Vintage American Knives

Knives of days gone-by and the companies who made them

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  • Michael A Losicco

    Here are 5 knives that I picked up in the last Voyles auction, all have carved Ivory handles and 4 of them have matching forks. 4 are marked Beaver falls Cutlery and were first exhibited at the 1876 Buffalo Exposition and after JBF Champlin bought Beaver Falls my guess is these knives were part of the deal and he showed them at the 1901 Pan Am exposition. One is marked Cattaraugus. This to me is cutlery history at it's best!! 


  • In Memoriam

    Leopold Lacrimosa

    Very nice acquisition Michael

  • Bob Robinson

    Very nice cutlery! Great history.
  • Jan Carter

    Michael, I agree!  Folks, click on the picture Mike posted.  and see the detail in the ivory and the blades.  It is amazing.  THESE WERE EXHIBITED IN 1876!

  • Bob Robinson

    That is the same year my grandfather was born.
  • Michael A Losicco

    Here is my latest Vintage pick up. It's in the mail and I can't wait to get it!!

  • peter force

    mike the SAWBACK IS AWESOME!!

  • peter force

    mike the larger blades below are awesome to!.. i dont have such awesome sets but i also find great amounts of history in large kitchen pieces i find at local flea markets in my area.  i agree that is some good ole cutlery history!.. very awesome pieces mike!

  • Michael A Losicco

    Thanks Pete, I am lucky to have all of them!!

  • Ken Spielvogel

    Awesome Vintage Michael

  • Waggoner, Alan

    Those ivory handled knives are surely special and very much admired! Let's hope the USFWS ruling on ivory can be overturned. Poaching is stopped by conservation funds spent in the area where ivory grows. Hunting permits fund the game wardens that chase the poachers, so I read. There is a lot of ivory in the states that is currently regulated, by authorization from the white house to the USFWS, including importing other hunting trophies taken in foreign lands.

  • tim payne

    Any other vintage collectors of Parkers, American Blade, Taylor, United Boker, Frost, or STAR collectors out there? 

  • tim payne

    *Keen Edge Cutlery Co. 3-1/2" 2-bld Serpentine Jack. Smooth Brown Bone. Long Pull. Both blades tang stamped "Keen Edge Cutl. Co.", Nickel Silver Shield. Nickel Silver bolsters/brass liners/pins

  • Jan Carter

    Tim that is a great knife.  That wood screams out to me, I would have had to buy it also

  • Rick Cothren

    Just recently acquired a collection and may post a few here that are vintage. There are Schrade Cut. Co., Schrade - Walden, Hammer Brand (NY Knife Co.) Walden Knife Co. Wallkill River Cutlery, and others. 

    Below is a nice Hammer Brand Timber Scribe that was in the collection. Wonder how many of you are familiar with these unusual knives. 

  • Rick Cothren

    I know its not American but this is another nice Timber Scribe, IXL George Wostenholm Sheffield England tang stamp. 

  • Jan Carter

    The timber scribe is one heck of a knife.  The pattern is just fascinating to me. These tools were used to mark numbers and symbols onto standing & also felled timber.  The reason there are not seen so much anymore is that they were used!  BTW, I think I like the IXL better actually, it could easily fit into a side sheath where the Hammer Brand would be hard to sheath

  • Rick Cothren

    Agreed Jan, I like the IXL too for the pocket-ability and the stag. You just can't beat a good old stag handle. What research I have had time to do, it looks like nobody has made any timber scribes for 50+ years. If true that would make fine quality and little used examples even more rare. 

    Steve - I posted the Hammer Brand just below the IXL. It has the great handle that shows the grain really well. Be hard to find a much better example. 

  • Smiling-Knife

    Nice scribes . This is another example of a Wostenholm that I hope is of interest.

  • John Bamford

    Timber scribes were quite common over here when I worked in forestry . Mind you that was a few years ago and I haven't seen one for a while now .

  • Rick Cothren

    Very nice Smiling, Mine doesn't have the "tab" at the tang of the blade. I would wonder what that is for?  I have about a dozen timber scribes in the collection and some are very unusual and look to be pre 1900. Maybe even into late 1700's early 1800's. Just don't know enough about how to put a period on them. 

  • Smiling-Knife

    Thanks Rick. The tab is called a kick. A square one like this was sometimes called a stove pipe kick in Sheffield. On pocket knives it would prevent the blade from hitting the inside of the spring when closed. Filing the kick of a worn blade lowers the height of the blade and brings it back into the handle.

  • Rick Cothren

    Ok that makes sense. Just hadn't seen that feature before and thought it might be unique to the scribes.. thanks for the info. :) 

  • Smiling-Knife

    An old Remington jack knife. Not in the best of condition but I imagine it was well used and loved. The quality still shines. Perfect opening and closing with half-stops on both blades and lovely bone scales.

  • Rick Cothren

    Sweet Remington, those old ones are great finds. Used and cared for well is no problem in my book. 

  • Jan Carter

    John,

    Donnie used one years ago also when he was grading lumber off the rail.  The reason you dont see them now is that the design has changes immeasurably away from a knife

  • Jan Carter

    SK,

    Those old jacks have a beauty all their own.  From the design to the materials and the fact that they can be found in decent shape but almost always used tells us that they were well loved by previous knife nuts :)


  • In Memoriam

    D ale

    Sweet scribe .. I've only seen one other .. & didn't even have the $ they wanted.

    !!! .. Truely rare .. !!!

  • Billy Oneale

    Great character from the age on that jack knife. Gotta love those old Remington's.
  • Rick Cothren

    Wow, they have changed!!!  Would have never know what that was with a screwdriver handle if I didn't know about the vintage scribes. 

  • Tristan

    What's your favorite American vintage knife company?
    Some of my favorites are case, imperial and Camillus.
  • Michael Squier

    I like Utica cuttlery and Case

  • Waggoner, Alan

    I guess Case knives are a favorite for me because I know more about them than others. I also like to sell one once in a while.I guess I view the PLATTS as very rare because I just see very few of them. This old folder is quite a gem!


  • Featured

    David Fenn

    Hello fellow knife enthusiasts. I'm looking for insight as to age and any other info on an old folding knife my grandpa left me. It's stamped ka-bar. That's about all I know. Any thoughts?

    http://imgur.com/FYYGvWP
    http://imgur.com/ZnslsNj
  • Roger Cunningham

    Your knife is a grizzly Also it is a switchblade. If it works right it can be worth quite a bit.

  • Featured

    David Fenn

    When you say switchblade, you mean it should flip open when you push the button? Any thoughts on whether that's something that can be repaired?
  • Roger Cunningham

  • Roger Cunningham

  • Roger Cunningham

    Yes it should open when the botton is pushed.There may be someone who could repair it but I don't know who that would be.


  • In Memoriam

    John McCain

    David-Your knife is a Ka-bar Large Grizzly Clasp Folding Hunter.Circa 1920-1940's.It is a pretty rare and highly collectible knife- Just did a brief internet search on current prices & they are selling for a low of $800 up to $3750 in pristine condition with sheath. Average is around $1500-1750. I, too, don't have someone in mind who can repair it, but you might try the guys in the Knife Repair Group or the Switchblades Past & Present Group for a recommendation. Unless the blade is in really bad shape it's definitely worth having repaired.


  • Featured

    David Fenn

    Thanks for the response. The blade is in great shape. Nice patina and rather sharp. Hopefully I can get it back into working condition. I'll try the groups you've recommended. Thanks again!

  • Featured

    David Fenn

    Anyone have any ideas what a Grizzly is worth these days...considering the fact that the spring will not be original? Is this the kind of thing I should have insured?

  • Featured

    David Fenn

    Here is another couple pics including one of the blade http://m.imgur.com/a/WajMA
  • Michael A Losicco

    Hi David, Did you ever get the knife to work? They can be tricky you need to make sure you are not applying pressure to the metal bar on the other side of the button?

    Great rare knife.


  • Featured

    David Fenn

    Unfortunately, the spring mechanism is broken. Fortunately, though, another member of the forums here does the repairs for kabar and can fix it. So the old girl will work again...it's just a matter of time
  • Roger Cunningham

    David,it looks like someone has tried to work on the knife in the past.The bolster pin is all dicked up.You need a knife doc who knows what they are doing.All About Pocket Knives is another forum that has a fix and repair thread.If you post it there you may get some good feedback.  


  • Featured

    David Fenn

    I think you're right, roger. I will be sending the knife to Bill Deshivs to repair the spring. I'll have him address that problem as well. Any other thoughts?
  • Jan Carter

    David,

    You will be fine with Bill.  He would have been who I told you to contact if I had seen this sooner.  He is a great asset to us and all the forums he participates on

  • Michael Squier

    A neat little Kinfolks Pioneer that I just got.

  • Don Neiman

    I recently purchased this 10-1/2" "blade bowie" style knife from a local junk store. I believe this to be a civil war period handmade knife possibly carried by a Confederate soldier, brought home and put away only to be forgotten about. It appears to be Southern style due to materials and crudeness. The blade is forged and filed with razor sharp clip point. The hardened leather sheath liner is zinc and the handle with two sized wood screws is hard maple. This is crudeness at its finest but is 100% for functionality. I just couldn't pass up this piece of history for $10. The store keeper said it was found with another bunch of "junk" in a house being torn down. I welcome all comments at my email address  pithole@zoominternet.net