The Eyes of Texas
Posted: Sat Jun 06, 2015 3:49 pm
I am hoping to join this particular Forum after sitting on the sidelines of this and other similar knife sites for several years. No idea yet whether I'm doing this correctly but will keep trying. I credit Handlewithcare for his very nice invitation to join-in and perhaps share some Eye Brand and Carl Schlieper perspectives from time-to-time, derived from my having collected Schlieper cutlerly since 1975. In reading some of the posts to this German Eye Collector's Forum it is of no surprise to me that some of the questions, and even frustrations, that are sometimes expressed as to some of the details (or lack thereof) are the same questions and frustrations that I have encountered over the years with the cutlery. Example: It has been my experience that specifically targeting the manufacture dates for most of the specific patterns is difficult at best and can often only be specific as to a range of several years or a decade or two. Another example that has perhaps added to the possible confusion is that the "old" straight line Carl Schlieper tang stamping was somewhat revived in the 1990's and seemed to make it very difficult for newer collectors to distinguish between a very new and a really old knife. Despite all of this I still believe Eye Brand to be the basis of a solid knife collection for many. I have witnessed first hand in Solingen many of the processes that went into the making of truly quality knives at one time, several of those processes completed by individual Cottage workers within their homes. I have the great honor of considering Mr. Hanspeter Schlieper and the General Manager, Mr. Walter Bruchhaus, among my friends. They both were very instrumental in assisting me in building my collection in the 1980's and contributed to the article that has been referred to within this forum which I gladly wrote and contributed to the knife community. It is a tremendous pleasure for me now to see that Eye Brand collectors can derive some value from that information and perhaps use it in detailing their own knives and collections. I do not hold myself out to be any form of expert on the cutlery but will gladly share as much information as possible. There are those, such as Mr. Paladin, that probably have as much or more related research experience as myself, along with his developing much written material also. So, with that, I will stop rambling and simply dive in every so often to share and hopefully assist. Glad to be aboard.
Joe D. Dobbs
Joe D. Dobbs
to the forum, Mr. Joe Dobbs! Very glad to have you amongst us and look forward to your input.