All About Pocket Knives

Nice condition on that old knife.

Here's a nice little jack (3 5/16") with new skins.

Really impressed with the newest Robeson from Queen that just showed up. Snap, fit and finish, color, centering, steel, transitions, flush springs open, closed, and half stopped. Nothing wrong with this one.

Here is a Great Robeson knife i acquired on ebay a few months ago, one of the best vintage knives i own. 3 3/4" Regular Jack (some might call it a Swell End Jack but it is not swelled enough for that). beautiful saber ground spearpoint master and pen blades and jigged black composition handles.
Master blade tang:Robeson/Shuredge(script)/Rochester,N.Y. and 62654 on the back; Pen blade: Robeson(arch)/Pat./App. For
Perfect walk and talk, both blades have half stops and are absolutely solid in the fully open position.
The blade edges are untouched factory original and very sharp as i discovered by passing my finger too close to the pen blade's edge.

edit to add: as soon as i cut myself i did the 'next right thing' which all serious knifers know is: don't get any blood, even a tiny droplet on the knife. Yes protect the knife first, deal with cut second.

Here are two 3" Dogleg Jacks, Pocketeze with ivory celluloid handles. The off white one i have had for some time and it has no half stops. The yellow one is new to me and has fuller blades both of which have half stops.
To me these look like the same pattern, the only visual difference is the swage on the master blade with the yellow handle one. Neither looks to have been tampered with or heavily buffed.
But pattern numbers on back tang of master blade are not the same:
white handle knife: 823650 (and no "N.Y." after "Rochester")
yellow handle knife: 422414/65 (has "N.Y.")

Can someone explain these completely different pattern numbers in what looks to be the same pattern ?

Nice ones!

If you had shown either of those, I would have said "414", but they made a near identical knife, only larger at
3 1/2", that was a 417.

The first digit "4" was for "Ivory Celluloid", the first digit "8" was for "Patterned Celluloid", which could have been any one of several different celluloid patterns.

I don't think anyone has figured out what all the suffices and there were many, added onto the pattern number meant, so I cannot tell you what that "65" indicated, but certainly it represented a departure from the standard 414 pattern.

I'm away from home right now, so I cannot look in any of my references, so I cannot attempt to ID that 650 pattern.

If anyone has the Ferguson book or the Robeson catalog reprint that David Clark published, maybe a 650 pattern knife is depicted in one of those.

That's where I'd look.

Charlie

That 054 jack is nice. Sorry you cut yourself on it.

The handle material is a form of hard rubber. It will shrink, but it will not outgas.

Just looking at the knife, I have no idea what the "Pat. Pending" stamp is making reference to. I don't think it would be the handles.

Charlie

Nice ones, KJ. I'm really liking the swell end w/ the saber grind main blade.

I've got a similar dogleg to your other two, but mine has a clip blade.

Those are 3 beautiful knives, Joe. I really like the first one with the sabre spear blade.
Dan

Thanks guys. Yes, the 054 jack with the saber ground Spearpoint blade is one of those special knives that in-hand gives you an "Oh Wow" feeling. I don't know what creates this feeling but every now and then you get a knife that seems superior to all the others and this Robeson has it in spades.
kj

Bloody well right.

Robe Bone Stag

Wow I-man that's a beaut.

Is this bone Jack Robeson made or Queen made ?
I don't recall seeing a Robeson made knife with an etch "1 of xxx".
kj

Queen

Thanks. A Robeson pattern made by Queen. It is common for knives to be made by a manufacturer different from markings on the tang.
In my organizing i group knives by manufacturer rather than by what is marked on the knife. For example a Camillus made Buck is really a Camillus knife.
I would like to know how others view such knives. Using this Queen made 'Robeson' knife as an example do you see it as a Queen or a Robeson ?
kj

I call it a Robeson. Like I call my Northwoods Northwoods, even though they were made by Queen or GEC. Case made some for Winchester, I call Winchester. I go with brand, not manufacturer, but to each his own. If someone calls the Robeson a Queen, fine, whatever.

Ontario knife owns the name "Robeson Cutlery Co" and has since about 1977.

If they make and mark a knife "Robeson", it's a Robeson.

If Saul Frankel and Emerson Case did not want to have such knives made in the future, they should not have sold the name to anybody.

Having said that, as a Robeson collector, I don't consider the knives by Queen to be Robesons. That era ended in 1965 in Perry, New York.

Queen repeatedly markets these knives without regard to any accuracy in manufacturing. They make "PocketEze" knives without flush joints. They make "MasterCraft" knives without bronze bearings. They make patterns Robeson never produced. They use shields, etches and tang stamps Robeson never used.

They make a nice knife. They just aren't Robesons. My opinion. Your's are free to differ, of course.

If someone started making a "Duesenberg" automobile, with modern engines, power brakes and a/c, would they be Duesenbergs?

Charlie Noyes

I just got this pocketeze in the mail, I used the tang stamp charts here on aapk and it appears to be 1922-1939. I'm assuming this is celluloid ivory but it sure looks convincing in person! What can you all tell me about this pattern? Did Robeson use much real ivory? Such a shame the damage that happened to the main blade, it's a very nice knife otherwise, but it will still make a great edc. Pattern #423492 if the picture is too difficult to read.

That's a nice little knife, Paul.
Since it's a carry knife you might be able to stone out the rough damage to the blade.

Nice little knife and it is celluloid. The first digit "4" in the pattern number denoted ivoroid as the handle material.

I have never seen a Robeson knife with genuine ivory handles.

Charlie Noyes

Looks like somebody might have run a little electricity to ground with that blade . I do like your knife, I only have a couple of Robesons so far and am interested in the Pocketeze patterns.
Treefarmer

Thanks for the replies everybody. Treefarmer I really like the pocketeze knives as well, they are very trim and classy. After going through this whole Robeson thread I think I have a fever I have another pocketeze on the way that looks nicer than this one from the seller pictures, the hunt is on for more. Charlie, is there any model in particular that you like better than others? Do you often carry a Robeson or mostly collect?

Sometimes I'll carry and "bond" with a new acquisition, but mostly I carry a more modern knife.

I am starting to sell some Robeson knives, so I'm not really "collecting" anymore.

I am still pursuing their Terrier line and I bought a nice one off Ebay a couple of days ago.

Charlie