Holley Mfg. Co., Lakeville, Conn.

[kootenay joe]

To get back on the Holley track, here is a 2 7/8" shadow pen knife that i believe is all original; no half stops, works smoothly, very nicely made.
kj

[bestgear]

Ahhhh thank you Roland, that's the shot in the arm we needed!

[FRJ]

Beautiful knife.
A real Holley.

[FreddyNewandkye]

I recently did some restorative work on a Holley pen knife originally owned by my grandfather. Based on what I've found online, I believe it was made in the 1920s and has an imitation ivory handle, but I'm not sure how accurate that information is. Could anyone please tell me more about this knife?

[FRJ]

Welcome, FreddyNewandkye.

That is a very nice little pen knife.
Lacking bolsters on each end it is referred to as a shadow knife. A shadow pen knife.
I can't tell what the covers are made from. Are you certain they are imitation ivory?
What kind of restorative work did you do to the knife?

[FreddyNewandkye]

FJR,

Thank you for the welcome and the information! I can't say for certain whether the handle is imitation ivory or real ivory. I only pulled the imitation ivory bit from a posting I saw on ebay of the same knife. I have not performed a burn test on the handle as I'd rather not find out the hard way that it's bone or something else. I've been trying to find a local appraiser who could give me a better idea of the handle's composition.

As for the restoration, just simple cleaning and rust removal. I used Liquid Wrench L106 as a penetrating oil and lubricant. To remove rust, I used Hoppes No. 9 with 320 grain and 400 grain sand paper. After the sandpaper, I used Hoppes along with some stainless steel dental picks (old Army trick for cleaning the star chamber of an M-16A2 / M-4 - works wonders for tough to get spots) and a brass brush. To finish, I used Blue Magic metal polish with a high fiber count cloth.

I didn't take a before picture, but it was quite dirty.

[kootenay joe]

The handles on your knife are not a man made substance. They are natural material most likely elephant ivory which Holley did use.
kj

[FreddyNewandkye]

Interesting. Would either of you gentlemen be able to venture a guess as to when it could have been manufactured? The 1920s period mentioned in my original post was pulled from the same ebay listing which claimed the handle was imitation ivory. I have no real inclination as to time period the knife was made.

[peanut740]

Handles are Ivory.I would guess it was made prior to WW1.

[kootenay joe]

Quote: "ebay listing which claimed the handle was imitation ivory"
I think ebay sellers cannot say "ivory" or item might get pulled. Hence they might say "imitation ivory" whether real or imitation.
kj

[FreddyNewandkye]

Yes, I thought that might be a possibility too.

[LongBlade]

Nice knife ... looks like "I" to me as well based on photos... imitation ivory or french ivory (sometimes called ivorine if I am not mistaken) has an unmistakable perpendicular lines in the covers which I am not seeing... and definitely not celluloid - and no sign of haversian canals as bone... depending on clarity of photos it is hard to tell unless one has it in hand to look at least for me...

[FRJ]

At the flea market today I bought this knife. I didn't know what it was except that it was a large whittler with Pearl covers and the main blade had an issue. I never even opened the small blades. I paid the guy $8.
Well, I brought it home and cleaned it a little and sure as shootin' it's a large whittler. 3 3/4". With Pearl covers and a main blade that has issues. Can't even bring the kick down to get the tip in the well. Someone beat me to that. Can't find a hint of a stamp in the main blade tang. That seems pretty unusual to me. The action on the main pivot is pretty well worn but the small blades are quite snappy to their half stops. Woe is me. Such an elegant knife put to hard use. Before pictures= black background -- After picts.= white background.
Thanks for looking.

[montemojo]

KJ Freddie and Joe, those are all great looking knives. I have been hoping to run across one but haven't been as lucky. Thanks for posting!

Monte

[ratlesnake75]

Hey GUYS, Here are a couple nice old Holley's that should be Posted
Kind Regards,
Mark

[FRJ]

Indeed they should, Mark. Nice big old Holleys.
Thanks for showing those beauties.

[djknife13]

Those are really sweet knives. I especially like the Pearl Whittler and that hawkbill. ____Dave

[ratlesnake75]

Thanks djknife13 & FRJ for the kind Words
Mark

[FRJ]

Here's a neat little Holley swell center with square bolsters and horn skins.
Bolsters are lined at the tips.
Somebody loved this knife. It's easy to see why.

[montemojo]

Great looking knife Joe. I still haven't been lucky enough to acquire one.

Monte

[LongBlade]

That's an old sweet one Joe ... you know I always wondered about those knives & how they were used long ago - one could clean their nails with the manicure blade and cut fruit & tomatoes at the same time with the master .... .....

[FRJ]

It's true, Lee. A knife like this could keep a guy busy.
Someone sure got some honest use out of the main blade which was surely a spear.

[FRJ]

Thank you, Monte.
They show up from time to time. I hope you find one.

[FRJ]

Here's a Boys Knife. 3 1/8". Half stops and all steel bolsters, pins and liners.
A very nice little knife.

[djknife13]

Holley knives all seem to have a serious, all business look and feel to them, and still have a ton of class with little frill. Even the boys knife looks like a knife a man could proudly carry his entire life. Nice knives Joe. Thanks for showing them. ____Dave