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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 ??
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on
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John. I'd have to do some scouring on questions 1 and 2 but I kniw the answer to number three I mention it in this video
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Permalink Reply by Michael D. on
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Congress knife got it's name because the six blade Sheffield "crescent" knife Lincoln had on him when he was assassinated was displayed at the liberry of congress. Now it's at the smissmonium museum.
John McCain said: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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Permalink Reply by peter force on
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someone im very happy with!
Bruce McLain said:A new challenge
who invented the first folding knife?
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As for how did the Jack knife get its name, Ican only take a stab in the dark. (pun intended)
Probably comes from Sailors of old being called Jack-Tar.,
Sailors carried a simple folding knife thus the slang for a sailors knife would be jack knife. Eventually the the term for a folding knife in both the British and American Navy was a Jack.
On a side note a sailor who was said to be top notch or an expert at what he was doing was said to be a Cracker Jack. And this is why the candy coated popcorns, peanuts and Prize has a picture of a sailor on the box/bag.
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I stumbled on this MaCGyver page some years back and it answers the question and then some!
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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on -
Correct !! Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) mentioned the Barlow in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which greatly increased the Barlow knife's popularity !!
Tobias Gibson said:John. I'd have to do some scouring on questions 1 and 2 but I kniw the answer to number three I mention it in this video
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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on -
Michael D, you are close in your answer on the Congress knife-- Actually, it predated Lincoln by a couple of years- First attributed to Joseph Rogers & Sons, Sheffield- It was really just a marketing ploy invented by Sheffield knifemakers- Back then, the average working stiff only bought or used one pocket knife for all his needs- To increase sales, Sheffield makers started advertising knives for specific purposes. IE- a fruit knife for cutting fruit, a pruning knife for pruning, a doctors knife for emergency work for the physician, etc.- Joseph Rogers & Sons hit on the idea of calling a knife the Congress, with blades suitable for sharpening pen nibs or whittling-- They figured, who would not want a knife supposedly carried by their own elected officials-- Well, the idea worked, and the Congress pattern became extremely popular-- The popularity increased even more when it was discovered that President Lincoln carried one in his pocket.
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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on -
Tobias, your link is down currently- Here is a working link to MacGyver knives by episode-http://www.macgyveronline.com/pages/saks.html BTW, the knife in the opening credits is a Wenger--
Tobias Gibson said:
I stumbled on this MaCGyver page some years back and it answers the question and then some!
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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on -
Tobias, some sources agree with you- However, most historians seem to think " Jack knife" is a derivation of Jaques de Liege, a French 16th century knifemaker who invented a mechanism to fold the knife blade when not in use-Jaques de Liege translates to Scottish as Jockteleg or " Jock the Leg " knife, which became Jack Knife---
Tobias Gibson said:As for how did the Jack knife get its name, Ican only take a stab in the dark. (pun intended)
Probably comes from Sailors of old being called Jack-Tar.,
Sailors carried a simple folding knife thus the slang for a sailors knife would be jack knife. Eventually the the term for a folding knife in both the British and American Navy was a Jack.
On a side note a sailor who was said to be top notch or an expert at what he was doing was said to be a Cracker Jack. And this is why the candy coated popcorns, peanuts and Prize has a picture of a sailor on the box/bag.
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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on -
A new challenge~~~ Which firm laid claim to being " the oldest cutlery in America" ????
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John McCain asked: A new challenge~~~ Which firm laid claim to being " the oldest cutlery in America" ????
I think a few have made this claim, Queen qualifies their claim with oldest continuously operating or something like that.
Dexter-Russell boldly claims it (since 1818). It was originally the The Harrington Cutlery Company, established 1818 in Southbridge Mass by Henry Harrignton.
The Dexter part of the name actually dates back to 1884 when Harrington introduced a line of cutlery named after Dexter Harrignton, one of Henry Harrignton's Sons.
The other half of Dexter-Russell was the John Russell Cutlery Company which became world famous as Green River knives. It was formed in 1834. In 1933, the two companies merged into Harrington- Russell and in 2001 they changed names again to Dexter-Russell.
Don't get me started on Buck's claim of being a company since 1902 even though Hoyt didn't make a knife until 1941 the company wasn't incorporated until 1947. Harrington was actually making knives in 1818, not just tempering steel used in farm implements
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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on
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The Schatt-Morgan Knife Company was formed in 1890 in Gowanda, New York, and moved to Titusville, PA in 1895. The buildings occupied in Titusville at this time were built in 1902
White River Knives
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