Old and Obscure Brands

[trail]

Charlie, can you post a picture of the straight razor? We're ecumenical, we already have a few fixed blades in this thread and in my opinion, a straight razor would be welcome, especially with that rare a tang stamp.

I had to look up Julius Schmid since my cat hunting days were the '70s but I surely hope there's no connection. Knives seem a primitive and painful method of contraception.

[paulsvintage]

have one for this thread, Canastota knife co. NY. ( 1875 - 1895 ).

[RobesonsRme.com]

Paul;
That Canastota is a beautiful knife.

Trail;
I'll scan some pics of the Wimberly & Thomas razor as soon as I can.

Charlie Noyes

[paulsvintage]

Paul;
That Canastota is a beautiful knife.

Trail;
I'll scan some pics of the Wimberly & Thomas razor as soon as I can and post them to my original post.

Charlie Noyes

Thanks Charlie..... just picked it up a few days ago

[RobesonsRme.com]

Trail asked that I post a photo of the Wimberly & Thomas razor I referenced in an earlier post.

Below are photos of the razor and a Wimberly & Thomas box. I bought them separately. I've also shown a detail of the tang stamping and a detail of the Wimberly & Thomas logo etched on the face of the blade .

The photos will enlarge twice with left clicks.

Wimberly & Thomas were in business in Birmingham, Alabama from 1900 until 1944. They used the ALABAMA logo on all types of cutlery and hardware items.

They did sell knives with their name on the tang. They are very rare. I've only seen one, in the hands of a local collector. It was a bone handled English jack with one long spear blade.

Charlie Noyes

[trail]

Thank you Charlie, that's a fine razor. I wonder if it was made out of local Birmingham steel. One of my professors in college told us he worked his way through college at the Birmingham Steel plant, and those hot summers were a real encouragement to him to finish off his degree.

[paulsvintage]

one more i picked up this week H.H. TAMMEN " LUCKY BUCK " brand not much info only that the company existed

[trail]

Paul, that certainly qualifies as obscure. I really enjoy seeing it. It makes me think of all the thousands of small shops all over the world where a few craftsmen and their assistants made knives. It was an honest and honorable way to make a living. I'm sure the names of the men who made your knife have faded into oblivion, but something of them remains as long as we collect and cherish their knives.

That's a very distinctive tang stamp. Could you show us a close-up?

[trail]

Here is a John B. Rand knife from Solingen. I have found a few mentions on the internet, but not much information. Bernard Levine states on his site that it was undoubtedly the stamp of one of the many small wholesalers who imported knives during the 1950s. This sounds reasonable to me. At the time, Germany was struggling to recover from the devastation of World War II. Most of Germany's output was going into exports, to earn the hard currency to rebuild and pay reparations (many people don't realize that Germany paid more in reparations after the second war than the first). Well made German knives were cheap, and many small businesses engaged in the importation of them into America. It was a hard time for the American makers, but it helped rebuild Germany and make the country into a dependable ally instead of a bitter enemy.

[paulsvintage]

Paul, that certainly qualifies as obscure. I really enjoy seeing it. It makes me think of all the thousands of small shops all over the world where a few craftsmen and their assistants made knives. It was an honest and honorable way to make a living. I'm sure the names of the men who made your knife have faded into oblivion, but something of them remains as long as we collect and cherish their knives.

That's a very distinctive tang stamp. Could you show us a close-up?

Trail, thats a sweet fixed blade you got ! this is the best i can do for now . just ordered a scanner and photo shop from amazon

[trail]

This knife came up on ebay and I just couldn't swing it, had already bought too many knives that week, so I let it go. Fortunately he relisted it and the second time I got it. Pradel was a French brand of the highest reputation. I am lifting this from Britishblades.com, where Saint-Just, one of the moderators, posted this:
_______________________________________________
The history of Pradel knives is set between 1850 and 1960. The company was owned by 4 successive generations of Pradel.
Etienne Pradel created the first "Pradel", closely based on a single blade type from Sheffield.


It was somewhat a revolution:
First, the way the knife was built allowed a quick adjustment after assembling, not before like the rest of the production at the time (I am quoting loosely from the French here, maybe Russel can bring some light to this). The cutting of the scales was also very accurate, with always the same thickness: Therefore all knives were strictly identical and perfectly adjusted

Second, the "notch" (we call it "chin") on the blade protruded significantly, allowing a sharp closing snap without damage to the edge (unlike the laguioles). People would recognise the knife just by the noise it made when it snap shut, and would comment "C'est un Pradel!". The image was that of a strong, quality knife.

Made in Thiers, it was mainly sold in Brittany and Normandy to both farmers and fishermen (hence the stamp).
In 1862 E. Pradel stamped his blades with an anchor.

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/sho ... adel-story
_______________________________________________________________________

That's the background. Evidently the Pradel was such a renowned knife that dozens of other companies made similar knives and adopted stamps that looked confusingly like the Pradel anchor. My Veritable Fedide is one of them.

Here is a site (in French, but Google Translate does a good job) that explains all the real and many of the fake stamps:

http://www.couteaux-jfl.com/marques_pradel.htm

You can see the Veritable Fedide stamp in the section labeled B) - Les faux PRADEL ( contrefaçons ).

Regardless of it's fraudulent origins, my knife is a solid, quality item with the Pradel style snap.

The term "Tout Acier" on the handle means "All Steel", and "Depose" means "registered design", more or less like our "trademark registered".

On the reverse handle is stamped "Inusable" which is French for "Indestructible".

I wonder how this knife came to be in America? Somehow I doubt if there are many more on this side of the pond.

[paulsvintage]

very nice find and history . thats why this is one of my favorite threads ! good luck with it...............

[galvanic1882]

I'm with you Paul, I love this thread.

Here is a pair of hard ones to find. I was going to start a new thread on Dynamite Knives but thought it would be better to put them here. I have had one of these for a few years and just picked up another. On page 294 of LV4 Bernie writes about the knife but does not show a picture. He dates the knife 1892!!

If there are any other Dynamite knives out there please post them

[gino]

Here is one. Anyone ever heard of them?

Julius Ohliger Solingen

[FRJ]

galvanic, those are really neat knives! Thanks for showing them.

[trail]

Check out this old thread on an E.B Sears knife that is identical to galvanic's dynamite knife, right down to the Griffin's Waterproofer etch:

http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... 45&start=0

[galvanic1882]

Trail nice job finding that post of long ago. I bought the knife from him right after the posts

[paulsvintage]

very nice seeing those old ones

[dcgm4]

I've already posted this knife elsewhere, but I think it belongs here too. It's stamped Clark's XLT Cutlery, a trademark of Baker, Hamilton, & Pacific. Dates from 1899-1926.

[trail]

That's one I've been waiting to see. I have read about Baker, Hamilton & Pacific but never saw one of their knives. It's great to see these regional stamps.

[paulsvintage]

very nice .never seen one before

[trail]

Here is another German made small pen knife, imported by James Milward & Co.

[paulsvintage]

nice Trail
i found a B.B. knife co. Beaver Brook, Mass . this knife company was a one year company 1902 . there knives were sold to Pacific hardware & steel., San Francisco. another nice easyopener from a AAPK store

[msteele6]

Great old Beaver Brook knife. I have a real weakness for those old wooden handled knife, especially easy openers.

[paulsvintage]

Great old Beaver Brook knife. I have a real weakness for those old wooden handled knife, especially easy openers.

MSsteel6, they are my favorite, thanks