PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
A nice little Premier mop pen, model k243 Germany. Great snap, half stops, and the carbon blades have aged just right. cheers
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Nice one Lawrence! I have its twin somewhere - will have to dig it out and post its picture. Solid old knives, those Premiers.
Ken
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Guess I need a visit to a psychiatrist - I'm getting a fetish for these old Premier Lifetime gunstock lock backs. Besides carrying one in my back pocket daily, gave one to each of my two sons, and still have these left .......
Ken
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Wow Mumbley, that's a fine display indeed I haven't been able to hold that model in person, but it sure must feel like the real deal. Great to see a new post in this thread. cheers
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Thanks Lawrence! These are a handful at 4-3/4 inches long, just perfect for back pocket carry. As you know Premier Lifetime knives were well made, quality knives. One thing I like about the German-made Premiers is the quality of the jigged bone used for handles. Here's a better picture of one of those gunstocks, showing the worm-groove bone.
Ken
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Premier Lifetime K78 scout pattern, excellent condition. Jigged worm-groove bone handles. Made in Germany.
Ken
Ken
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Thanks Dimitri. For some reason I've taken a shine to the Premier Lifetime brand even though I don't usually accumulate non-U.S. made knives. It's all Josh's (junebug's) fault! He's an enabler.
Ken
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
I remember buying my first decent pocket knife in about 1960. It was (I think) a K5 Premier Lifetime, which was a Muskrat pattern and I paid 5.00 for it in a little hardware store on Commerial drive in Vancouver BC.
Premiers were pretty common in Canada, much more so than many of the US brands.
Anyway, with that knife I whittled my first wooden chain and lots of other stuff. I finally traded it (a mistake) for a Premier Lifetime Stockman several years later. The stockman was with me until the pivot pin broke while splitting a piece of 2x4 on a construction job in Southern Saskatchewan in 1968.
That day after work I went into town and bought a Boker Stockman.
The German Priemiers are good knives. I have picked up a few more over the years and some are in use as loaners in my whittlin' classes.
I find it surprising that this thread says they went out of business in 1955. I saw a lot of them for sale in stores in Canada long after that. I saw some late into the 60s that were no longer being made in Germany and they did not measure up at all.
These days when I get the chance I will snap them up.
Premiers were pretty common in Canada, much more so than many of the US brands.
Anyway, with that knife I whittled my first wooden chain and lots of other stuff. I finally traded it (a mistake) for a Premier Lifetime Stockman several years later. The stockman was with me until the pivot pin broke while splitting a piece of 2x4 on a construction job in Southern Saskatchewan in 1968.
That day after work I went into town and bought a Boker Stockman.
The German Priemiers are good knives. I have picked up a few more over the years and some are in use as loaners in my whittlin' classes.
I find it surprising that this thread says they went out of business in 1955. I saw a lot of them for sale in stores in Canada long after that. I saw some late into the 60s that were no longer being made in Germany and they did not measure up at all.
These days when I get the chance I will snap them up.
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
The source for 1921 - 1955 being the years of operation for Premier is Goins Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings. It is my understanding that in some cases where documentation for dates was not available, Goins used his best estimate based on what information was available, so the dates given may be off by a few years.
Reading through some of the previous posts I see a promise I made to Lawrence regarding posting a picture of my twin to his Premier pearl pen. Here it is, along with a few other Premiers I have accumulated.
Ken
Reading through some of the previous posts I see a promise I made to Lawrence regarding posting a picture of my twin to his Premier pearl pen. Here it is, along with a few other Premiers I have accumulated.
Ken
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Since my last post in this thread I've picked up a couple more Premiers. Here's the most recent additions. A German made jack with half stop and ebony handles, a German made jigged bone stockman, and a stockman with composition handles stamped Prov. Cut. Co., Prov. R.I. USA on the master blade mark side. Lawrence posted one like it in this thread a while back.
Ken
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Ken, they're all very nice, but I especially like the K-55 stockman with its (turkish?) clip blade.
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
One. Only one. As Ken says, Josh made me do it. Actually it's in keeping with my accumulation philosophy of "One of Everything".
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The Few. The Proud.
Jerry D.
This country has become more about sub-groups than about it's unity as a nation.
"The #72 pattern has got to be pretty close to the perfect knife."
--T.J. Murphy 2012
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Texasjerry, I'm not sure if it's a Turkish clip, but it's for sure a clip! Turkish is as good a name as any. That's the second K-55 pattern I have now. Didn't remember until I got it that I already had one. (I seem to do that often). The other is in the post above it, third from the left in the picture.
JerryD, does your Premier jack have a pattern number on it? I've not seen that pattern before. Guess I'm not looking hard enough!
Ken
JerryD, does your Premier jack have a pattern number on it? I've not seen that pattern before. Guess I'm not looking hard enough!
Ken
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Ken, I agree these H53 gunstocks are nice knives. I picked up another this week and noticed a size difference of the shields.
Knives are identical with the exception of the bone color, different date of manufacture maybe ?
Knives are identical with the exception of the bone color, different date of manufacture maybe ?
Bob
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"To Ride, Shoot Straight, And Speak The Truth" - Jeff Cooper
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Ken, I apologize for taking so long to answer your question.Mumbleypeg wrote: JerryD, does your Premier jack have a pattern number on it? I've not seen that pattern before. Guess I'm not looking hard enough!
Ken
Yes, it's a K 66.
Forged on the anvil of discipline.
The Few. The Proud.
Jerry D.
This country has become more about sub-groups than about it's unity as a nation.
"The #72 pattern has got to be pretty close to the perfect knife."
--T.J. Murphy 2012
The Few. The Proud.
Jerry D.
This country has become more about sub-groups than about it's unity as a nation.
"The #72 pattern has got to be pretty close to the perfect knife."
--T.J. Murphy 2012
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Maybe - who knows? Certainly not me. Those are a nice pair. I sure do like this knife! Perfect for back pocket carry. That one you have is the first I've seen with the lighter colored bone, but it has the same worm-groove jigging.WelderBob wrote:Ken, I agree these H53 gunstocks are nice knives. I picked up another this week and noticed a size difference of the shields.
Knives are identical with the exception of the bone color, different date of manufacture maybe ?
JerryD thanks. That helps me with another clue, what to look for.
Ken
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
I have one of the Premier Lifetime jigged bone Gunstock lockbacks. Mine is 4 5/8" with "H 53/Germany" on back tang.
No bail on mine. Excellent condition but it does have slight side to side blade play. Any blade play on the other Gunstock lockbacks posted here ?
kj
edit to add pictures
No bail on mine. Excellent condition but it does have slight side to side blade play. Any blade play on the other Gunstock lockbacks posted here ?
kj
edit to add pictures
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Two Premiers that belonged to my Dad. A s
mall french ivory stockman (K80) and a cracked ice peanut (K68?).-
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
The Premier knives were imported into eastern Canada. I saw them in my local hardware store from late 1950's and into 1960's.
I believe they were sold in the New England States, but were they also sold in other areas of USA ?
kj
I believe they were sold in the New England States, but were they also sold in other areas of USA ?
kj
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Bob, those are both in really great condition. I haven't seen the K80 stockman with punch previously. I have a peanut with similar cracked ice handles but it's a darker yellow. Yours is nicer IMHO - looks more like ice.
Roland, I don't know where Premiers were distributed in the U.S. I don't recall ever seeing one before seeing them here on AAPK. Goins says they were headquartered in New York City and had offices in Toronto also. Josh (Junebug) was finding a lot of them somewhere. He lives in California so maybe they were sold there.
Ken
Roland, I don't know where Premiers were distributed in the U.S. I don't recall ever seeing one before seeing them here on AAPK. Goins says they were headquartered in New York City and had offices in Toronto also. Josh (Junebug) was finding a lot of them somewhere. He lives in California so maybe they were sold there.
Ken
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
My latest acquisition. First and only Premier Lifetime whittler I've seen, so I NEEDED it! It's not a true whittler though - no spacer between the two backsprings. It has a catch bit between the two secondary blades. And like many Premier Lifetime knives it has nice sunk joints construction.
Ken
Ken
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When the people fear their government, that is tyranny. When government fears the people, that is freedom.
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
There does not have to have a divider between the springs to be a Whittler. Some whittlers have tapered springs, or catch bits.
I would like to see a picture of spine with all blades open.
One of the first knives i bought myself at about age 11 is a Premier.
kj
I would like to see a picture of spine with all blades open.
One of the first knives i bought myself at about age 11 is a Premier.
kj
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Roland, you're right, it is a whittler with a catch bit. Guess I was thinking of three backsprings when I wrote it's not a true whittler. Anyway here's the pictures you asked for. You can see the brass catch bit spacer which separates the secondary blades. The catch bit sits atop the springs, but it doesn't separate the springs.
Ken
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Re: PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955
Thanks Ken. To me that looks to be the simplest way to construct a whittler & 'simple' is good.
kj
kj