Imperials

[bladecollectorr]

Did someone say "ear spoon"? I had to ask too.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/for ... f.1659896/

[jxr1197]

I had to ask too.

You came up with the same guess for what it was

[jxr1197]

I have an update on the spear shaped tool on the World's Fair knife I posted earlier. Turns out it's actually a can opener! Mike Little told me it was and explained how it works, and now I can testify that it's just a terrible design. I'm sure they changed it after a few customers complained about severed digits. Here's how it worked out for me:

To pierce the can you hold the knife vertical with the point on the lid. With your other hand you smack the top of the knife straight down and after a few awkward slaps I mastered the motion. Then you ratchet the blade upward going counter clockwise and the cutout can go over the edge of the can but the lip gets in the way. During the course of trying to figure this out I also came up with a listing from the 1937 Imperial Catalog (COSRUS) that shows the knife with the tool and labels it a can opener.

[jxr1197]

[New_Windsor_NY]

Very nice, interesting knives everyone.
Jason, how long did it take to open that can of potatoes?
Here are a couple of my Imperials. A single blade jack knife with a GM key blank and a BARLOW.

[FRJ]

Nice one, Jason, to stray away from the finger -- oops -- I mean can opener and show one with a nice glass cutter.

[jxr1197]

Very nice, interesting knives everyone.
Jason, how long did it take to open that can of potatoes?
Here are a couple of my Imperials. A single blade jack knife with a GM key blank and a BARLOW.

I wonder how many people actually used those keys to start their cars, and why weren't there 2 keys -1 for the door and 1 for the ignition?
It took me a few minutes to open the can - maybe 5. That includes stabbing at the lid a few times, nearly losing a pinky and then cutting in an awkward zig-zag pattern until I sort of figured things out. Once you're used to it I'm sure the whole affair is done in under half a minute.
BTW - love the license plate

Nice one, Jason, to stray away from the finger -- oops -- I mean can opener and show one with a nice glass cutter.

I might have to test the glass cutter next, I'm feeling froggy today..

[jxr1197]

The Field and Stream combo from the 50s/60s. It's got three knives - a camper, a fixed blade hunter and a toothpick; N-615, H-50 and N-943Y respectively.

[KnifeSlinger#81]

The Field and Stream combo from the 50s/60s. It's got three knives - a camper, a fixed blade hunter and a toothpick; N-615, H-50 and N-943Y respectively.
fieldandstream.jpg

Cool. I like that set.

[kootenay joe]

The tool that jxr asks about at bottom of previous page is for pushing down the 'quick' at the base of your fingernails. My father who lived in Britain until he was about 40 was big on grooming of fingernails. "Quick" is the British term for the skin that can grow up from the base of a finger or toe nail. Don't know if the same word is used now for this tissue.
kj

[KnifeSlinger#81]

Here's a boys knife with chain.

As you all know these barlows are very common with a clip main but not so common with a spear.

[doglegg]

The tool that jxr asks about at bottom of previous page is for pushing down the 'quick' at the base of your fingernails. My father who lived in Britain until he was about 40 was big on grooming of fingernails. "Quick" is the British term for the skin that can grow up from the base of a finger or toe nail. Don't know if the same word is used now for this tissue.
kj

That's what we call it.

[kootenay joe]

Thanks doglegg. "Quick" just seems like an odd word for this 'tissue'.
The Barlow & Boys knife above are very nice. Many collectors dismiss Imperial knives as not worth collecting but they are historically quite significant. For many of us older gents, Imperial was the knife we could buy for ourselves when we were boys.
My understanding is that the blade steel and heat treatment was the same as that found in more expensive knives like Schrade and that this was so even before Albert Baer came to own both Imperial & Schrade. The lower price was because of cheaper handles.
kj

[jxr1197]

"Quick" is the British term for the skin that can grow up from the base of a finger or toe nail.

'Cut to the quick' is an American expression (to hurt someone with words) and until just now I never thought about where it came from. Good to know.

Here's one that just showed up and is sure to offend someone . I wonder when the season kicks off... .

[jxr1197]

My last mail call of 2019 is a pack of Imperial razor blades.

[JAMESC41001]

That’s interesting Jason. I think Boker moved to Maplewood NJ in the 1920’s. The also owned a razor company somewhere in their history. I wonder if the Vulcan company had anything to do with Boker??

[jxr1197]

That’s interesting Jason. I think Boker moved to Maplewood NJ in the 1920’s. The also owned a razor company somewhere in their history. I wonder if the Vulcan company had anything to do with Boker??

I didn’t know that Boker was there too. I looked up Maplewood on the map and it’s a town the size of a postage stamp on the outskirts of Newark. I bet having Boker move in was quite the feather in their cap. Vulcan was a joint pet project of Imperial and Sears. I haven’t heard of any other companies being involved but the more you read about cutlery history, the more inbreeding you see so I wouldn’t be all that surprised if there turned out to be a Boker connection too.

[jxr1197]

Here's an awesome/weird one from the sample room -

[bladecollectorr]

Here's an awesome/weird one from the sample room -
imperialfeelergauge.jpg

Wow! Imperial feeler gauge! Makes me think valve clearances and spark plugs. So much cooler than the cheap set I got at the hardware store.

[royal0014]

Here's an awesome/weird one from the sample room

Wow! That's gotta be pretty rare ..

[jxr1197]

Wow! That's gotta be pretty rare ..

I was guessing it's probably the only one, but maybe they made a few prototypes - who knows? It's a handmade mock up that came from Imperial's factory sample room. Where the gauges are they removed the spring and tacked in a couple of brass tabs to provide a stopping point for the out-of-order feeler blades.

[FRJ]

What an amazing Imperial artifact.
I'm glad it's on AAPK.

[jxr1197]

What an amazing Imperial artifact.
I'm glad it's on AAPK.

Thanks - I think it's pretty cool too.

Here's another refugee from the sample room. I'm not sure if this pattern made it to production or not. I've never seen one before - a non-locking TL29 in a cigar jack frame. Kinda weird..

[OLDE CUTLER]

I was rummaging thru a $1 an item box at the local fleamarket today and found this nice 3" Imperial stainless steel jack. The celluloid is still real nice with great color. Probably the oldest stainless steel knife I own. One tangstamp chart I have says this is from the late 1920s? Can that be right?

[jxr1197]

I wasn't sure where this one fits in but Imperial seems about right. This is the first and only Ulster tool kit I've come across. The Imperials are all shells so it's kind of interesting to see one dressed in slabs of MOTS. The sheepfoot is standard fare for a lot of the Imperials and the tools are directly from the Imperial parts bin.