A Historical Perspective On Vintage Robeson Tang Stamps
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 1:00 am
The various tang stamps used by The Robeson Cutlery Company apparently fall into fairly well defined time periods. Like the tang stamps used by the Case cutlery companies, Robeson's tang stamps were used for certain periods of time, then replaced by newer, but different designs.
Robeson's stamps have traditionally been divided into periods of time that included those from the early 1890's to about 1900, 1900 to about 1945, 1945 to 1965, and 1965 to 1977. These time period estimates were provided initially by Mr. Dewey Ferguson in Romance of Collecting Cattaraugus, Robeson, Russell and Queen Knives, 1976. These estimates served me well during the earlier years of my collecting.
As I have stated earlier, the best reference on all things Robeson is Knives Can Talk, by Tom Kalcevic and most recently Robeson Collectables and Rarities, 2012. Mr. Kalcevic resides in the Avon, New York. He has had access to former factory workers, factory documents, the spouse of Emerson Case, Robeson's last president, and City Directories in the local libraries. Tom's breakdown and dating of the various stampings used by Robeson is the most detailed in existence. I have chosen to accept, by faith, what Tom has published.
I do have one or two marks that were not included in Tom's books, and I have dated them in with his dates, where they seem to fit as best as I can determine.
I do not possess a representative example of every tang stamp known to have been used by Robeson. I will provide a photo of any tang stamp that I can, however.
The different lines of a tang stamp will be separated by a forward slash /, with a space preceding and following. Different styles of lettering will be described within parentheses. Arched stamps will be designated as such within parentheses. Straight stamps will be as they appeared on the knives.
I am going to limit this to the tang marks on the master blades of folding knives. If I depart from that, it will be noted.
Attempting to date a Robeson knife by the stamps on the secondary blades is futile. Some premium knives do have the same stamp on all blades, so obviously my last statement is not exactly true. However, Robeson generally placed on of only three or four stamps on the secondary blades, while the master blade went through dozens of stamps over the years.
Here are the stamps, in chronological order as Tom Kalcevic and I understand them. The dates should be considered as close estimates only and not written in stone.
M. F. ROBESON (Seen only on razors, thus far) 1880 - 1884
ROBESON / CUTLERY Co / ENGLAND 1885 - 1890
ROBESON / CUTLERY Co. with GERMANY on one blade 1891 - 1895
ROBESON / CUT. Co. with PREMIER on one or more blades 1891 -1895
R. C. Co. with GERMANY on one blade 1891 - 1895
GENESEE 1891 - 1895
FILLMORE / CUTLERY / Co. with GERMANY or AUSTRIA on one blade 1891 - 1895
ROBESON / CUTLERY CO. / WARRANTED 1896 - 1899
THE / ROBESON / CUT. CO. / ROCHESTER, N.Y. 1896 - 1899
THE R. C. CO. / ROCHESTER 1896 - 1899
ROBESON / CUTLERY 1896 - 1899
ROBESON (arched up) / CO. / CUTLERY (arched down) 1900 - 1910
ROBESON (arched) / CO. / CUTLERY 1900 - 1916
R. C. / CO. 1900 - 1939
ROBESON / CUT. CO. / U.S.A. 1910 - 1920
ROBESON / CUTLERY / CO. 1910 - 1921
ROBESON (arched) / ShurEdge (script & diagonal) / ROCHESTER, N.Y 1907 - 1911
TERRIER / CUTLERY / ROCHESTER, N.Y. 1910 - 1916
ROBESON / ShurEdge (script) / ROCHESTER, N.Y. 1911 - 1921
ROBESON / DEMONSTRATOR 1911 - 1939
ROBESON / ShurEdge (script) / U.S.A. 1916 - 1939
ROBESON (arched) / U. S. A. / CUTLERY on master blade 1917 - 1939
ROBESON / CUTLERY / ROCHESTER 1917 - 1939
ROBESON / ShurEdge (script) / ROCHESTER 1922 - 1939
ROBESON / SHUREDGE ( block) / U.S.A. 1940 - 1964
ROBESON / pattern number / U.S.A. 1965 - 1977
Robeson's stamps have traditionally been divided into periods of time that included those from the early 1890's to about 1900, 1900 to about 1945, 1945 to 1965, and 1965 to 1977. These time period estimates were provided initially by Mr. Dewey Ferguson in Romance of Collecting Cattaraugus, Robeson, Russell and Queen Knives, 1976. These estimates served me well during the earlier years of my collecting.
As I have stated earlier, the best reference on all things Robeson is Knives Can Talk, by Tom Kalcevic and most recently Robeson Collectables and Rarities, 2012. Mr. Kalcevic resides in the Avon, New York. He has had access to former factory workers, factory documents, the spouse of Emerson Case, Robeson's last president, and City Directories in the local libraries. Tom's breakdown and dating of the various stampings used by Robeson is the most detailed in existence. I have chosen to accept, by faith, what Tom has published.
I do have one or two marks that were not included in Tom's books, and I have dated them in with his dates, where they seem to fit as best as I can determine.
I do not possess a representative example of every tang stamp known to have been used by Robeson. I will provide a photo of any tang stamp that I can, however.
The different lines of a tang stamp will be separated by a forward slash /, with a space preceding and following. Different styles of lettering will be described within parentheses. Arched stamps will be designated as such within parentheses. Straight stamps will be as they appeared on the knives.
I am going to limit this to the tang marks on the master blades of folding knives. If I depart from that, it will be noted.
Attempting to date a Robeson knife by the stamps on the secondary blades is futile. Some premium knives do have the same stamp on all blades, so obviously my last statement is not exactly true. However, Robeson generally placed on of only three or four stamps on the secondary blades, while the master blade went through dozens of stamps over the years.
Here are the stamps, in chronological order as Tom Kalcevic and I understand them. The dates should be considered as close estimates only and not written in stone.
M. F. ROBESON (Seen only on razors, thus far) 1880 - 1884
ROBESON / CUTLERY Co / ENGLAND 1885 - 1890
ROBESON / CUTLERY Co. with GERMANY on one blade 1891 - 1895
ROBESON / CUT. Co. with PREMIER on one or more blades 1891 -1895
R. C. Co. with GERMANY on one blade 1891 - 1895
GENESEE 1891 - 1895
FILLMORE / CUTLERY / Co. with GERMANY or AUSTRIA on one blade 1891 - 1895
ROBESON / CUTLERY CO. / WARRANTED 1896 - 1899
THE / ROBESON / CUT. CO. / ROCHESTER, N.Y. 1896 - 1899
THE R. C. CO. / ROCHESTER 1896 - 1899
ROBESON / CUTLERY 1896 - 1899
ROBESON (arched up) / CO. / CUTLERY (arched down) 1900 - 1910
ROBESON (arched) / CO. / CUTLERY 1900 - 1916
R. C. / CO. 1900 - 1939
ROBESON / CUT. CO. / U.S.A. 1910 - 1920
ROBESON / CUTLERY / CO. 1910 - 1921
ROBESON (arched) / ShurEdge (script & diagonal) / ROCHESTER, N.Y 1907 - 1911
TERRIER / CUTLERY / ROCHESTER, N.Y. 1910 - 1916
ROBESON / ShurEdge (script) / ROCHESTER, N.Y. 1911 - 1921
ROBESON / DEMONSTRATOR 1911 - 1939
ROBESON / ShurEdge (script) / U.S.A. 1916 - 1939
ROBESON (arched) / U. S. A. / CUTLERY on master blade 1917 - 1939
ROBESON / CUTLERY / ROCHESTER 1917 - 1939
ROBESON / ShurEdge (script) / ROCHESTER 1922 - 1939
ROBESON / SHUREDGE ( block) / U.S.A. 1940 - 1964
ROBESON / pattern number / U.S.A. 1965 - 1977