Cattaraugus Elephant Toe - ("Original") ???

[herbva]

The seller of this Catt Elephant Toe claims it is "original". I'm not saying this is a fake, but all of the pins look like someone used steel nails and did a poor job of it. And obviously all the metal surfaces of the entire knife have been heavily sanded. I own one of these, but it has jigged bone scales. Did Catt ever make this knife with smooth (non-jigged) scales like the one in this auction?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/224476598658?h ... SwrcpgsAcJ

[kootenay joe]

I think the blades have been re-pinned.
kj

[Mumbleypeg]

Handle covers look like wood (ebony?) to me. Very possible for a knife of that age, but that’s just a guess. I agree it appears the blades may have been re-pinned.

Ken

[Reverand]

This knife is not original. It obviously has steel pivot pins and you can see where the bolsters were poorly ground after repinning - possibly with a dremel.

Also, the pattern number does not match the handle material. Seller states it is a pattern #22929, and the last "9" should mean jigged bone handles.

In my opinion it is not worth half of what the seller is asking in this condition, but it could be repaired and rehabbed to be a decent knife, just not an "original" or a showpiece.

[herbva]

This is the message I sent to the seller. I doubt it will make a difference.

FYI, this knife is not "Original" as stated in your description. It has been rehandled with some kind of smooth black material (possibly ebony, but I can't tell for sure from your pictures). The last digit of the pattern number stamped on the blade tang is a "9", which stands for jigged bone. Also, the knife has been repinned with what obviously appear to be steel pins, and it looks like a terrible job. Probably steel nails were used and all of the metal surfaces on the knife have been heavily ground.

[peanut740]