Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

The KA-BAR brand originated as a trademark of the Tidioute Cutlery Company. Tidioute was later taken over & renamed the Union Cutlery Company which continued making the brand until Union eventually adopted it as the company name in 1952. Cutco Corporation later acquired the company in 1996.
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bladeguy58
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Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by bladeguy58 »

Gentlemen and Ladies,
I have been away for a length of time but I have the itch again so here I am. Some of you may recognize my handle and some may not but I want to give a big hello to the many great people that I have had the opportunity to chat with in the past. Ok enough with the mush lets get down to what my subject is about. I found this great old knife today and got it for what I think was a steal ($25). The odd thing at least to me is the marking and the font. I could not find in any of my books where it said that any of the Union Cutlery, Union Cutco, or Union Razor was ever simply marked "Union" on them. I know that sometimes when may of these companies were going through the change or ownership or name change they often did some unusual things but this one had me scratching my head. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Richard
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btrwtr
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Re: Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by btrwtr »

I have seen this mark before but can't help much outside of that. Union/KA-BAR knives can be some of the hardest knives to date. The knife looks 1940's to me.
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wazu013
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Re: Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by wazu013 »

I have this beat up old scout with the same tang stamp. I've tried to get more info a few times but it all comes back to Kabar with no date available. Maybe one of the scout Guys can help dating this buy looking at the tools?
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knifeaholic
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Re: Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by knifeaholic »

I have seen and owned several of the scout pattern with that stamp (same as the one posted). That is the first I have seen it on another pattern. Based on the construction and handle material, these look to be contract knives made by Ulster, circa late 40's to 50's. My only guess is that it was a short lived experiment on behalf of Kabar/Union Cutlery to outsource some knives to Ulster to be sold at a lower price point (hence the unique tang stamp).
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philco
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Re: Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by philco »

I agree with Steve's time line. The style of can opener on the scout above didn't appear in the official Boy Scout knife line until the late 40s (about 1948).
Phil
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edge213
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Re: Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by edge213 »

wazu013 wrote:I have this beat up old scout with the same tang stamp. I've tried to get more info a few times but it all comes back to Kabar with no date available. Maybe one of the scout Guys can help dating this buy looking at the tools?
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Dang waz, if you call that "beat up" I'd hate to see what you would call some of my knives. :shock:
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bladeguy58
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Re: Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by bladeguy58 »

knifeaholic wrote:I have seen and owned several of the scout pattern with that stamp (same as the one posted). That is the first I have seen it on another pattern. Based on the construction and handle material, these look to be contract knives made by Ulster, circa late 40's to 50's. My only guess is that it was a short lived experiment on behalf of Kabar/Union Cutlery to outsource some knives to Ulster to be sold at a lower price point (hence the unique tang stamp).
Thank you!!
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wazu013
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Re: Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by wazu013 »

edge213 wrote:
wazu013 wrote:I have this beat up old scout with the same tang stamp. I've tried to get more info a few times but it all comes back to Kabar with no date available. Maybe one of the scout Guys can help dating this buy looking at the tools?
015.JPG
017.JPG021.JPG034.JPG
Dang waz, if you call that "beat up" I'd hate to see what you would call some of my knives. :shock:
.
It is a nice full knife but it looks like someone let sit in a puddle for about 20 years. It was rusted shut when I found it in a $10 box of misc junk at my local flea market. It took a good long soaking in WD40 just to open it up. Then I cleaned it up a little. It's a pretty solid knife with nice scales so I should be a little more respectful ::tu::
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edge213
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Re: Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by edge213 »

It is really satisfying to find an old rusty knife for next to nothing and bring it back to life. Great job waz.
David
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Gunsil
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Re: Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by Gunsil »

I believe this is a 1950s mark that coincides with a plain "Union" on some 1950s hunting knives. Both are definitely not pre-KA-BAR Union Cut Co. marks
bladeguy58
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Re: Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by bladeguy58 »

I found this on the Tang Mark page and that particular "Union" with that font shows up twice on this page and it shows 1912-1925.
Bladeguy


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Re: Unfamiliar Union Olean NY marking

Post by Gunsil »

Page is wrong, wrong on many KA-BAR/Union Cut Co marks. Goins' is wrong, the factory KA-BAR tang stamp sheet is wrong. OP knife is 1950s. Note that on the KA-BAR factory produced sheet you show that it says "ages approximate and to the best of our knowledge" Well, the folks at KA-BAR who produced that sheet know little of their history and there are also other improper dates shown on that sheet. Also for those disbelievers, please note that the can opener on Wazu 013's knife is a post ww2 can opener style.
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