All About Pocket Knives

tr, is your Ruana a newly made knife ? or an older one ?
Has Ruana become like Randall ? i.e. small shop with experienced 'cutlers' making knives as a group effort that are similar to those of the original 'master' ? (Rudy & Bo)
kj

philco wrote:Great showing John. I'm sure glad to see you posting pictures.

Thanks Phil.. I am having fun... John

kootenay joe wrote:tr, is your Ruana a newly made knife ? or an older one ?
Has Ruana become like Randall ? i.e. small shop with experienced 'cutlers' making knives as a group effort that are similar to those of the original 'master' ? (Rudy & Bo) kj

circa 1998 on knife posted, made by Vic Hangas, full custom. Now two men only, Rudy's grandsons, Vic's sons. Same old tiny shop.

A new one I got today....

Just a couple for starts.

"Customer is always right" just finished this up for a customer who furnished a huge old white tail antler that he found on his farm in southern Ne. I have made quite a few of antler crown handled knives but I don't particularly like them. This one actually feels pretty good though. Kind of on the large size, used 5/32" thick O-1 tool steel. Terry

I'm with yer customer I likey

Terry, you do some fine work! I like crown stag handles but then I have some big mitts. Beautiful knife!!!

This one was a gift from a friend. The packaging says "Made in the USA" but I've never heard of the manufacturer before. It is part of a boxed set that includes a biker wallet and key keeper. All seem to be well made.

Terry, that is a beautiful piece of antler, one of the best i have seen and one of the biggest. I'm sure the customer is very pleased with his special custom knife. A piece of Stag with this girth is best for hands bigger than mine.
kj

A couple

"A couple"
What understatement !
Five exceptional vintage 'Bowies' ! (not all true Bowie knives, i just don't know their correct names)
k7k you have The Most Amazing collection of vintage knives, every type & every country & always fine examples.
Would you mind telling us a bit about each of these 5 Big Beauties ?
kj

k7k, Interesting and nice group of bowies. Is the 2nd one down maybe a F.A.Bower from Germany? Looks like one I had a while back. What is with the steel on the bottom brass back, crown antler handle, looks like Damascus? I like em all! Terry

I am liking that one on top very well, indeed. The second one down, the German, is pretty close to one I had for awhile. Some of those have very interesting sheaths, as well. Good show!

I noticed a few Old Timer and other Sharpfinger patterns in the thread...truly one of my favorite fixed blades ever made. It's made to become a part of your hand, an extension of your finger.

My photos show my early model, my early model next to my later US made model, and the blank I recently bought for a project knife I'm building for my stepson. The blank isn't made in the US, nor is it carbon steel, but it's a quite sharp 7cr17 stainless version I picked up recently. I'd love to have a D2 version, or at the least a salvaged and ground blank left over after Schrade shut down for a good, solid project, but this will have to do.

I posted this elsewhere but since I'm really proud of it, I'm posting it here too. It's a Western made Craftsman customized by AAPKs own Orvet aka Dale Vincent. I was fortunate to be able to acquire this knife at the OKCA show in Eugene, Oregon last weekend. Not only is it a beautiful knife in its own right, it's also a great memento of my first ever in person meeting with my friend Dale and an excellent example of his knife skills.

kootenay joe wrote:"A couple"
What understatement !
Five exceptional vintage 'Bowies' ! (not all true Bowie knives, i just don't know their correct names)
k7k you have The Most Amazing collection of vintage knives, every type & every country & always fine examples.
Would you mind telling us a bit about each of these 5 Big Beauties ?
kj

The top knife is a Joseph Rodgers V crown R No.6 Norfolk Street Sheffield circa 1880.Has the original sheath with it also.
Second one is indeed an F.A.Bower Germany.
Third is a Fred James bowie made in the 1960's.Fred worked for Wostenholm at one time and had some of their old stamps.This one isn't stamped with his name but has a series of 1850's era etches on the blade.It also has it's original sheath. Jim Taylor looked at it and verified that it was one of Fred's knives.Jim knew him and his wife Ivy when he lived in England.
Fourth is a modern bowie by Silver Stag. A very nicely made knife.
Last is another modern knife by Colt which looks like the blade is forged from pieces of wire cable.Probably Pacific Rim or Pakistan made but it looks to be fairly well constructed.

k7k, thank you for posting the ID of the 5 large fixed blades. One aspect of your collecting that i like is the range not only geographic, but also value. Here you have a very collectible pre 1890 J.Rodgers Bowie along with a more recent Pakistan Bowie and you are able to enjoy & appreciate both. You are an 'equal opportunity' collector. Me too !
kj

k7k I would be amazed if the bottom knife is Pakistani made. I say this because in my experience the knives from that country always sport rather crude handles even when the materials are fairly good. And your handle does not look at all crude. From here it looks just fine.

Thanks for the kind words Roland;I do like all types of knives.
The Rodgers bowie I found quite by accident in an antique shop in Marshall Michigan.I had driven there to attend a car show with my Safari wagon but it was rained out. I stopped to get a coffee for the trip home and next to the coffee shop was an antique shop.
Walking in at first glance it looked a bit disappointing;mostly new stuff and phony antiques. In the back there was a counter with a box of pocket knives on it and I asked to look at them. The proprietor said OK and brought out another box of knives as well. While I was looking through them he asked if I was into bowie knives. I told him I like all kinds of knives and he proceeds to drag the Rodgers out from under a pile of stuff in one of the display cases.
I wound up negotiating a price of $225 for it and drove home with a BIG smile on my face. Showed it to my friend Guy who was president of the Bowie Knife Collectors at the time and he figured it was probably worth around $1200 or so.
The James bowie I bought from a gun collector for $300 and thought I probably had overpaid a bit for it but Jim Taylor said that was a fair price for one with the original sheath which made me feel a little better.
I don't recall what i paid for the Bower but I think it was around $25. The Silver Stag and the Colt I bought for $60 apiece a couple years ago.
Here are some closeup pictures of the Fred James knife and the blade on the Colt. Also a Manhattan Cutlery Co bowie from around 1890 or so and a Cogswell & Harrison(high end London gunsmiths)double edged dagger from about the same period.Also four more knives by Emil Voos;Solingen #448;R.J.Richter;and a Hubertus hunting dagger.

Great thread
I am working my way through it

Hey Jerry! Howdy !

These two are by the late, great, Al Mar. I was very pleased to acquire them.

Very Nice Al Mar knives, especially like the top one. I just finished this 7 3/4" hunting knife up for a customer, I made it with O-1 tool steel and Himalayan ram horn for a handle. It kind of looks like marble when polished. I finished it up one day last week and sold it to the first guy that looked at it. Terry

Great knife Terry! I love the look of ram's horn for handles. I only have one and it is a switchblade of all things!