shell handled knives
- whitebuffalo58
- Posts: 2743
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:35 am
- Location: SW MO Heart of the Ozarks
Re: shell handled knives
Looks like a good'n, Bighomer.
WB
WB
Re: shell handled knives
WB seeing your fine collection inspired me to see if I could add a few to my small pile. I like the old shells, I grew up on them.whitebuffalo58 wrote:Looks like a good'n, Bighomer.
WB
- whitebuffalo58
- Posts: 2743
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:35 am
- Location: SW MO Heart of the Ozarks
Re: shell handled knives
Well thank you for that!bighomer wrote:WB seeing your fine collection inspired me to see if I could add a few to my small pile. I like the old shells, I grew up on them.
I bought my first shell handled toothpicks/fish knives as a kid. The local bait and tackle store had a Sportsmaster countertop display that the owner kept well stocked. Mostly with jigged black or cracked ice, but ever so often he'd get a few colored ones in. The shop was along my first paper route and I was able to keep a close eye on what was coming in. Even though he still had to pay his subscription each month, when all was said and done, a lot of months he pretty much got his papers for free.
WB
Re: shell handled knives
Cool story, I remember the cards of knives at the five & dime,feed store and western auto. I got another one today.
- whitebuffalo58
- Posts: 2743
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:35 am
- Location: SW MO Heart of the Ozarks
Re: shell handled knives
There ya go! Another good one!
For Imperial, the half congress wasn't a rare pattern, but it doesn't seem like they made nearly as many as most other patterns. They did however, on rare occasion, make a 4-blade version. I've yet to find one of those in mint condition. Mines not bad, but still far from mint. I've only seen either version with the Hammer Brand stamp, but they may have made them with the Imperial stamp, too.
Those half congress make great Sunday go to meetin' knives.
WB
For Imperial, the half congress wasn't a rare pattern, but it doesn't seem like they made nearly as many as most other patterns. They did however, on rare occasion, make a 4-blade version. I've yet to find one of those in mint condition. Mines not bad, but still far from mint. I've only seen either version with the Hammer Brand stamp, but they may have made them with the Imperial stamp, too.
Those half congress make great Sunday go to meetin' knives.
WB
- Tsar Bomba
- Posts: 3622
- Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 5:14 am
- Contact:
Re: shell handled knives
Since I was already sorting knife photos into albums and I realized looking over the results that I had been finding a number of shell knife photos from back in the day, I figured I would contribute some of them here...
Tony
Everything's better with a Barlow
Everything's better with a Barlow
- whitebuffalo58
- Posts: 2743
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:35 am
- Location: SW MO Heart of the Ozarks
Re: shell handled knives
Nice lot there, Tony! I especially like that Tuf-Nut jack and the Sabre fish knife. Was the Sabre made in Ireland? I don't have one with shell handles, mine was made in Japan and has the hollow bolsters with solid yellow comp. handles.
Thanks for sharing!
WB
Thanks for sharing!
WB
- Tsar Bomba
- Posts: 3622
- Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 5:14 am
- Contact:
Re: shell handled knives
Thanks, WB! The Imperial Tuf-Nut advertising jack is probably my favorite shell knife in my pile. Packs quite a snap for such a small serpentine jack.whitebuffalo58 wrote:Nice lot there, Tony! I especially like that Tuf-Nut jack and the Sabre fish knife. Was the Sabre made in Ireland? I don't have one with shell handles, mine was made in Japan and has the hollow bolsters with solid yellow comp. handles.
Thanks for sharing!
That yeller Sabre is a Hong Kong knife. I've seen Sabre Japan fish knives but as you observed they were more traditional and of a higher build quality. The Sabre Hong Kong knife isn't anywhere near the quality of the older Sabre Japan knives (we recently had a decent little thread about Sabres to which I contributed this fish knife along with some Japanese Barlows and a unique little peanut), and really doesn't even compare in F&F to the ubiquitous Imperial shell fish knives, which were never "elegant" by any metric (but are highly useful and interesting).
I've never been able to track down the story of the Sabre Ireland knives but I've always assumed some sort of link with the old Jowika factory that Imperial ultimately purchased (from which they ran off a lot of "Stag Ireland" shell knives).
- whitebuffalo58
- Posts: 2743
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:35 am
- Location: SW MO Heart of the Ozarks
Re: shell handled knives
I've always thought the Ireland Sabre's were made after Imperial took over. The Jowika fish knives have a whole different look to them. The front bolsters tend to be elongated and somewhat flat.
WB
WB
Re: shell handled knives
Okay - this thread has been around for several years and I never posted a knife. Here is an Ulster fish knife that I like. I think that most of the pocket knives that I grew up with were shell handled. I am pretty sure that all my old fish knives were shell handled, anyway.
Mel
- whitebuffalo58
- Posts: 2743
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:35 am
- Location: SW MO Heart of the Ozarks
Re: shell handled knives
Whoa, talk about strong out of the gate! Very nice!
You know, I've been collecting shell handled toothpick/fish knives for a very long time and I've never come across one with an Ulster stamp. There couldn't have been many.
Thank you for showing that one, Mel! Another knife on the 'to find' list.
WB
You know, I've been collecting shell handled toothpick/fish knives for a very long time and I've never come across one with an Ulster stamp. There couldn't have been many.
Thank you for showing that one, Mel! Another knife on the 'to find' list.
WB
Re: shell handled knives
Thanks, WB. I do not think of myself as collecting fish knives, but every now and then I see one that I like and buy it.
Mel
Re: shell handled knives
Love these knives guys!! Here are a few of mine, mostly imperials and hammers! Keep them pics comming!!!
Re: shell handled knives
Forgot this unusual shell it's a large stockman Jawika Ireland,and a unusual imperial cover!
Re: shell handled knives
Wbyonder wrote:Forgot this unusual shell it's a large stockman Jawika Ireland,and a unusual imperial cover!
- whitebuffalo58
- Posts: 2743
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:35 am
- Location: SW MO Heart of the Ozarks
Re: shell handled knives
Wow, nice showing Wbyonder! Some great colors in the mix! I have a Barlow with those "stag'd" handles and I believe Dimitri (Miller Bros.) had a toothpick with those same handles. They are unique.Wbyonder wrote:Love these knives guys!! Here are a few of mine, mostly imperials and hammers! Keep them pics comming!!!
Thanks for sharing!
WB
Re: shell handled knives
Thanks guys, I just love learning from you all and seeing all the pictures!!! I also collect safety razors, and knives are the same, always something you haven't seen or don't know existed! it would be miserable for me as collector to come too a point where I new everything about something, And had seen everything, So lucky for me , that will never happen!! Not even close, and learning history that most people could care less about , makes me smile have a great night one and all!
Re: shell handled knives
I don't have all the great colors that you fellers are showing, but here's a few.
Re: shell handled knives
Great ones!! I had forgot about all the shell campers, I that a hawk ill on that last barlow I spy, if so that's, old school Kool!! Thanks for sharing!!
- Tsar Bomba
- Posts: 3622
- Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 5:14 am
- Contact:
Re: shell handled knives
While it's hard to be sure given 2D photos, I'm fairly confident that your Utica's fish shield is identical to my Imperial's.Dinadan wrote:Okay - this thread has been around for several years and I never posted a knife. Here is an Ulster fish knife that I like. I think that most of the pocket knives that I grew up with were shell handled. I am pretty sure that all my old fish knives were shell handled, anyway.
Was there any interplay betwen Imperial and Utica? I don't think Utica was ever brought under the same company umbrella like Schrade and Imperial were, but Utica would have had to have access to the same machining to produce a shield that uncannily similar to the Imperial knife, no?
big-H, I only recently discovered that Imperial made shell-handled automatic fish knives/ticklers like the second from the top in your photo, and I've been crazy about finding one ever since. How does it fire? It probably was a cut above the usual shell-handled fish knive in price, huh?bighomer wrote:I don't have all the great colors that you fellers are showing, but here's a few.
Tony
Everything's better with a Barlow
Everything's better with a Barlow
Re: shell handled knives
It is WBY and here's a couple of more that is cool to me , the ones with screw driver blades. Tony I wish,sorry to say but it's it's a fake. Colonial made several to look like switch blades but are not.
- whitebuffalo58
- Posts: 2743
- Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 2:35 am
- Location: SW MO Heart of the Ozarks
Re: shell handled knives
bighomer, you've been holding out on us, nice grouping!
I see a couple of unique ones, the Electricians Camper is one. You can tell by the electrical snipe on the screwdriver of mine, that somebody took the name a bit to literal. Does yours have a "You Can Rely On Certified" etch?
Tsar Bomba, if I was a bettin' man, I'd put my money on that Ulster being a contract knife, made by Imperial.
WB
I see a couple of unique ones, the Electricians Camper is one. You can tell by the electrical snipe on the screwdriver of mine, that somebody took the name a bit to literal. Does yours have a "You Can Rely On Certified" etch?
Tsar Bomba, if I was a bettin' man, I'd put my money on that Ulster being a contract knife, made by Imperial.
WB
Re: shell handled knives
WB l don't see any etch, someone reprofile the screwdriver blade on mine. It's got some more fine steel, razor sharp. Scott( triple f) had one for sale a couple years ago but I missed out on it.I thought I had a couple more of the fish and toadsticker type knives but they seem to be missing in action.
- Tsar Bomba
- Posts: 3622
- Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 5:14 am
- Contact:
Re: shell handled knives
Agreed, WB. The world of cutlery was often very "incestuous" and I've been utterly gobsmacked at times to see things like identical knives wearing Case and Robeson livery from the early part of the 20th. Speaking of Case, I believe Utica made a fair number of Barlows for Case in the early days, too. Makes this hobby of ours ever so much more fun to try and chase down the backstory behind all these "cooperative builds".whitebuffalo58 wrote:Tsar Bomba, if I was a bettin' man, I'd put my money on that Ulster being a contract knife, made by Imperial.
But now I've gotta run down a Utica-stamped fish knife...