All About Pocket Knives

That certainly is some very nice stag Charlie! With only a dozen made it's no wonder they were already sold out by the time I saw them.
Can you post a good shot of the NYK punch? So I know of what punch you speak.

Dave

Early NYK punch below. Their later one had grooves on the outside, somewhat like Camillus's "spiral" punch.


("With only a dozen made it's no wonder they were already sold out by the time I saw them." - serendipitous statement!! )

I can see how that particular punch with the rounded edges that wrapped around would be highly useful then as well as now.

Now I see what you mean for the engineering
I assume that back in the day this punch was formed on a press, and that the dies to make this punch is where is expense is at.

A harness jack makes for a great using knife. It has a blade for cutting, and the awl comes in handy both for poking and scraping. Don't tell me that I'm the only one who actually uses one of Charlie's knives. They're too good to just squirrel away.

2nd run in goldenroot bone

Here is the Schatt Punch, patented in the same time period as the NYK. It has a laminated tang, but the curved metal does not exceed the thickness of the tang, like the NYK does.
The pull is the top curled edge, but it is obviously more shallow than the New York.

Thanks for the illustration of the lamination ! Charlie It's easy to see that a punch like this or the NYK would be cost prohibitive with modern production methods.

Very interesting to know Charlie. I had no idea there was any kind of laminating going on in knives during this period.

Well, there have been some rumblings going on in the world of Harness Jacks!
GEC has produced a Forum Knife for another place on the internet, and I played a small part in designing it. Since it was a new pattern for GEC, and one I wanted to re-do some year, I jumped in with a new for 2011 HJ!
It is a Teardrop, not unlike my first Queen SFO, but there are some significant differences.
The steel is 1095, so it rusts like a good old knife should - actually it should take and hold a great edge!
(I wonder if the moderators want to move this thread, since it is veering away from Queen - at least for now.)
The punch - ahh the punch!
Designed by W. Carman, and patented in 1908, it was used by Napanoch Cutlery until 1919, and subsequently, for a few years, by Winchester who bought them out in 1919. Winchester replaced it with a cheaper-to-make punch shortly after the buyout. After some cajoling, and crass bribery (just kidding), Bill at GEC agreed to do it.
50 Peachseed bone, and 50 Ebony, and one in Pre-ban Ivory will be the production numbers, due to be completed in a week or so!
Without further ado, the debut on the internet of HJ5!!

I like it!

where do i get an ebony one????????

Moved to Knife Lore forum.

Thanks Dale!

Email me for further information guys & gals!

Here are some NAPANOCH punch blades in my JACK KNIFE BEN collection and one old WINCHESTER.

more

JACKNIFEBEN wrote:Here are some NAPANOCH punch blades in my JACK KNIFE BEN collection and one old WINCHESTER.

Did Winchester use the same punch design as Napanoch?

Yes, after Winchester bought out Napanoch they used their punch blades until they were used up. Back in the early 1900's Jack Knife Ben contracted Napanoch to make his knives at the Union Stock Yards in Chicago. No paper work on these statements, just what I have heard over the last 40 years. It has been fun.

Thanks JKB!
It appears Charlie updated his post (or I totally missed it….entirely possible) to include the punch info.
It is interesting history! I am wondering how they machined the punch in 1908 (pat. date), given their technology then? I wonder if they machined the punch then heat treated it or if they heat treated it first?
I can see how it would be difficult to do.

Charlie-
That peach seed bone is as close to Schrades as I have seen! Nice job! Did Bill have the jigging done in-house of was it outsourced?

It is awesome that they used the Napanoch punch. I really appreciate that GEC will make knives that preserve bits of history like this!

Nice collection, JKB!!

Dale, Bill at GEC designed the jigging after I nagged him for about a year!
He had actually been quite interested in making knives that looked like the old Schrades.
They do all their handle cutting, jigging and dying in-house.

I am sure both companies heat treated after the rough grinding.
The Napanochs have longitudinal grind marks, sort of like a shaped wheel was run the length of each groove. The GEC has rotational marks, and was done I was told with a specially made cutter run along while the steel was annealed. The backs and tips required lots of hand work to make a proper tip and edge.
They went the extra mile to do a good job!

I sourced some pre-ban tusk for GEC, and in gratitude, they handled this one for me;

Nice ivory handles. Think GEC could make this type of punch blade?

JACKNIFEBEN wrote:Nice ivory handles. Think GEC could make this type of punch blade?

You never know!!

Sure look great Charlie!!
Can't wait to get my hands on them Love the jigging


Dave

This is a great thread. I probably would not have considered picking up a Harness Jack, but after reading about their history and how Charlie had them made using the different leather punches I pulled the trigger on one of the few remaining.

Thanks Dave and Charlie.

Bill

Great lookin Jack there Bill!! Keep an eye on that carbon steel down there on the coast with the salty breeze.

Dave

Great looking jack Bill.