below is a photo of a knife set.

1-When were they made?

2- Who made them?

3 - Where were they made?

4- What were they used for?

(hopefully the tang stamps are too blurry to read!

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 3, 2014 at 18:48

Fear of needles or by extension sharp objects. I wouldn't say I have a fear of sharp things. More like a healthy respect of sharp things. I would bet, however, that more people have a greater fear of being stabbed than shot.

John McCain said:

Here is a new question- What is aichmophobia-??- Hopefully, no one here has it !! LOL

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Permalink Reply by Michael D. on September 4, 2014 at 9:20

Response to #4: Is this a surgical set used for amputations? Like they had in the Civil War.

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Permalink Reply by Sue OldsWidow on September 4, 2014 at 9:37

autopsy set....made in the 40-50's ...loks like playstag handles....western states cut........lol...well there is my guess

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on September 4, 2014 at 17:30

Hmm. For some reason the photos aren't displaying for me today. In any event. Michael D. is spot on with answer to number 4 and I seriously doubt anyone will get the other three answers unless they work where I work, as th eknives are currently on display.

The knives are part of a Civil War Surgeon’s Kit. In this case, the surgical knives were made by Tolle, Degenhardt, & Loewe in their shop located at 130 Clark Street, Chicago Illinois. The knives were used in both major and minor surgical procedures including amputations.

As the original post of the image just said Knives, I'm reposting them again with a more descriptive name

The knives are from the Surgical Kit of Dr. John LI Williams who was an Acting Assistant Surgeon at McPherson General Hospital during the Civil War. He served with the Union Army during the Battle of Vicksburg. For most of his time his was a Hospital Surgeon and was not attached to a any battalion or regiment but as his Kepi clearly shows he pulled from the 7^th Wisconsin.

Many doctors supplied their own kits during the Civil War. Dr Williams used this kit both during and after the war. Dr. Williams was from Wisconsin but later attended Rush Medical College in Chicago. After the war, he joined the Staff at Rush. The knives were kept on a tray that sat inside the rest of the surgical kit (shown below) Note the bone saw. The smaller scalpels were first employed to cut down to the subcutaneous fat layer. Then the larger blades were used to cut down to the bone. The scalpels were then employed once again to cut loose tendons and other muscles attached to the bone, then the saw was used to cut through the bone.

Other tools shown are various probes used to find bones and hooks to pull back flaps of skin. Note the Minie Ball in the tray.

The surgical knives are part of a display currently on display at Rush University Medical Center. As you can suspect, the knives are made of carbon steel. The handles a checkered wood. The smallest of the scalpels have a handle that is held on by three pins. However the other handles appear to be glued to a hidden tang!

Below is Dr. Williams Belt Buckle that was worn by Civil War Surgeons serving in the Union Army.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on September 6, 2014 at 12:45

Heck of a question for this thread Tobias! and some great answers. History here on iKC sure is fun

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on September 6, 2014 at 12:45

Some new challenges---

1- how did the Jack knife get its name ?

2-how did the Congress knife get its name ?

3- No one has answered my second question ( except Jan, who PMed me the answer)

What famous author mentioned a particular style knife in two of his most famous works and helped make the knife famous ? Name the author and / or the knife ??

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on September 6, 2014 at 12:52

Tobias, just in case anyone wants to know- The small brush in your original photo is not to clean your electric razor- LOL

It is called a bone brush, used for sweeping up bone fragments, after an amputation--

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on September 6, 2014 at 12:54

ewww

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on September 6, 2014 at 15:28

Jan, Could not have said it better !!

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on September 6, 2014 at 16:41

One more challenge I could not resist-- Hopefully, many of you remember the old MacGyver TV series where he solved problems with a SAK and an occasional roll of duct tape-- Truth be told, he used many different versions of the Swiss Army Knife over the 7 seasons the show ran-- My questions are, what one was used in the pilot episode and often thereafter, and what one was used in the opening credits ( Hint-- 2 different SAKs, and 2 different companies !! As a refresher, here is the opening credits-- Spot the knife !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ad_Ryrm...