All About Pocket Knives

Can anyone tell me anything about this company, I dont see very many of them around, I have one that my Grandad carried for many years.
It has a busted scale and I am in the process of fixxing it but the break is in a very strange shape, thanks ahead of time for any and all you guys effort.
Enjoy The Day
Rusty

Hi OLDSMOKE, There are a few knife collectors that think Utica only made cheap knives. Matter of fact most do. That is not the case at all. They made some of the best looking and working knives ever by an American company, so much so that they made knives for many other knife companies and hardware suppliers. In the 1980's a group of men from the south bought what was called the Utica Factory collection of knives that were on display in what was at one time the Presidents office of the company. Those knives were some of the finest knives ever made with some fantastic handles of exotic pearls, horn, bone stag and celluloid. The beauty and workmanship of those knives, many of which were made before 1937, cannot be appreciated till you hold one in your hand an open and close the blades. I know this because I have about 12 from that coillection and they are just fantastic.

I have attached some pictures of them.

The knife you have is what I like to call an old warrior so treat it kindly it comes from good stock.

Great stuff!!

Those are some real beauties Mr. Galvanic sir!

Utica lives on today as KutMaster...sort of ironic I guess...

http://www.kutmaster.com/index.php

Bill

Thanks El Lobo

That is a wonderful collection of old Uticas, galvanic! You are a lucky man!!

I must agree with the others, I dont suppose you would like to turn lose of the bottom one in the top picture, that is just what cranks my handle up.!!!
Thank You for shareing with us.
Rusty

1882, any idea about what year this was made?

First let me say that is one sweet looking knife, love the etch!!!!

It has always been thought that the Utica curved stamp was used before 1937. Knife World will be doing an article soon telling more about the stamps and trying to date them better. I would google the name that is etched to see when they were in business which might narrow it down some.

Wish I could be of more help, Mike

A likely candidate would be A. H. Harris and Sons, distributors of various building supplies, founded in 1916 in New Britain, CT. Now, they have centers all over the NorthEast.
At one time, they used "HAR - MAC" as a logo.

I see those objects at the ends of the blade etch as stylized evergreen trees, a source for building supplies.

Charlie Noyes

I found out from the original owner of this knife that it came from a hardware chain called HARPER & MACINTIRE with a warehouse in OTTUMWA IOWA.

Hmmm. May have belonged to Radar O'Riley

There is a very good article on Utica by Mark Zalesky in the September 2010 issue of Knife World.

Dale

I read the article in Knife World Friday night, great read. Saturday I went out on my weekly search/sell/trade/buy adventure. First stop was a bust.Second stop I found a 3 15/16 Kutmaster stockman. Traded for it, then went home. Unusual (to me) the handles have hammered pins and the center pin is spun. Greenish brown bone handles. My pictures are not the best, but here they are. I have a question. Is this rogers bone?

edgy46 wrote:Is this rogers bone?

It was sold by the Rogers company, what exactly they called it is unknown to me.

The company that made Rogers Bone was Rogers Mfg. Co. of Rockfall, CT. They made bone fertilizer and other bone items as early as 1891. They started making bone knife handles about 1900. About WWI, they traded their fertilizer operation to Rogers & Hibbard for Rogers & Hibbard’s bone products business, including their bone handle making business. From then on Rogers Mfg. Co. was the biggest manufacturer of bone products in the USA, They also made toothbrush handles, combs, baby pacifiers, and bits for corncob pipes.

The Rogers Mfg. Co. name for what we today call “Rogers Bone” was believe it or not “Rogers Stag.” They made small quantities of other jigging styles as well.

Rogers Mfg. Co. stopped selling bone knife handles in 1962. As you might imagine the plastics industry had pretty much eliminated the need for many of their bone products. When was the last time you went to the store and bought a new toothbrush with a bone handle, or a bone comb or baby pacifier?

*Info gleaned from an article by Bernard Levine. Knife World, November 1987.

Below are some examples of what I have heard called Rogers Bone.
You will note considerable difference in depth of jigging, which makes some patterns appear to be different from others. Keep in mind that these are all 50+ years old, some closer to 75+ years old. A lot of pocket wear can take place in that length of time. I believe this accounts for the different appearance of the bone.

Dale

Thanks for the replies to my question. Sometimes I think I've got Rogers bone sorted out, then sometimes it I feel it is a very broad category

Nice collection of Rodger bone, Dale. And a beauty of a Utica, JKB!!

Here is a scout knife, branded KeenKutter that likely was made by Utica. Does anyone know for sure??

I don't know anything about that except that it is DEAD SEXY!!!!

CC,

Check out these two, both KK knives.

Can you tell the different between the two..........real easy!

I will tell you what you cannot see.

KK on left hand side of picture:
Is just like your knife has the same markings and pattern number on the back of the blade.
It has a thick steel center spacer/liner with brass outer liners.
The shield has two pins.

Scout knife on right hand side of picture below:
No pattern number and has a thick brass center spacer/liner and brass outers.
One pin in the shield.

Both can opener blades are unmarked and both punch blades are identical.

Dimitri, the spring pin is brass on the right (brass liner) knife. The jigging looks different, but I can't see it well enough to tell why. Are the shields marked or plain??

orvet wrote:The company that made Rogers Bone was Rogers Mfg. Co. of Rockfall, CT. They made bone fertilizer and other bone items as early as 1891. They started making bone knife handles about 1900. About WWI, they traded their fertilizer operation to Rogers & Hibbard for Rogers & Hibbard’s bone products business, including their bone handle making business. From then on Rogers Mfg. Co. was the biggest manufacturer of bone products in the USA, They also made toothbrush handles, combs, baby pacifiers, and bits for corncob pipes.

The Rogers Mfg. Co. name for what we today call “Rogers Bone” was believe it or not “Rogers Stag.” They made small quantities of other jigging styles as well.

Rogers Mfg. Co. stopped selling bone knife handles in 1962. As you might imagine the plastics industry had pretty much eliminated the need for many of their bone products. When was the last time you went to the store and bought a new toothbrush with a bone handle, or a bone comb or baby pacifier?

*Info gleaned from an article by Bernard Levine. Knife World, November 1987.

Below are some examples of what I have heard called Rogers Bone.
You will note considerable difference in depth of jigging, which makes some patterns appear to be different from others. Keep in mind that these are all 50+ years old, some closer to 75+ years old. A lot of pocket wear can take place in that length of time. I believe this accounts for the different appearance of the bone.

Dale

Wow! Dale, those are some fine examples of jigged bone handles. No wonder they called it "Rogers Stag". That's just gorgeous. It's a dirty shame those jigging machines are not still in use today.

upnorth wrote:The jigging looks different, but I can't see it well enough to tell why. Are the shields marked or plain??

Yes, different jigging pattern.

Both shields are plain, no embossing.

I have had lots of these and have yet to see the shields embossed

Hit the jackpot Saturday Kutmaster four blade stockman. Bone handles,nickel silver milled liners. It must have been milled after the liners and bolsters were assembled as the bolsters show some milling. Love nickel silver liners, they just set off a knife and I never can part with them. Unless someone has way way too much money. After taking pictures I was inspecting (fondling) my new treasure I noticed a v at the bottom of the tang stamp, does anyone have any info on this mark. edit for more info the v that i mentioned above is on the reverse of the other three blades?

Edgy,
I agree with ya, and really like knives with n/s liners. I also think the milled liners are great and add alot to a knife. You've got both there!!
Mark

It's been a while since I posted some new (old) Knives. I have been on a Utica streak of late. Here are 4 of my latest, these old Utica's are hard to find!
Top 2 Jacks have the Arched Stamp with Serifs, the Toothpick is also Arched sans serif and the Jack on the bottom has the Strait Line Stamp and is all steel only brass pins.
I love the old bone on these.