MSA elephants toenail original old knife

[Rockingkj]

In about relic condition but I have never see anyone post pictures of a old one. Found at a recent estate auction. Take a look and share what you think.

[stockman]

It is for sure the real deal. Little rough, but it is yours. I have never had one.

Harold

[doglegg]

It fulfilled its purpose for sure. And the old handles look good. Sweet.

[OLDE CUTLER]

Pivot pin on the larger blade has improperly replaced and the missing bone on the pile side can be repaired with AcraGlas. That is a neat old knife, I have never seen a Marbles elephant knife. That one has seen some hard use for sure.

[Rockingkj]

No doubt in the hands of a good restorer could be repaired a bit. The back side scale is loose along with the chunk out of it. This is a pattern seldom seen, in fact had only read a few folks ever having seen one. Some accounts say was made by CASE for Marbles. That account mentions CASE markings this knife does not. Reluctant to do anything to the knife.

[Madmarco]

to AAPK, KJ, and the best of the holidays to you and yours!
I see some pretty nice old "toes" listed for large money on various sites, although they're in better shape than your copy, not mint shape but better, so you might be sitting on a little gold mine. But then again, one can find Rough Rider "toes" listed for almost no money. Age and quality are everything I guess.
Regardless of money, that one is yours and you're fortunate to have it!

[Rockingkj]

Well back in the old days should have listed it in auction on eBay and found out if it was worth anything. Have not sold there for quite a few years now. Too much bs to deal with from eBay rules to big brother eyes.

Thanks for the welcome and a Merry Christmas to you too.

[zed6309]

Love it and I wouldn’t do too much to it other than make it useable for daily carry , great find

[Madmarco]

Well back in the old days should have listed it in auction on eBay and found out if it was worth anything. Have not sold there for quite a few years now. Too much bs to deal with from eBay rules to big brother eyes.

Thanks for the welcome and a Merry Christmas to you too.

Yep, I hear ya, man, good ole' fleabay.
You might want to consider opening a store here at AAPK if you have lots of knives to sell.
Again, welcome aboard!

[Rockingkj]

Thanks I certainly will consider selling here. The sale I got this Marbles advertised 200 knives. Turned out to be over 2000. Snagged a lot of good knives that day. Probably sold knives to a lot of members here though the years when I was on eBay. Same handle as here.

[Madmarco]

Plenty of folks mention that while searching for certain knives the links would lead them here to AAPK, so the knife community is a fairly small albeit vast place, IMO.
You've peaked my curiosity with your story and I'm gong to go over my record of purchases on ebay to see if I was one of those who bought a knife from you.
Should I find any I'll be sure to post pictures and see if we can't conjure up a pleasant memory for you!

[Rockingkj]

Plenty of folks mention that while searching for certain knives the links would lead them here to AAPK, so the knife community is a fairly small albeit vast place, IMO.
You've peaked my curiosity with your story and I'm gong to go over my record of purchases on ebay to see if I was one of those who bought a knife from you.
Should I find any I'll be sure to post pictures and see if we can't conjure up a pleasant memory for you!

That would be very cool. Sold a lot of good knives there. (Some I wish I still had) lol. In later years I have become more of a keeper but set up at local gunshows and the like to sell a few, buy more than I sell and have a great time visiting and swapping li…. Stories with like minded folks.

[1967redrider]

to AAPK and thanks for posting that unicorn. There is much debate about the existence of Marble's folding knives. A bunch of catalog prints but hardly any legitimate examples. Thanks for posting this beauty, it's nice to see one that hasn't been counterfeited.

[Reverand]

Wow, now that is a keeper!
I understand both the desire to fix a few things on it, and at the same time wanting to leave it as-is. We often say things like "I wish this knife could talk", yet in a way they do: all of the scars are it's way of telling it's story.
Especially with it being so rare, I might leave it in it's current condition as well.
Either way, congratulations on the awesome find!

[Rockingkj]

Wow, now that is a keeper!
I understand both the desire to fix a few things on it, and at the same time wanting to leave it as-is. We often say things like "I wish this knife could talk", yet in a way they do: all of the scars are it's way of telling it's story.
Especially with it being so rare, I might leave it in it's current condition as well.
Either way, congratulations on the awesome find!

I’m thinking I will leave it as it is. Start “fixing” it and then needs explanation as to what was done to it. Also answered the question I always had which did people actually carry and use this pattern? The wear on this one shows they did. The next issue is what sort of value to put on it for insurance and estate purposes?

[Mumbleypeg]

Nice find! Frequently you see an old (pre-1960) version of the pattern that is well used, so they were indeed often carried and used. I’ve seen speculation the pattern originated at cutleries around the Pennsylvania oil fields, for heavy tasks use by workers there (cutting thick, heavy rope for example).

For a source of value I recommend checking eBay, sold listings only for sales of comparable knives. As you already know you’re not likely to find the exact same Marbles knife, but you can probably find comparable knives from other makers. Search for “toenail” or “sunfish” knife. Keep a copy of what you find , for insurance purposes.

Ken

[Rockingkj]

Nice find! Frequently you see an old (pre-1960) version of the pattern that is well used, so they were indeed often carried and used. I’ve seen speculation the pattern originated at cutleries around the Pennsylvania oil fields, for heavy tasks use by workers there (cutting thick, heavy rope for example).

For a source of value I recommend checking eBay, sold listings only for sales of comparable knives. As you already know you’re not likely to find the exact same Marbles knife, but you can probably find comparable knives from other makers. Search for “toenail” or “sunfish” knife. Keep a copy of what you find , for insurance purposes.

Ken

Appreciate the thought. Unfortunately there appears to be nothing comparable that has a sales record I can find. Years ago I sold a 1st year W L Marbles sheath knife which is very rare this knife is multiple times rarer than that knife. I always disliked using “rare” as the term is overused. Some listed as “rare “ on eBay the only thing rare about em is someone that would want it. Lol.

[Madmarco]

Plenty of folks mention that while searching for certain knives the links would lead them here to AAPK, so the knife community is a fairly small albeit vast place, IMO.
You've peaked my curiosity with your story and I'm gong to go over my record of purchases on ebay to see if I was one of those who bought a knife from you.
Should I find any I'll be sure to post pictures and see if we can't conjure up a pleasant memory for you!

That would be very cool. Sold a lot of good knives there. (Some I wish I still had) lol. In later years I have become more of a keeper but set up at local gunshows and the like to sell a few, buy more than I sell and have a great time visiting and swapping li…. Stories with like minded folks.

I searched back over all my ebay purchases since 2019, KJ, to see if I bought some thing from you, but I didn't find anything.
I've only used ebay since 2019 to date, so I assume if I didn't buy something from you is due to you not being active there during those dates, or you just didn't have any that interested me.

[Mumbleypeg]

Nice find! Frequently you see an old (pre-1960) version of the pattern that is well used, so they were indeed often carried and used. I’ve seen speculation the pattern originated at cutleries around the Pennsylvania oil fields, for heavy tasks use by workers there (cutting thick, heavy rope for example).

For a source of value I recommend checking eBay, sold listings only for sales of comparable knives. As you already know you’re not likely to find the exact same Marbles knife, but you can probably find comparable knives from other makers. Search for “toenail” or “sunfish” knife. Keep a copy of what you find , for insurance purposes.

Ken

Appreciate the thought. Unfortunately there appears to be nothing comparable that has a sales record I can find. Years ago I sold a 1st year W L Marbles sheath knife which is very rare this knife is multiple times rarer than that knife. I always disliked using “rare” as the term is overused. Some listed as “rare “ on eBay the only thing rare about em is someone that would want it. Lol.

Maybe your request for assistance with determininh a value was more rhetorical? As I said, it isn’t likely you would find a sale of that same knife. It will likely be a long search to find a sale of a knife like the exact same knife as yours. You know that already. Maybe it comes down to how much value you place in the stamp on the knife.

There have been sales of the same pattern from Case Brothers and Case Tested XX, etc - similar knives, of similar age. In fact your knife was possibly made by one of those companies or their contemporaries. Like it or not, those records of recent actual sales transactions are about the best comparables you’re likely to find, “for insurance and estate purposes”. JMO. Determining its value is a nice problem to have. Good luck finding anything else - wish there was a better answer.

Ken

[Rockingkj]

Thanks for the guidance. If you asked my wife for an opinion on my “junk” the answer would likely be how much does it cost to haul it to the dump? In the end we are all just temporary custodians till past on to the next custodian. Nice to find a place that likes the same sort of “treasures” as I do.

[Madmarco]

We're glad to have you here, KJ, make yourself at home!