Robeson "Cock Spur" Jack Knife

[RobesonsRme.com]

Personally, I'm somewhat skeptical of most all so-called "Cock Spur" knives.

I guess some cutlery company at some time might have seen a profitable market in the masses that were participating in cock fighting, but for some reason, I cannot see it.

I know Levine discussed such knives, but I'm still not convinced.

So, I'm especially skeptical when they show up on Ebay with rather well known companies' names on them.

Such is the case with this Robeson stamped knife (secondary blade only) that is currently taking bids on Ebay to the tune of $76.00.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Vintage-Bo ... Sw5VFWQpMc

Notice the wear on the pen blade and bolsters compared to the saw.

There is no stamp on the tang of the saw, which is in the master blade position and no pattern number on the knife. Lack of a pattern number is not diagnostic, as there are many Robeson knives without them.

I've never seen nor heard of such.

Charlie Noyes

[jerryd6818]

No collection is complete without one.

[FRJ]

I've heard of heel spurs, but ....................

[jerryd6818]

Don't even think of going there Joe or you'll have Philco on you in a New York minute, like white on rice.

[peanut740]

I've heard of heel spurs, but ....................

I'm glad they eradicated them,that would have been rough treatment .

[philco]

[btrwtr]

I had a Robeson knife that was nearly identical to this OP knife. I was somewhat skeptical of the originality of the knife I owned but I could not say it was not correct. The way the spur cutter was made I found it hard to imagine the knife had been cobbled together. It all fit up tight and the saw blade looked to be correct and original to the knife. If you look at the way the saw blade fits and is constructed on this OP knife it looks the same as the knife I owned. It would present quite a difficult task for a repairman or counterfeiter to make and install such a saw blade.

Like the knife I had I find it hard to say the OP knife isn't right. This knife makes 2 of the same type Robeson knives I have seen. The knife I owned was in better condition. I have it logged in my inventory list but never took any pictures of it.

Wayne

[SteelMyHeart85420]

The deeper I get into knives, the less surprises me. Somebody has tried nearly everything, at some point.

[Colonel26]

I've heard about these all my life, and I've seen pics of a few. It appears to me that it'd be a might difficult to cobble one of these up and have it work correctly. Then again who knows.

As to the financial viability if a company making some short runs of these, I know some folks in the sport. Shelling out large quantities of cash for sport related items wouldn't bother them a bit.

[RobesonsRme.com]

Robeson made a great variety of patterns that nobody else made.

I've never seen one of these, but as Wayne has owned a near identical knife in the past, my skepticism has abated quite a bit.

Maybe it's authentic.

And for you phallically obsessed individuals that were humorously toying around with the title of this post, surely you understood the topic was rooster fighting.

Pay attention, Class.

Charlie Noyes

[FRJ]

[knifeaholic]

Is it possible that the knife is authentic but was made for some other purpose? A saw blade could be useful for many things.

[RobesonsRme.com]

Steve, I've seen several English multiblades with a small hack saws and I seem to recall them looking pretty much like the saw on this one.

Did The English pit roosters against one another?

I suspect so.

Charlie

[wlf]

They sure did here in Wayne County,probably still do.

I think Wayne has more insight ,since owning one,and like Charlie,I value his opinion.

[Sanders Knives]

Have any of you ever heard the name Ken Lukes? He was a master at building this pattern using old parts. I once owned about a dozen different cock fighting knives. He made them all. He always came from California to the Louisville Kentucky NKCA Show. If you asked he would tell you he built them. His work was flawless so unless you knew that a particular company never made one of these it was impossible to tell it was a fake. His work was not just confined to Cock Spur knives. His knives were always in at least excellent condition, unlike the knife featured in this post.

[peanut740]

There was a New York Knife marked one on ebay a couple weeks ago that brought north of $400.I suppose that would be incentive enough for a counterfeiter.

[dirtyfonzie]

It sold for $598.88. I saved some pictures of it because I didn't know what to think of it.

[dirtyfonzie]

If you look at 8th picture the backspring is dipping quite a bit below the frame of the knife. This immediately makes me weary of this NYK Co. I think this one is cobbled.

What does everyone else think?

[btrwtr]

If you look at 8th picture the backspring is dipping quite a bit below the frame of the knife. This immediately makes me weary of this NYK Co. I think this one is cobbled.

What does everyone else think?

I don't like the way the back spring for the saw blade sits out from the frame either. Not a good sign.

There are no pictures of the saw blade tang in the frame or pics of the back spring meeting the saw when open either. I think pics taken of these areas would help a bit.

It wouldn't be an easy task to cobble such a knife but that's not to say it couldn't be done. I do notice the construction of the NYK knife saw is different from the OP Robeson. If they looked the same I would be suspicious they could have come from the same source.

Here is a pic of a knife Queen has made in more recent years. I don't know the full story on this knife but I have seen a number of examples of it. I wouldn't doubt that some of these Queen saws have found there way into other knife frames. Dated 1982.

Wayne

[Dinadan]

This is an interesting topic. Seems like there is no end to the types of pocket knives that I never knew existed.

To me, the heart of this thread seems to be the question of what is a fake? I have seen many photos of knives altered by the owner for his own use: for example electrician knives with the secondary blade converted to a sheepsfoot, or Jerry's Franken 72. I would never call one of those a fake, but it is definitely not what came out of the factory. Sanders post indicates that at least one fellow was modifying existing knives in that way to meet a need that I was unaware of.

It seems to me that for someone with the skill to make one of the cock spur knifes so perfectly that it appears to be from the factory, then there would be easier targets to fake if fakery were the goal. I mean, if you have that level of skill, why fake a knife that no one even knows was ever made?

[jerryd6818]

Mel, if you modify a knife to meet a certain need or serve a certain purpose and not to deceive, is it then a "fake"? (such as my Camillus 72 Frankenknife)

[Dinadan]

Mel, if you modify a knife to meet a certain need or serve a certain purpose and not to deceive, is it then a "fake"? (such as my Camillus 72 Frankenknife)

Jerry - it is not a fake. That was the point I was trying to make. That maybe the cock spur knives were modified to serve a purpose but not intended to deceive. You know, I have looked at many thousand Ebay listings, and I do not recall ever seeing a knife described as modified. It would take an astute seller to make that call: the posts here on this thread make that clear.

[oldradiostuff]

Have any of you ever heard the name Ken Lukes? He was a master at building this pattern using old parts. I once owned about a dozen different cock fighting knives. He made them all. He always came from California to the Louisville Kentucky NKCA Show. If you asked he would tell you he built them. His work was flawless so unless you knew that a particular company never made one of these it was impossible to tell it was a fake. His work was not just confined to Cock Spur knives. His knives were always in at least excellent condition, unlike the knife featured in this post.

I remember Ken Lukes. He and my dad were good friends back in the 70s. Always sat with him at all the gun and knife shows I went to with dad as a teenager, and have been to Ken's house a few times back then. Dad was a big folding hunter collector at the time, even had a Kabar Baby Grizzly that I wish I still had! I remember Dad telling me that Ken could clean and repair an old knife like no one else he'd ever seen. Good memories from a long long time ago. Anyone out there that has been collecting pocket knives for 40 years or more might remember my dad - Brad Ragsdale.