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Old 1890's Sunfish/Elephant toenail, made by Cattaraugus or Napanoch?

Hi , I am new to forum and love old knives! I purchased this big sunfish recently, it is one of my profile photo knives. The knive is a NORTH AMERICAN CUTLERY CO. BEAVER CITY NEBR.

Tags: ELEPHANT, SUNFISH, TOENAIL

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on January 9, 2013 at 23:40

An online search lead to a few conclusions. First the knive had an association with the four Case Brothers, who were salesmen for JBF Champlin, at his cutlery company and later Cattaraugus Cut. Co. Second this was between 1880's and 1900, before the start of Case Bros. own business. And thirdly the brothers and their dad, Job all lived at one time in Spring Green and Beaver City Nebraska. Now I am wondering what knife company made this knife for them? Here are photos of Cattauraugus sunfish 2cd & 3rd photo, and a Napanoch sunfish, the first photo . Ntice the jigging and the grooves in the bone. I thought the manufacturer was for sure Catt. Cut. until I saw the Naponoch and the C. Platts! Take a look!

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on January 9, 2013 at 23:50

Also after further research ,the manufacturer of the North American sunfish/ toenail, also made knives for Tom Ray Cut. Co.Kansas City Mo. and Barnsley Brothers of Monet Mo. and possibly even C.Platts and Son sunfish and large cigars! So here the question: Who made the NACC, Beaver City, Nebr., the Tom Ray, and the Barnsley Bros. Sunfish? Thanks for any opinions and replies!

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on January 10, 2013 at 0:05

Here are a few more photos of the sunfish!

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on January 10, 2013 at 0:52

OK, had to reformat the files to upload the sunfish.

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barnsley brothers toe nail.jpg, 488 KB
BarnsleyBrothersMonettMo toenail.jpg, 75 KB
C Platts2a.jpg, 933 KB

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on January 10, 2013 at 0:55

A few more photos of the Catt. and Naponoch sunfish mentioned.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on January 10, 2013 at 5:03

What a fantastic find! The owner of JBF Champlin is not only a member of the extended Champlin family but he is also a member here. You could try sending a message to Derek Smith and see if he can give you any additional information?

Also the Case Historian is a member, she may be able to help also

Fantastic Knives, thanks for sharing them

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on January 10, 2013 at 8:25

Thanks Jan, I enjoy your posts! I will message Mr. Smith and ask him to take a look. Jan Carter said:

What a fantastic find! The owner of JBF Champlin is not only am ember of the extended Champlin family but he is also a member here. You could try sending a message to Derek Smith and see if he can give you any additional information?

Also the Case Historian is a member, she may be able to help also

Fantastic Knives, thanks for sharing them

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on January 10, 2013 at 8:42

The next two photos: a Tom Ray Cutlery Co. of Kansas City ,a C.Platts big Cigar and another of the Napanoch, Notice how similar the bone is to the North American sunfish! Granted bone handles were cut and jigged by companies such as Rogers Bone. But most of the knife bone was cut and jigged , in house at the various cutlery companies. Also the double pulls are very similar where shown.

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Permalink Reply by Derek Smith on January 10, 2013 at 9:18

Hello Rick,

Those are some amazing knives! I'm very happy to see them, thanks for posting. I'm afraid those brands and the origin of their manufacture are beyond me.

Keep us in the loop, I am very interested in your research.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on January 10, 2013 at 22:02

I have some notes to add. The North American Cutlery, Beaver City Nebr. straight razors were probaly produced by Napanoch, info courtesy of Brad Lockwood. After more research it appears, Tom Ray Cutery of Kansas City, purchased the rights in name only of the NACC of Beaver City Nebr. from the Case Bros. after their move to Little Valley to begin Case Bros. Cutlery. Mr Ray , later reopened in Wichita Kansas around 1929. There is a 15-20 year time span here. Those NACC knives also may have been made by Catt.Cut Co. I have seen one Wichita Kansas NACC knife on the web. In the 1940's Tom Ray joined Remington Arms Company as a regional salesman, I can only assume he closed his namesake cutlery and the NACC. Just is tiime for WW2 , I do not know if he was successfull. . Mr Ray may have been the jobber for Barnsley Bros. in Monet, MO or possibly one of the four Case Brothers, who had ties to Catteraugus Cutlery. The next photo shown is a NACC, Beaver City Nebr. razor. Thanks for the comments and any info is appreciated.

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north amer, razor beavor city.jpg, 61 KB

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on January 10, 2013 at 22:43

Derek,

Thanks for taking a look. There seems to be some good info coming through on this one, Rick is doing a great deal of research and I cant wait to see what he finds out next

Derek Smith said:

Hello Rick,

Those are some amazing knives! I'm very happy to see them, thanks for posting. I'm afraid those brands and the origin of their manufacture are beyond me.

Keep us in the loop, I am very interested in your research.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Hooper on January 13, 2013 at 21:10

Back from vacation, with new info, new photos and new knives! It is back to work tomorrow, and the time spent researching this topic on cutlery origins has been enjoyable. Searches on google and the web are many times, a waste and not fruitful unless careful notes are joted down, and the sum of the information is studied , and compared with known facts. So I have to thank, Mr. Goins, Mr. Levine, Jim Sargent and Bruce Voyles! Also forum members on this website. I believe ,we amatuer cutlery history students, owe our expertise to the true experts, these guys mentioned! New photos are of a Catt. sunfish, the North American, Beaver City sunfish, and a WR Case and Sons, Their all related by family!

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