Northfield

[thefarside]

Here is an old medium sized coke bottle, well used. Both blades stamped Northfield Knife Co.

[FRJ]

Nice looking old jack, you have there, thefarside. Thanks for showing it.

[biglmbass]

That coke bottle is a peach.

[wlf]

Nice ones Dave and Bob and Killer Wolverine.

[Lansky1]

You just gotta love this kind of stuff re' any old knife company, regardless of what you, yourself actually collect. Charlie

I agree Charlie. Collecting these old personal tools can get you steeped right into the history of these old cutlers and cutlery firms.
It's great stuff.
Thanks Charlie.

I did go up there yesterday and took some pictures. A couple show my car on the edge of the road and looking over the site, as I said,
you would never know it was there.

Joe - thanks for the pictures & articles/pics. Looking back at your threads from a couple years ago ... I think you said the state owns the property. I would be tempted to bring a metal detector up there - never know what you might find. Not sure if this is ethical or even legal - but it would be tempting ...

[LongBlade]

Lansky - legal or not that site is not a secret and not well off any beaten track - I can guarantee over the last 100 years and since it closed that site has had folks looking for artifacts - to what degree I do not know... Personally I am just glad that remnants of the site are still there and folks have shown some respect in terms of not taking pieces of the foundation, mortices (except for one mortice that perhaps looked to have had a hammer taken to it) - unfortunately that is not the case with many historic sites that have been ransacked or just mowed over to be made into something else & not just here but in our country in general - I believe they call it progress to turn old sites into modern buildings, shopping centers etc ... just as an aside - everything that was left in that knife factory was moved years & years ago... and unfortunately was not preserved properly - and IMHO a real shame... enough said...

CT has done a pretty good job of preserving much of our history but not in all cases... in my area the rock property walls have remained for hundreds of years (and I don't think you would find another area in New England with more of these walls than here - you can see these walls in deep woods from long ago)... those walls are protected in terms of preservation - it is a criminal offense to remove those rocks from the old walls - and rightly so... no doubt there are artifacts of all kinds probably still to be found in the deep woods and I am not speaking about old knife factory sites or knife-related artifacts though I would imagine one could find all sorts of old tools etc in our deep woods - as an example a friend of mine was digging a hole on his property for a bush to be planted and came across an old tin full of civil war coins - digging here is a feat in itself as CT is full of ledge and rock - just simple holes for plants become a major job .... but I don't think folks would take kindly to "treasure" seekers ripping up the land .... and please don't misinterpret my comments as they are not directed at you but to many folks who probably read this website and are not only tempted but decide it is their right to disturb what should be left alone for others to enjoy in the future.... this is not a rant but I feel strongly about preservation...

BTW - Joe and I were just at the Northfield site a few weeks back... another thread with a few other pics... http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... =2&t=48536

[FRJ]

Thank you, John, for checking out the thread.
As Lee said, I think the area has been scoured pretty well over the years but the foundations have been left alone as have the large stone blocks with the cut out mortise in the foundry area. One is damaged and I think one is missing.
This is not a large area. There isn't any part of it that you couldn't hit by throwing a stone.
It's a nice place to visit and I'm really grateful to live so close.

[FRJ]

Well I got a couple of Boy$ Knives today. They're about 2 3/4" closed.
The bone handled two blade knife was made by Ray Platts in Northfield. He used Holley blades. He attempted to get rid of the Holley name but never quite succeeded. I wonder how much it mattered to him. He got his Northfield stamp on the tang.
Different pin placement from mark side to pile side. Unique little knife. I'm glad to have it.

The other knife is a Northfield Knife Co. Conn.
It has imperfect horn covers that suit me just fine. And a beautiful little blade that is just right.
Both of these knives are very well made and have no wobble and great snap.

Last picture ........... 3 Northfield Boys knives.

[danno50]

Nice ones, Joe. Love the bone on the two bone handled ones.
Dan

[FRJ]

Thanks, Dan. Glad you like them.

[wlf]

Joe, you're the envy of Lee.

[galvanic1882]

Nice knives!! That horn handled one is the best!!

[FRJ]

Joe, you're the envy of Lee.

Do you mean Lee the enabler?

Thanks, Mike. It's a great little knife.

[galvanic1882]

I've been looking for little ones like that so if you ever want to sell the horn one let me know. Again great knives!!

[LongBlade]

Great knives Joe ... and since I am the enabler I had them in hand as well fellas - they are as nice in hand as in photos!!!

No envy at all Lyle as I was enabling Joe !! Of course picked up a few myself speaking of enabling ... a Waterville Mfg Co Waterbury (old 1840-50s stamp), American Knife Co Plymouth and a H'Ville (actually all old 1800s knives) - like Joe's knives all 2 & 3/4" Boys Knives - a few horn and one ebony... will try to get photos asap but think they fit better in a different thread ....

[Beechtree]

Love the knives Joe! The Platts is fantastic, the different scale jigging pattern is actually a very cool feature as you get to see two of the different styles employed on one knife! It looks to be in fantastic shape. Great scores!

[FRJ]

Thanks so much, Beechtree, I love the little hand made bone knives.
They look hand made, home made.

[Mason]

Well I got a couple of Boy$ Knives today. They're about 2 3/4" closed.
The bone handled two blade knife was made by Ray Platts in Northfield. He used Holley blades. He attempted to get rid of the Holley name but never quite succeeded. I wonder how much it mattered to him. He got his Northfield stamp on the tang.
Different pin placement from mark side to pile side. Unique little knife. I'm glad to have it.

The other knife is a Northfield Knife Co. Conn.
It has imperfect horn covers that suit me just fine. And a beautiful little blade that is just right.
Both of these knives are very well made and have no wobble and great snap.

Last picture ........... 3 Northfield Boys knives.

Great examples of classic old time "Boy's Knives" and I love the rounded "Safety" bladed model.

[FRJ]

Great examples of classic old time "Boy's Knives" and I love the rounded "Safety" bladed model. [/quote]

Thanks Mason.
I thought the knife was unique and it makes perfect sense for a rounded blade on a boys knife.
I've only seen two like that and I bought one of them.

[FRJ]

Here's an old whittler with an early stamp. At least I think it's an early stamp. Please correct me if you know. 3 3/8".

These old knives ............

[knifeaholic]

Here is one that I just picked up. Single blade jack in pearl. Minty, never sharpened, has dark patina.

[danno50]

Nice one, Joe, great celluloid! Very nice pearl jack, Steve!
Dan

[olderdogs1]

Great knives, gentlemen, very high quality

Tom

[FRJ]

That is a very nice knife, Steve. Thank you for showing it here.

Thank you Dan and Tom.

[npeters3]

This is one awesome post!!! I cannot believe that I have never seen it before. I guess I need to get out of my rut of checking my usual places and look around a little more on the site.
FRJ, thank you for pointing me in the right direction for this topic.
Here is my only Northfield