All About Pocket Knives

The story is that the blades for this Wostenholm IXL were made in England in the 1980s and stored away until recently, when they were shipped to Japan and assembled into finished knives. I certainly can't vouch for that, but it's a very nice piece of work, wherever it is from. The front of the main blade is etched I*XL with Wostenholm stamped on the tang. The reverse is stamped Japan on the tang. Both blades have nice swedges cut on the reverse, and both have striker pulls. The handles are a dark wood, and the overall fit and finish is excellent. The whole knife has a very solid, heavy feel. I'm very impressed with this article of English/Japanese craftmanship. It also doesn't hurt that it is a classic American copperhead pattern.

(I edited this post after I did some more research and realized that, of course, Wostenholm is a Sheffield name, not a Solingen one...trail.)

Vewy Vewy Nice!

That sounds like a classic Parker tale. The number of "warehouse finds" over the years has been almost staggering. I believe Parker either owned, rented, or borrowed the Wostenholm name for a short period of time.

I've owned several of these and they are nice knives for the price.

Roush428r I'm pretty certain your right about the 'Parker Tale' statement you made in your reply. I do however think you may have meant Parker 'stole, robbed, and raped' the older well known name brands of cutlery at his pleasure and for his own benefit. Does that sound about right?

Aimus

As I see these knives come on the market and I read what the sellers have to say, I am coming to the belief that Parker may have had the blades made in Japan in the later days of his empire and that they were assembled fairly recently - but nothing Wostenholm about them except the name - in other words, any suggestion that the blades were made in England is almost certainly in error. Regardless, they are decent quality, readily available, hefty and cheap. Here' a big lockback.

Aimus Moses wrote:Roush428r I'm pretty certain your right about the 'Parker Tale' statement you made in your reply. I do however think you may have meant Parker 'stole, robbed, and raped' the older well known name brands of cutlery at his pleasure and for his own benefit. Does that sound about right?

Aimus

I was trying to be diplomatic

Hello trail,
Very cool knife . I like the blade design and engraving, are those scales made of wood, I like the grain.
John

Nice knives for the price!

I've just got one of them, but a Copperhead or a Trapper would be nice too... I started using mine this Summer and it has seen some pocket time and smelled some fresh air in the woods since then. I'm pleased with it!
I think the handles are made of laminated wood of some sorts.

I wonder how many were made of these...

Froggyedge wrote: I wonder how many were made of these...

Hard to say, but I wouldn't rule out a future SMKW or eBay "warehouse find".

Plenty of them out there. I've seen several on ebay, World Knives sells them new for under $20.

Roush428r wrote:

Froggyedge wrote: I wonder how many were made of these...

Hard to say, but I wouldn't rule out a future SMKW or eBay "warehouse find".

Wouldn't surprise me either..!