My First German Eye... Please Advise

[Bill-in-Texas]

Hello All,
I have read some of the posts regarding Carl Schlieper "German Eye" knives. It appears that I have an old one. I'd be interested to learn what I can about this stockman; I'll tell you all I know about it. Mostly, you can see all there is to know from the pictures but, beyond that I'll say this:
it measures 4-1/32" closed;
there is no blade wobble, whatsoever;
there are no cracks in the celluloid handles; and,
there is a very faint single-line etching on the main blade that says "Premium Quality..." with an eye to the right of the words.

Anyone have tips on polishing blades?
I think this is an old-style shield.



All 3 blades have this tang stamp...

All blades strongly snap open & shut.

[HiPower]

i think this is early 70s or later. definately a top serpentine stock & most importantly it has sunken joints. palatin has more info but i would'nt polish blades, clean & oil only. this knife will show you the meaning of great steel.--HiPower

[Paladin]

That is their oldest stamp. I call it the straight line stamp. It was used thru 1963, according to Joe Dobbs article in Knife World. The shield is old style. I'd bet there were 2 eyes in that faint etch. As HiPower says, that is some of the best carbon steel ever and it is a real edge holder.
As per HiPower, I wouldn't clean at all, at least with anything mechanical and very little of the MetalGlo or such.

Ray

[Bill-in-Texas]

Thank you HiPower & Ray.

Yes, it was my understanding that the tang stamp style & "bomb" shield were of the earliest years -I'm just not sure how early. I appreciate the end-time frame, Ray.

I won't overly clean it although you should've seen it before I went over it with 0000 steel wool. The old celluloid scales have de-gassed a bit and the blades were oxidized as a result.

It is a definite EDC knife (I carried it today, in fact) and the carbon steel is excellent!
For a 4-inch knife, it is really unobtrusive in my jeans pocket. It is one of my favorites.

[Paladin]

Bill,
Their yellow handles shrink a bit but I have never seen them gas out.

Ray

[HiPower]

ditto to answer palatin says on that yellow celluloid.--HiPower

[Bill-in-Texas]

Thanks gents.



By the way, this poster's knife bears the same shield (there were many styles but, it's the only other one I've seen, so far) & similar handle material; mine's more like a pale yellow, it resembles the color of a butternut squash...(!)
http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... 65&t=16333

[HiPower]

bill that celluloid in yellow varies from light yellow to a rich darker yellow that i describe as lemon meringue. eye had some bad gassers in the late 70s & early eighties. their x-mas, & a gray with darker grey stripes. i was owner of just about all the bad gassers but was fortunate to live near the eye brand jobber whom replaced handles very in expensively in the 80s . those days are past & most eyes do'nt command prices to justify handle replacement.--HiPower