Old Unusual Novelty Knives And Secret Knives

[knife7knut]

WOW!!! Nice knives MB!I especially like that Catt with the 2 blades.Never seen one like it before;always single bladed.
Here are a few more mechanical pencil/pen knives.
First is another variation of the B& B knife/pencil.I have several of these as well as the metal bodied ones;a couple still in the original boxes.
Second is a DuroLite Duplex mechanical pencil/knife that the blade slides out ala Eagle Pencil Co. knives.There is a protective cap that goes over the end.
Third is another variation of the B&B but marked only,"Windsor Canada".Purchased from a Canadian eBay seller.
Last is a group of various types.The top one has a small mechanical pencil that slides into an opening in the housing with two small blades on the opposite side.Below that are two key chain ornaments that look like survival knives and the pen is under the end cap.Next to them is a Colonial pen and folding ball point pen.The two under them are mechanical pencils with a small pen blade made by Palmax in Germany and are souvenirs of Havana Cuba(one is in Spanish).What makes these unique is there is a small Stanhope viewer that has a bit of Victorian era "pornography" in the form of nude ladies.

[Miller Bro's]

K7K,

Yeah, that Catt is a scarce one!

I think Robeson made one like it?

Charlie Noyes, where are you!


You have a nice selection of them in your collection


M.B.

[RobesonsRme.com]

If you're referring to the Catt pencil/two blade knife, I've never seen anything like that from Robeson. Doesn't mean they didn't make it; I've just never seen it, and I certainly don't own one. It'd already been on this thread by now.

Closest thing to a secret/hidden knife I know of from Robeson is the key knives.

Charlie Noyes

[Miller Bro's]

If you're referring to the Catt pencil/two blade knife, I've never seen anything like that from Robeson.

Charlie,
Yes, that is the one I am referring to. It seems to me at some time I seen a Robeson single blade folding pencil/pen knife I just can`t remember where

Closest thing to a secret/hidden knife I know of from Robeson is the key knives.

I would like to see it!

M.B.

[Miller Bro's]

I found an old catalog cut of the Cattaraugus pencil knife I pictured earlier.

It is a model P1, I don`t know how long they made these but I have seen very few.

I never knew it had extra leads and an eraser inside till I read this catalog description!



M.B.

[RobesonsRme.com]

MB said, "I would like to see it!", I think referring to my statement about Robeson key knives.

They're not secret or hidden or even unusual or novel. But, here they are. I posted these in another thread some time back.

They made them in both gold and nickel finishes, and at least two different patterns of machining on the handles.

Charlie Noyes

[Miller Bro's]

They're not secret or hidden or even unusual or novel. But, here they are. I posted these in another thread some time back.

Charlie,

I think they are novel and secret. Just show one to a non knife collector, see if they know there is a key inside or even how to open it! What an excellent idea to have a key with your pocket knife, as a back up in case you get locked out of your house.

They belong in this thread on both counts, glad you posted them. I have a gold toned one somewhere, if I find it I will post it

M.B.

[RobesonsRme.com]

It's my understanding that the keys were blank Yale Post Office box keys. According to the tag, if your key was something other than the standard, I assume, Yale lock, they would make the substitution free of charge through the ID'd lock-smith in Attleboro, MA.

I think that when these were made, the use of P.O. boxes was more prevalent than it is today.

I bought both those knives together, with the tag attached to the knife just as it is today, in yellow felt pouches, inside a small cardboard mailing container. The container had never been addressed. Bruce Voyles identified the little yellow pouches as a Robeson product in his ABCA guide in 1989, although they have no identifying markings.

Charlie Noyes

[Miller Bro's]

Charlie,

Now you have gone and done it!

I`ll have to find mine now and see if it is a Yale blank or another type key



M.B.

[Miller Bro's]

Well I found it!

Charlie,

It`s the same as yours, gold toned, the bail is stamped "Pat. May 13 1924".

Has the same Yale key blank, uncut. The front side has someone`s initials engraved into it. Overall it is a nice old knife


M.B.

[Miller Bro's]

Another Novelty knife, this one is a plumbers dream.

Pipe wrench, screwdriver, and folding knife blade.






M.B.

[knife7knut]

These aren't really old but they are definitely unusual:

First is a "Miss Army Knife" in pink(just for you justold52)still in the package.My wife won't open it.

Next is an Italian multi-blade that would probably be easier to use if you stuffed it inside a heavy wool sock and used it as a club.

Last is a Pakistani 10 blade in the same vein.

[Miller Bro's]

Here is a B&B Novelty knife.

The one shown previously was a letter opener/folding knife.

This is the pocket knife version.


M.B.

[knife7knut]

Here are some with a fishing theme:
First is a floating(cork handle)fish knife made by C.E.M.Maniago with a Barry Wood style opening whereby the scale rotates around and pulls open the blade.The blade is a combination knife/hook disgorger/gaff/scaler.Pictures show the opening sequence.
Second is a Cook Brothers Germany standard fish knife but the sheath has the shape of a fish and one side has a ruler printed on it.
Third is a plier type fishing tool that when closed has a knife edge on one side and a scaler/hook disgorger on the other.The pliers also act as a lead weight crimper.
Fourth is another cork scaled knife by Lunawerk with a blade/scaler and a gaff.
Last is still another cork scaled knife by Teja &Rosa Italy that has a master blade and a combination scaler/hook disgorger/bottle cap lifter/hook sharpener.

[Miller Bro's]

Here are two adjustable wrench knives.

One made by Seaboard Steel Co. the other by A. Feist & Co., both were made in France.


M.B.

[pcarver]

Hello,
I am new to this website but found this topic. I collect unusual knives, mechanisms in particular. Being a knife forum, you have probably seen most of these, but here are some photos.
Pat C

This is a first production run knife by Kershaw called the E.T. for External Toggle. The handle has a knee joint that opens and closes the knife. You push on the small knob at the end of the knife and it opens or closes the blade. on the back of the blade is a latch that can be uses as a carabiner to clip it to a belt loop.

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This one is a small gentleman's knife. The marking is Sheffield Eng. to extend the blade out, the other end is turned like a lipstick.

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This opens like a standard lockback knife but instead of the lock release being at a notch in the spine, you push up on the tail of the knife to release the blade.

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This Kershaw knife has a small pin in a miniature rack and pinion built into the pivot. The small round coin at the pivot is used to open the blade where it locks. To unlock the knife, turn the coin back towards closed. the rack drives the pin under the lock and releases it. Simply continue to turn the coin and the blade closes.

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.

I will post more later.

I also have about a dozen various models of the paul knife. Designed by Paul Poehlman, the mechanism was used to make two editions produced by Gerber. Some of the Gerber people started Lone Wolf knives and they now have an extensive line of models using this mechanism.

I also have some William Henry knives.

Pat C

[knife7knut]

Welcome to the forum pcarver! Nice knives you have there;especially the Sheffield knife.Unusual knives are my favorites and I look forward to seeing some more.

[Miller Bro's]

Pat,

Some unusual knives you have! Let`s see more

Here is an old one I found, it is stamped by the maker, however I cannot make it out. It is meant to be carried in a shirt pocket. It would look like a pen, but it has a folding knife blade at the end. The top has an eraser hidden under a fancy celluloid cap, which you pull off to expose the eraser.

The main body is steel but the cap is fancy cell. does not make alot of sense

Also, why would you need a knife with an eraser at one end?

M.B.

[knife7knut]

Pat,

Some unusual knives you have! Let`s see more

Here is an old one I found, it is stamped by the maker, however I cannot make it out. It is meant to be carried in a shirt pocket. It would look like a pen, but it has a folding knife blade at the end. The top has an eraser hidden under a fancy celluloid cap, which you pull off to expose the eraser.

The main body is steel but the cap is fancy cell. does not make alot of sense

Also, why would you need a knife with an eraser at one end?

M.B.

It looks like there might be a pencil inside the tube that is attached to the eraser.Have you tried to remove it?There was a lot of need for a pen blade as a writing accessory;mostly for erasing ink from vellum.Remember the old ink erasers/folding bones that were used to fold envelopes before pre-made ones were commercially available?
I have quite a few mechanical pencils that sport pen blades at the opposite end and some have erasers concealed inside.

[Miller Bro's]

K7K,

I think you are right. There looks like there is a pencil inside the steel tube. However I cannot remove it by hand it is stuck. I don`t want to take a pliers to it and risk damaging it.

I think the knife blade was used to sharpen the pencil instead of being used as an ink eraser.

I used a magnifying lens to read the tang stamp and it says "Dixon Cutlery Co. Germany". Goins says circa 1920, no other information. By 1920 ink erasers were obsolete and the eraser as we know it was being widely used.

Certainly an unusual old novelty knife!

M.B.

[knife7knut]

You may be able to remove it without damaging either the pencil or the tube(it is made of steel is it not?)by applying heat to the tube with a hair dryer and wrapping the pencil end with a length of rubber(such as a piece of rubber band)or a piece of duct tape and using a pair of pliers to GENTLY work the pencil back and forth.The tapered end of the pencil should release rather readily and the hair dryer will expand the metal slightly but not the pencil.
The pencil looks to be a fairly standard model so if by some chance it is damaged it could easily be replaced.

[pcarver]

Hello again,
Here are a few more photos.

This is a Camillus Cuda. As a lefty, I find very few knives made as dedicated left hand models. This was also made in a right hand configuration. To open the knife, push the disk forward and the blade swings out. Use your left thumb on the liner lock to close the knife.

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This is a small gentleman's knife. To open either of the blades, lift and turn the small rings in the pivot pin. These are not that rare, but finding one in good condition is hard. Marked "Marshall Field & Co. Germany."

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This one has a sleeve that slides to the right so that the small slot in the bottom exposes the sqared end of the blade. Grab the nail nick and swing out the blade, then slide the sleeve back to the left to lock the blade open. Hard to describe until seen in action.

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It occurs to me that many of my knives are better understood in action. Do you know if this website supports any kind of movie file?

The amount of information on this website is a bit overwhelming. It is a little like trying to take a sip from a fire hose.

Pat Carver

[smiling-knife]

This ruler knife dates to the 1930s.

[Miller Bro's]

S-K,

Nice Ruler knife

Here is an unusual one. it is marked "AUSTRIA", stainless steel construction. It looks like an ordinary manicure knife. On the bottom is a square knob that pulls out, on the end is some wick material and a brass head, there is a resivoir that is filled by removing a screw at the end, this is then filled with lighter fluid. When the lighter stick is inserted it absorbs lighter fluid. When you need a light you pull it out and strike it on the bottom, there is a special box that is brass lined. When you are done blow out the flame and re-insert it back in the storage slot! Found this in the "junk" box today while cleaning off my work bench, never paid any attention to it before.

M.B.

[ozzie marie]

Here is an unusual key chain advertising knife.

When you open its blade you get locations and phone numbers.

Keith