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Yard Sale Finds!

Thought I would put this on my blog page, I'm still struggling a little with the format of this forum, so I thought I would post today's collection of booty here. The little "city" next door, (Morro Bay, Ca; pop 10,000), is having their annual "Community Yard Sale" weekend, and here is what I scored today. The highlight was a Camillus USA nautical knife, jigged brown bone handle, no dents, scratches, very sharp main blade, and a beautiful patina. I'll be posting a photo of that on Tobias' Nautical knife thread, but thought I would share it here first. I found out that the spike blade locks, and is released via the clip ring, so now I know that clip is for more than clipping onto a lanyard. This is my first Camillus, and my first nautical knife. I was looking for knives in general, and this one was being held back by the guy at one sale because he was afraid it would get shoplifted, and decided to keep it inside until someone asked, "do you have any pocket knives?", which is what I did. The guy went inside and came back out with this knife. He said "make an offer", while I tried to contain my excitement, so I lowballed him with $15, he came back with $25 and wouldn't budge, (I did try, but he held firm). I saw a nice brass belt buckle on the table that said "World's #1 Dad" on it, and since I like to think of myself as that I told the guy I'd pay the $25 if he threw in the belt buckle, so I got them both for $25.

The two fixed blades are supposed to be from Nepal, and since I knew the guy selling them I trust what he said about them, (they look Pakistani to me). I got a camera tripod, a desk lamp, and those two fixed blades for $25. The larger of the two is stag handled, (according to him it is; I'm pretty sure that's true), the smaller one is wood. Not exactly sure exactly what type of knife they are called, so perhaps Tobias can enlighten me on that. Since I didn't have any knives like them in my collection, I caved and decided to grab them. Down the street at another sale I found the little black folder. It just says "Stainless Japan" on it, but it was cheap...got that one for a quarter. The handle is pretty pocked from use, but the blade is tight and sharp & locks well, so I'll clean it up, sand down the handles to smooth them out, and keep it as a "give away" knife.

I probably paid too much for the fixed blades, but considering the other booty that came in the deal I'm satisfied, especially with the nice tripod, (hope it improves my photography skills...NOT!!!). I'm totally thrilled with the Camillus however, and though I suspect I paid about what it is actually worth, I'm tickled to own it as an heirloom to pass down in the family.

Due to the community yard sale going on in town, the local hardware store, (an Ace franchise), had their annual "no sales tax" day to take advantage of the people who come from miles around for the yard sale. Sales tax in our county is nearly 9%, so that's nothing to sneeze at. I had a $5 off coupon for the store too, so I dropped in between yard sale stops and grabbed a Steel Warrior Red Jigged Bone Trapper, so with my coupon deducted I snagged the knife at an even $14.99. Like many Frost knives it is well-made, and came with the familiar red arrow indicating a Rockwell tested blade. Though this was "Community Yard Sale" day, it was "splurge on knives" day for me. That put me at around $65 for five knives, (one brand new), a tripod, (a good one), a good desk lamp, and a few odds 'n ends tools. Not a bad day.

The community yard sale continues all day tomorrow, there are literally hundreds of them still going on all over town that I haven't been to yet, so my plan is to get up early, do a quick swap meet run to the San Luis Obispo drive-in theater, then shoot back up Hwy 1 to Morro Bay to look for more yard sale treasures. I'm sure what's left will be pretty picked-through, but maybe I'll run into another cool hidden treasure or two. All I know is I won't find any if I don't go out and look, so wish me luck!

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In Memoriam Comment by John McCain on April 20, 2015 at 17:09: Syd-A little bit on your Russian knife--Your knife was either made or honors the city of Nizhny Novorgorod, the 5th largest city in Russia, located about 400 Km east of Moscow. The Cyrillic writing under the "Gazelle" translates to Gorky, which is what the city was called from 1932-1990 after the writer Maxim Gorky who was born there. The Gazelle or sometimes called the "running deer" is the symbol of the city. The image on the other side of the knife is also a Gorky city image.Russian knives were commonly marked after cities or famous people, of which this knife is both.Found one other example offered in the $20 range, but the craftsmanship and the cool factor are probably worth more. Perhaps, some of our Russian speaking friends can tell us more.-- Here is the other one I found-- Interesting and beautiful knife--pre 1990 !! Keep hunting !

http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/equipment-accessories-personal-items/...

In Memoriam Comment by John McCain on April 20, 2015 at 16:03: Syd- I really must go knife hunting with you !!-You neglected one small point on your bone handled Hammer Brand pen knife--- That it the fact that it has a New York Knife Co. Walden tang stamp !! - circa 1856-1931 BEFORE they went bankrupt in 1931 and the Hammer Brand trademark was bought by Imperial !! Much higher quality and more valuable than the Imperial-Schrade versions- Some, not all of these, NYKCo. knives can run as high as $450- Definitely, even on the low end of the price scale, worth a lot more than you paid for it.-- If you can take pics of both the Hammer and the New York stamps and of the shield, I may be able to tell you more as to age and value. BTW, while your at it can you shoot some pics of any markings on the "Russian" knife-- Intrigued and will try an ID for you.

Comment by Syd Carr on April 19, 2015 at 17:06: Update: I went to Blade Forums and searched for the Hammer Brand pen knife, and though I couldn't identify it's model number, I think I determined it's age via the tang stamp. According to what I can see through a magnifying glass the knife was made sometime between 1936 and 1941. I found the following diagram of Hammer tang stamps, so that's how I identified it's approximate age. I can't really tell if it is the earlier or latter date as the stamp is worn, but I'm pretty sure it was made prior to WWII. Not bad for $3.

Comment by Syd Carr on April 19, 2015 at 16:19: Well, it's hopeless, I'm hooked.

Finding that Hermes Schlumberger set me on a path of forever looking for collectible knives. Today I went to our local little swap meet, and came home $20 lighter with a pocket full 'o knives, including a Russian version of the Swiss Army knife, (even has a toothpick and tweezers, and well-built ta boot), and an old Hammer Brand pen knife with jigged bone (maybe?) handles, (New York Knife Co, Walden New York). I also found an old all-metal Kamp King, (missing the bail, but otherwise complete), a Western USA L58 fixed blade, (broken, but good for parts), and a no-name multi tool-type knife with rubber handles, (a nice, tight knife actually). Included was a Pakistani Congress with "who knows" handles. I paid an average of $3.33 per knife, so I'm reasonably satisfied. I thought about posting a photo of the Congress on Tobias' thread of the same name, but it doesn't stack up to the fine old Case that Tobias posted, so I won't sully that gem with photos of this spurious find on the same page.

The Russian knife, (the green handled one), is surprisingly well made, and all of the gadgets work, the blades snap, etc. I've never seen or heard of a Russian-made pocket knife, so I'm glad I have it, if for nothing else the novelty of it. The Hammer Brand pen knife is nice too, though I'm not sure if the handles are bone or Delrin, or possibly bakelite? I've seen Kamp Kings before, but never one with all-metal handle(s), and being relatively intact I figured it was worth $3. I need a pommel for an old Kabar I have in my drawer, so I bought the old Western fixed blade so I could use that pommel on the Kabar.

Anyway, collectible or not, I'll add these to my pile of "giveaways" or keep them as trade fodder, and doubtless will be scrounging for more in the future.

Comment by Syd Carr on April 16, 2015 at 19:55: Here's another perspective.

Comment by Syd Carr on April 16, 2015 at 19:52: Best I can do John, my camera is only 5mpx. The hallmark at the base of the blade is shown, and to me looks possibly something like a crown?

Comment by Syd Carr on April 16, 2015 at 19:25: I'm busy taking new photos, so I'm not listening. Imagine fingers in my ears, me going, "la, la, la, la ,la"....(make me an offer)..

Comment by tim payne on April 16, 2015 at 19:21: like your humorous knife vulture john!

In Memoriam Comment by John McCain on April 16, 2015 at 19:19: Syd-- Sorry, but I couldn't help myself-- I just had to post this !! ROFL

Comment by Syd Carr on April 16, 2015 at 19:09: I'll try John. There is a hallmark at the base of the main blade, but I can't make it out even with a magnifying glass. Standby, I'll go outside and see if I can get some better closeups.