Tang stamp ID

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beresman
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Tang stamp ID

Post by beresman »

I have not been able to identify the maker of this knife. The stamp looks to me like three-quarters of a four-point star superimposed over the letter "W", but I'm willing to be wrong about that...

Any ideas? I didn't find it in Goins' book. It's a smaller knife, maybe 2-7/8". There is no marking other than that which I have shown.
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Brent
knifeaholic
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Re: Tang stamp ID

Post by knifeaholic »

A rare stamp....TRUSTWORTHY HARDWARE, a hardware company similar to True Value and Ace. Knives were made by Ulster for a very short period, circa 1950's to 60's. Knives with this mark are rarely seen, at least in my experience.
Steve Pfeiffer, author of Collecting Case Knives: Identification and Price Guide published by Krause Publications.
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richard
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Re: Tang stamp ID

Post by richard »

Nice knife. is it missing a blade? as the tang stamp, suggests 3 blades?
beresman
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Re: Tang stamp ID

Post by beresman »

knifeaholic wrote: Tue Dec 27, 2022 9:59 pm A rare stamp....TRUSTWORTHY HARDWARE, a hardware company similar to True Value and Ace. Knives were made by Ulster for a very short period, circa 1950's to 60's. Knives with this mark are rarely seen, at least in my experience.
Thank you, Steve, for that bit of information! I see Trustworthy in both my Goins' and Levine's books, but no graphic to help me make the connection. I'm curious, though--you mention the knife being made by Ulster, but both of those books invoke Mappin & Webb as the maker. The discussions on the board here about Trustworthy most frequently mention Ulster, as you said, and possible Schrade. Sounds like there's more to the story...
richard wrote: Tue Dec 27, 2022 10:22 pm Nice knife. is it missing a blade? as the tang stamp, suggests 3 blades?
As best as I can tell, it is not. Here are some additional photos. It's a two-blade configuration now, and my untrained eyes don't see any evidence that the knife has been modified. The blades are nearly full--the only issue is she shrinkage in the handle material. I don't see evidence of outgassing (corrosion on the bolsters or liners). Except for the handles, I'd say the fit is pretty good, and the walk-and-talk is also good, with no perceptible wobble.
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Brent
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btrwtr
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Re: Tang stamp ID

Post by btrwtr »

The knife does look like an Ulster product.
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Re: Tang stamp ID

Post by Shearer »

btrwtr wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 2:49 am The knife does look like an Ulster product.
I have a Trustworthy tang stamp on a Ulster 580T

Grant
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Re: Tang stamp ID

Post by ea42 »

Brent most all of those Trustworthy knives were made by Ulster/Schrade. I've got a bunch of the tang stamps from the old factory, probably from around the 1960's or 70's. The "Trustworthy" associated with Mappin and Webb is completely different. Nice find!

Eric
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Re: Tang stamp ID

Post by Clark23 »

beresman wrote: Tue Dec 27, 2022 8:24 pm I have not been able to identify the maker of this knife. The stamp looks to me like three-quarters of a four-point star superimposed over the letter "W", but I'm willing to be wrong about that...

Any ideas? I didn't find it in Goins' book. It's a smaller knife, maybe 2-7/8". There is no marking other than that which I have shown.
Here’s one I have that I posted on back in Dec.31st of 2021
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8561B191-A763-4925-B6A4-4938EF55A848.jpeg
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beresman
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Re: Tang stamp ID

Post by beresman »

Clark23 wrote: Mon Jan 23, 2023 10:42 pm
Here’s one I have that I posted on back in Dec.31st of 2021
Looks like brothers! Or at least cousins...
Brent
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