Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

The first Robeson knives were imported by Millard Robeson from England and Germany exclusively. This continued from 1979 until 1896 when Robeson began manufacturing knives in the United States. Since inception, the company has gone through several reorganizations & eventually ended up as a Queen Cutlery brand.
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Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by RobesonsRme.com »

I've been limiting my knife purchases to just Terrier knives lately and have, in fact, sold a good many of my Robeson knives, but this 3 5/8" Robeson MasterCraft whittler popped up on Ebay a short while ago. I put one of those, "this is absolutely the most I'll pay" bids on it and somehow managed to win it.

It's not mint by any stretch of the imagination. It has been used slightly and has a few sharpening marks on it and several scattered pits and spiders.

It still has a lot of original luster and the "NEV-R-BIND OIL-LESS BEARINGS" etch in a flowing banner on the master clip blade.

It's pattern number is 633659. Every MasterCraft knife I've seen has a pattern number ending in the 600 range.

Master blade stamp is ROBESON / ShurEdge / ROCHESTER, which has been dated 1922 - 1939.

There is a small secondary clip blade and a pen. The pen is stamped "PATENT / APP FOR", in two lines.

The nickel-silver liners are coined.

The handles are nicely jigged brown bone with a MASTERCRAFT shield. There are no worm grooves. There are no chips or cracks.

The MasterCraft line of knives were introduced 1929.

They had a bronze "U" shaped piece affixed to the rear of the tang that bore on the inner surface of the backspring.

I have never encountered this pattern before and at 3 5/8", it is one of the largest.

Enjoy.

Photos should expand with a left click.

Charlie Noyes
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by FRJ »

That is a real beauty, Charlie. A nice big whittler. Congratulations!
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by Colonel26 »

That is a beautiful old knife. Simply amazing! ::tu::
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by Duffer »

Beautiful Whittler Charlie ::nod::

Here is a first cousin to yours a Robeson Mastercraft Whittler pattern no. 633656 same length as yours but more of a sleeve board design. Has a pen blade and sheep foot. Etch is hard to see but still there but not as visible as yours. Lloyd
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by Dinadan »

That is a very fine knife, Charlie! Yours too, Duffer. The bronze bearing on the tang of the blade sounds unique. I have never seen a knife with that feature - was that used on other knives, or maybe all Mastercrafts?
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by RobesonsRme.com »

Here is a photo of a MasterCraft demonstration knife with transparent handles. This knife actually self-destructed a year or two ago, but the photos survive.

MasterCraft came out in about 1929. Depression era, so I don't know how long they made them. I have seen photos of a whole display case of nothing but MastrCraft knives.

After Emerson Case took over the factory operations in about 1940, the bronze bearing was moved from the end of the blade to the inside surface of the backspring. They changed the name of the line to Perma-Lube.

Charlie
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by Waukonda »

A match to the OP knife
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by edge213 »

Waukonda wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 8:30 pm A match to the OP knife

Beautiful knife Ike!
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by dlr110 »

Ike, that is a classic looking knife to me... ::tu::
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by doglegg »

Classic indeed. Love those bones.
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by Dinadan »

Beautiful knife in really fine condition!
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by FRJ »

What else can be said, Ike, a truly beautiful knife.
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by RobesonsRme.com »

Beautiful knife with great bone.

The sabre-cut master seems a bit more crisp than the OP.
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Re: Robeson MasterCraft Whittler

Post by Waukonda »

I am pretty fond of this knife, and I appreciate all the nice comments, thank you all!
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