Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

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knife7knut
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Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by knife7knut »

So named by me because of the crown symbol used in their logo. As their history has already been well documented I thought I would concentrate on the knives themselves. This post will deal with the three major types of Imperial knives:1)the early and so-called,"solid bolster" types. 2) the later so-called,"shell handled" models which really were their most popular and:3) fixed blade knives.
The early solid bolster models were extremely well made and their quality was as good as any of the major brands of the time.Even when they introduced the shell handled models the quality of the steel in the blades was as good as any made even though the construction may not have been as sturdy.
My favorite Imperial knife is one that inflicted my first wound with a knife at the age of eight and belonged to my grandfather. It is the centerpiece of my accumulation even though it went MIA for about 25 years(a long story I have told here before).
A couple of observations about the knives themselves:Almost all of the Kamp King series I have seen are shell handles;I have only seen one with solid bolsters(in the pictures of solid bolster knives). Also;all of the official Boy Scout knives I have encountered are solid bolster models.If anyone has a shell handled official Scout knife could you please post it?
So without further ado,I hereby present some of my accumulation of Imperial knives and urge one and all to add theirs to the post. This may take awhile so please be patient.
#1 My grandfather's Kamp King.
#2 through #4 Boy's knives showing both a spear point and clip point blade.
#5 &#6 Fish knife with can opener back and advertising.
#7 Fob knife with key blank;in this case a GM style ignition key.
#8 & #9 a couple of figural bowling pin knives.
#10 A tiny pin back knife likely made for a Sears tool salesman.
Attachments
GrampsKnife1 001.jpg
IKCOClipPoint2.JPG
IKCOSingleBlade1.JPG
IKCOSpearPoint1.JPG
Imperial2BladeFishKnifeCanOpener1.JPG
Imperial2BladeFishKnifeCanOpener2.JPG
Imperial3BladeKeyKnife1-2019.JPG
ImperialBowlingPin1-2019.JPG
ImperialBowlingPin2-2019.JPG
ImperialCraftsmanPinback.JPG
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knife7knut
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by knife7knut »

Second page:
#1through #3 A so-called,"color changing "knife using trick knives.
#4 Serpentine pen stamped,"Imperial England"
#5 A figural knife gifted to me by my cousin for being his best man at his wedding.
#6 Fish tail automatic with guards.
#7 Fish tail automatic without guards.
#8 A pair of Hopalong Cassidy knives.
#9 A Kamp King utility in the larger size.
#10 Kamp King utility in the smaller size.
Attachments
ImperialColorChangingKnifeTrick1.JPG
ImperialColorChangingKnifeTrick2.JPG
ImperialColorChangingKnifeTrick3.JPG
ImperialEnglandSerpentinePen2018 001.jpg
ImperialFiguralTrain2Blade1-2019.JPG
ImperialFishtailAutoWithGuards.JPG
ImperialFishtalAutoSansGuards.JPG
ImperialHopalongCassidy-2.JPG
ImperialKampKingNOScout1.JPG
ImperialKampKingNOScout2.JPG
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knife7knut
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by knife7knut »

Third page:
#1Lobster pen with ball point pen as a secondary blade.
#2 Lobster pen with gold,"M" inset with a gem stone.
#3 Miniature 2 blade jack.
#4 Miniature 6 blade.
#5 Miniature easy open.
#6 Miniature automatic.
#7 Miniature tickler.
#8 Serpentine pen with serrated master blade and figural handle.
#9 Super Kamp King.

Next post will deal with solid bolster knives.
Attachments
ImperialLobster2Pen-2019.JPG
ImperialLobsterWithM&Jewel 002.jpg
ImperialMini2Blade1-2019.JPG
ImperialMini6Blade1-2019.JPG
ImperialMiniEasyOpen1-2019.JPG
ImperialMiniEqualEndAutomatic.JPG
ImperialMiniTickler1-2019.JPG
ImperialSerpentinePenSerratedblade-2018 001.jpg
ImperialSuperKampKing1.JPG
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tongueriver
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by tongueriver »

Another good read, Ray; thanks! Made me go look at my Imperials.
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by Ridgegrass »

I heartily agree. Good old solid EDC's. I really like the IKCo's and the military EO's. Funny how the low-end brand wound up one of the worlds largest makers. Might show a few and join you in saluting them. J.O'.
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by knife7knut »

Some solid bolster Imperials
#1 & #2 IKCO knife with two different handle materials;possibly an old salesman's sample.
#3 &#4 A couple of old solid bolster scout/utility knives.
#5 A very early two blade jack with shadow bolsters and swirled celluloid handles.
#6 Two blade solid bolster.
#7 Non official Scout knife.
#8 Early 3 blade that I believe the spear point has been converted to a clip.
#9 Scout/utility marked,"Camp Knife"
#10 An official Boy Scout knife.
Attachments
IKCO1.jpg
IKCO2.jpg
Imperial1.JPG
Imperial2.JPG
Imperial2BladeJack2020 001.jpg
Imperial2BladeNOScoutKnife2.JPG
Imperial3.JPG
Imperial3BladeNOScoutKnife1.JPG
Imperial7.JPG
ImperialBoyScout1.JPG
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by knife7knut »

Fourth page:
#1 Older official Boy Scout knife.
#2 Old coke bottle.
#3 Utility with etching for a druggist.
#4 Two blade electrician's knife with spear point blade.
#5 Two blade electrician's knife with hawkbill blade.
#6 two blade equal end jack with green celluloid handles.AFAIK Imperial was the only company to use this color.
#7 Equal end pen with mottled red and gray celluloid handles.
#8 The only Kamp King I have ever seen with solid bolsters.
#9 Official Boy Scout knife.
#10 Five blade official Boy Scout knife.
Attachments
ImperialBoyScout2.JPG
ImperialCB1.JPG
ImperialDruggistLogoUtility2019.JPG
ImperialElectrician'sKnife 001.jpg
ImperialElectrician'sKnife$3 001.jpg
ImperialEqualEndJackGreenHandles2017-1.JPG
ImperialEqualEndPenRed&Gray2017-1.JPG
ImperialKampKing3Blade1.JPG
ImperialScout1.JPG
ImperialScout3.JPG
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by knife7knut »

Last one for now:
#1Fisherman's Favorite.
#2 Serpentine advertising knife.
#3 Old interframe with green & gold metalflake inserts.
Attachments
ImperialFisherman'sFavoriteCB.JPG
ImperialSerpentineIntegralSkipinskiInsulation2017-1.JPG
ImperialStainlessInterframe2Blade1-2019.JPG
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tongueriver
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by tongueriver »

Lest we forget, Imperial was joined at the hip with Ulster and Schrade.
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by knife7knut »

tongueriver wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 10:26 pm Lest we forget, Imperial was joined at the hip with Ulster and Schrade.
Not forgetting;just featuring Imperials for now.
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by knife7knut »

Some modern ones and a few fixed blades.
#1&#2 A knife disguised as a filter tipped cigarette.
#3 Fixed blade with serpentine handle.
#4 Imperial hunter with solid handles.
#5 Imperial hunter with shell handles.
#6 Set of three Ducks Unlimited fixed blades bought for $2 each!
#7 Imperial official Scout knife-fork-spoon set.
#8 Imperial Sport Master with cutting edge coated in tungsten carbide.Supposedly never needed to be sharpened.Would have been difficult anyway as the only thing harder than TC is diamond.
Attachments
ImpCigarette1.jpg
ImpCigarette2.jpg
ImperialHammerBrandSerpentineFixedBlade 002.jpg
ImperialHunterwithFishScalerBack2019.JPG
ImperialHunterwithShellHandles2019.JPG
ImperialIrelandDucksUnlimited$2Each.JPG
ImperialKnifeForkSpoonSet2020 001.jpg
ImperialSportsmaster 001.jpg
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by knife7knut »

These are DEFINITELY the last ones!
#1Imperial Ireland miniature lock back.
#2 Imperial Matterhorn multi-blade.
#3 Imperial Frontier Double Eagle advertising MAC tools.
#4 Imperial Frontier folding hunter.
#5 Official Boy Scout knife
#6 & #7 Two identical knives except for the etching on the blade. One says Pro Hunter and the other says Wildcat Hunter.Huge knives but very light for their size.
Attachments
Imperial Ireland MiniLockBack-2.50 001.jpg
ImperialFrontier4622FoldingHunter1.JPG
ImperialFrontierFR4715DoubleEagleMACTools2019.JPG
ImperialMatterhornMultiBlade2-1.JPG
ImperialScout2.JPG
ImperialProHunter.JPG
ImperialWildcatSkinner.JPG
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by kootenay joe »

Ray, thank you so much for taking time to take these pictures and show us a good variety of Imperial knives from old vintage to more recent.
Imperial knives are not fully appreciated by most collectors even though they played a big roll in USA pocket knife history. Many of us 'old guys' had an Imperial pocket knife when we were young boys.
I recently sold my Imperial knife collection and i felt a little sad to see them go.
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by tongueriver »

I hope I am not intruding on the wonderful parade of Imperials, Ray. Just wanted to show one that I like.
imp1.jpg
imp5.jpg
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by Ridgegrass »

I had one of the cigarette knives when i was a kid. Thought I was hot stuff.
That yellow coke bottle knocked me out! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: I'm jumping in tomorrow. J.O'
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by FRJ »

Me too!
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by knife7knut »

tongueriver wrote: Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:44 am I hope I am not intruding on the wonderful parade of Imperials, Ray. Just wanted to show one that I like.
imp1.jpgimp5.jpg
Intrude away amigo! :mrgreen: Beautiful oldie and thanks for sharing it. ::tu:: ::tu::
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by Miller Bro's »

Some nice ones I picked up over the years ........
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s-l640.jpg
8 (2).JPG
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imperial.jpg
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by Ridgegrass »

Pulled out a few "Imps". Some are "IKCo. You can probably pick them out. All the celluloids are solid bolster, and very well made.The scales are very well fitted and hardly shrunken. The EO s' pen blades are stamped "USA" for military use. The big Scoutie is an IKCo. Their cheaper, shell handle knives, while having a niche in the consumer market, have overshadowed these fine knives. I'll buy them anytime I can. J.O'.
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IMG_2689.jpg
IMG_2691.jpg
IMG_2693.jpg
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FRJ
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by FRJ »

Nice old Imperials, Dimitri and J.O.

Here's a few.
The dogleg has solid bolsters.
Attachments
DSCN5059.JPG
DSCN5063.JPG
DSCN5069.JPG
DSCN5075.JPG
DSCN5087.JPG
DSCN5089.JPG
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by FRJ »

And a few more.

Thanks for looking.
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DSCN5040.JPG
DSCN5044.JPG
DSCN5047.JPG
DSCN5050.JPG
DSCN5051.JPG
DSCN5054.JPG
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by Colonel26 »

Mr. Ray that early three blade that you believe to be converted to a clip is far and away my favorite! That’s a wonderful old knife.
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by royal0014 »

Some beautiful knives being shown here
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by Ridgegrass »

Great! That Dogleg is a peach! J.O'. ::tu:: ::tu::
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Re: Imperial:The,"King"of knives..........

Post by garddogg56 »

I love the nostalgia of Imperial shell handle knives.A KampKing was my first scout knife.I really like Imperials solid bolstered knives.
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