Old Connecticut knife

[stockman]

This little gun stock is 3" long. It is tang stamped Thomaston/ Knife Co./Conn. on
the master blade. The secondary blade is stamped Conn/Cutlery/Naugatuck. What do you
think the odds of this knife coming out of the factory stamped like this are? The stamp on the secondary is very hard to read Maybe even some guess work. The June Knife World
article on Naugatuck Area Cutlers by Ben Timme caused me to think of this knife.
Very good article. Two pictures, they are hard to see I could not get them any better.
It is old both blades are old, I just don't know if they belong in this frame. The knife fits
like most knives that are worn out and nearly 100 years old.

Stockman

[Beechtree]

Very fun knife stockman, great to see it!
Goins' has a knife listed for "Conn Cutlery Co. Naugatuck" that has a "Conn Cutlery Co. Thomaston" on the small blade. He has listed Conn. Cutlery Co. as being active from 1867-1883 and Conn. Cutlery Co. Thomaston 1880-1883. Thomaston CT and Naugatuck CT are about 15 miles apart. I do know that cutlers would move from one shear shop, or knife shop to another, and at least in the case of shear shops, in a rotating circuit. Could it be that cutlers working at the Conn. plant in Naugatuck happened to also have a place to work in Thomaston and had just brought blades with them?
Although more likely as Thomaston knife co. is a separate affair than Conn. Cutlery Naugatuck, it could be that someone simply replaced the blade. But hey, even if that is the case, you have two different rare CT cutlery affairs represented there!
Very cool!

[FRJ]

I agree with Beechtree in terms of the connections, and you have got two great historical cutlery stamps there in one beautiful knife.
Great representatives of early Connecticut knife making.

Here's some information from Goins encyclopedia.

[stockman]

Beechtree and FRJ, Thanks for the information on the knife. The older knives
are the ones that hold my interest the best.

Stockman

[bonehead]

Stockman,

Great timing.... Be sure to read this months edition of Knife World. Excellent front page article re: Cutlery co's. from Conn/Cutlery/Naugatuck area. A must when you have one like that. I just read it and it will give you the chills. Nice knife BH

[Beechtree]

I will have to get a copy of that, thanks BH, sounds like it should be a good read.

[Beechtree]

Well I finally took your advice BH and backordered the June 2012 Knife World. That is a fantastic article by Mr. Timme. In it he states that " some blades with Connecticut Cutlery, Thomaston stampings have been found on knives normally made in Naugatuck." Therefore, if there are others out there such as this, it seems to lead one to conclude that certain cutler(s) were manufacturing these knives, potentially after the collapse of the Connecticut Cutlery Co in 1883? Goins' writes that Conn. Cutlery Co. Thomaston was a stamp used between 1880-1883. Sole based on the starting of the Thomaston Knife Co. in 1887, I would guess that maybe the knife was made by a Naugatuck cutler who started to work at the Thomaston firm in the late 1880's-90's but who retained some of the Conn. Cutlery Co. blades. It is difficult to find out where it would have been made, but either way, this is a very neat knife.

[stockman]

Thanks Beechtree for the info. I dug my June 2012 KW out and reread the article
"Naugatuck Area Cutlers." On page 15 "some blades with Connecticut Cutlery, Thomaston
stampings have been found on knives normally made in Naugatuck."

Stockman

[knife7knut]

You also might get a copy of Phil Pankewicz' book A History of New England Cutlery(I think that is the name.He gets into a lot of detail.I have a copy but it is buried in my basement library.

[stockman]

k7k Thanks, I do have the book I will check it out

Stockman