PREMIER CUTLERY CO. 1921-1955

[peanut740]

Ike

[TPK]

This 4 1/4" Moose is my first and only Premier

Pretty find Ike! Congrats Buddy!

[BWT]

If that’s your one and only Ike you did good

[Mumbleypeg]

Resurrecting this old thread cuz I recently fished this little Premier lobster out of the “bay”. I was the only bidder!

Stamped K374 over Italy on the pile side. 3-3/8 inches, brass liners and pins. Looks unused.

Ken

[BWT]

Very nice Ken

[Mumbleypeg]

Thank you Bill.

Ken

[rp30132]

PREMIER
243K
GERMANY

2 BLADE ,PEN,PEARL

I just added the Premier Lifetime Germany K243 Pearl 2 Blade Cigar Jack Pocket Knife.
What year were the pocket knives made?

[rp30132]

Does anyone know what years were this pocket knives produced? I know the knife in the picture is a Premier Lifetime Germany K243 Pearl 2 Blade Cigar Jack Pocket Knife. I’ve seen the same premier pocket knife with a different premier logo. I am trying to pinpoint a specific year for this knife . Can anyone help???

[Mumbleypeg]

Nice knife, and welcome to AAPK. Premier was a jobber, headquartered in New York City and Toronto. As the title to this thread says, they were believed to be in business 1921-1955. (Some anecdotal reports that Premier knives were available for purchase in Canada more recent than 1955.) The company did not make knives but contracted them to be made by several companies, to their specifications. If you gave not done so already, you can learn just about anything and everything known about Premier and see numerous pictures of their knives (including some identical to yours) by reading the posts in this thread.

Unfortunately there are no known records of when specific patterns were produced or when their various stamps were used. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone having a Premier catalog which might have given some clues. Making it difficult if not impossible to determine when a particular knife was made. Not an unusual occurrence with cutleries. They were making tools to be used, with no idea that us collectors would some day be interested in what they made when. Hopefully some day there will be a “discovery” that will enlighten those of us who collect Premiers.

Sorry it’s not that easy to tell a specific year when old knives were made. Date coding of knives wasn’t a thing until 1970 when Case started it.

Ken

[1967redrider]

This 4 1/4" Moose is my first and only Premier

This knife looks familiar, I need to check with Ireland . . .

[danno50]

Nice knife, and welcome to AAPK. Premier was a jobber, headquartered in New York City and Toronto. As the title to this thread says, they were believed to be in business 1921-1955. (Some anecdotal reports that Premier knives were available for purchase in Canada more recent than 1955.) The company did not make knives but contracted them to be made by several companies, to their specifications. If you gave not done so already, you can learn just about anything and everything known about Premier and see numerous pictures of their knives (including some identical to yours) by reading the posts in this thread.

Unfortunately there are no known records of when specific patterns were produced or when their various stamps were used. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone having a Premier catalog which might have given some clues. Making it difficult if not impossible to determine when a particular knife was made. Not an unusual occurrence with cutleries. They were making tools to be used, with no idea that us collectors would some day be interested in what they made when. Hopefully some day there will be a “discovery” that will enlighten those of us who collect Premiers.

Sorry it’s not that easy to tell a specific year when old knives were made. Date coding of knives wasn’t a thing until 1970 when Case started it.

Ken

Ken, I graduated high school in 1971. One of my aunts bought me a Premier stockman as a graduation gift. So they were available in Canada after 1955. I haven't seen it for awhile, but, am sure it is around here somewhere.

Dan

[Waukonda]

This 4 1/4" Moose is my first and only Premier

This knife looks familiar, I need to check with Ireland . . .

Yeah, I think I remember you posting a similar one a while back.

[1967redrider]

I asked her where she got it, she said it came from Party Time Liquors. I guess she buys her bourbon there.

[Waukonda]

I asked her where she got it, she said it came from Party Time Liquors. I guess she buys her bourbon there.

Sounds like a cat with class!

[Mumbleypeg]

Nice knife, and welcome to AAPK. Premier was a jobber, headquartered in New York City and Toronto. As the title to this thread says, they were believed to be in business 1921-1955. (Some anecdotal reports that Premier knives were available for purchase in Canada more recent than 1955.) The company did not make knives but contracted them to be made by several companies, to their specifications. If you gave not done so already, you can learn just about anything and everything known about Premier and see numerous pictures of their knives (including some identical to yours) by reading the posts in this thread.

Unfortunately there are no known records of when specific patterns were produced or when their various stamps were used. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone having a Premier catalog which might have given some clues. Making it difficult if not impossible to determine when a particular knife was made. Not an unusual occurrence with cutleries. They were making tools to be used, with no idea that us collectors would some day be interested in what they made when. Hopefully some day there will be a “discovery” that will enlighten those of us who collect Premiers.

Sorry it’s not that easy to tell a specific year when old knives were made. Date coding of knives wasn’t a thing until 1970 when Case started it.

Ken

Ken, I graduated high school in 1971. One of my aunts bought me a Premier stockman as a graduation gift. So they were available in Canada after 1955. I haven't seen it for awhile, but, am sure it is around here somewhere.

Dan

Thanks for that input Dan. I think the 1921-1955 dates come from Goins’. Wish we had some more info about Premier. Their catalogs and other ephemera seem very scarce. I’ve seen a number of stories like yours, some in this thread, that make me believe they were around at least in Canada more recently than 1955.

Ken

[Mumbleypeg]

A few Premiers out for some air.

Ken

[Dalman]

I received this knife a while back and have had it in my collection. Not much is known about them, but I figured I would share this one since this was the central location of information regarding these blades. I hadn't seen many fixed-blade knives while reviewing prior posts on this thread. Premier Lifetime H84 Germany. The blade is just under 5 inches long, and the sheath is original as far as I can tell and is stamped with "genuine leather." You can't convince me to say it any differently than JENYOUWINE leather!

[doglegg]

I received this knife a while back and have had it in my collection. Not much is known about them, but I figured I would share this one since this was the central location of information regarding these blades. I hadn't seen many fixed-blade knives while reviewing prior posts on this thread. Premier Lifetime H84 Germany. The blade is just under 5 inches long, and the sheath is original as far as I can tell and is stamped with "genuine leather." You can't convince me to say it any differently than JENYOUWINE leather!

Welcome and knice looking knife.

[Mumbleypeg]

I received this knife a while back and have had it in my collection. Not much is known about them, but I figured I would share this one since this was the central location of information regarding these blades. I hadn't seen many fixed-blade knives while reviewing prior posts on this thread. Premier Lifetime H84 Germany. The blade is just under 5 inches long, and the sheath is original as far as I can tell and is stamped with "genuine leather." You can't convince me to say it any differently than JENYOUWINE leather!

Nice find. You are right about “not much is known about them”. As a collector of Premier pocket knives, my searches for information invariably lead right back to AAPK, so what you read in this thread is pretty much it. I keep hoping someone will turn up an old Premier catalog or other ephemera to give us some more info.

As for Premier brand fixed blades they are frequently available on eBay, and like the Premier pocket knives most were made in Germany or Sheffield. There doesn’t seem to be much collector enthusiasm for them, so if you’re interested in them my impression is that field is wide open!

Welcome to AAPK.

Ken

[David Newton]

Hello Folks,
Just some information that you may not know. My father Gerry (Gerrard Newton) worked for Premier Cutlery company in downtown Toronto for most of his life, near Bay and Adelaide where the TD tower is now. He started as a travelling salesman and became general manager, working for the owner Harry Clarke. My dad travelled all over Europe including Sheffield, England and Germany and Italy buying stainless steel contracts. This is when stainless steel was very good quality. He was working for Premier Cutlery when I was born. (1955) He retired in 1970 and I think about that time, Richard Clarke took over the helm from his dad to run the company. The 1921-1955 dates are very inaccurate. When I was on vacation in Brockville, Ontario in about 2015, I went into the hardware store on King St. (main) in downtown Brockville and had a lengthy and interesting conversation with the owner and he in formed me that Richard Clarke had shuttered the business about 7 years prior. I believe that was in 2015. I stopped in because the store front window had a Premier Cutlery display, which my dad designed and had built, in the window which I tried to purchase, but the owner would not sell it to me. I am not sure when they started buying from other countries, but in those years after my dad was long gone, the quality was a bit diminished. Just thought that you might be interested in some of the history.

[Mumbleypeg]

Thanks for sharing that information, and welcome to AAPK. More proof the Premier brand was available, at least in Canada, after 1955. Still hoping someone will find a Premier catalog (or two) with some more info about them. It’s a shame most of what is known is in this thread. I agree toward the end there were some knives of inferior quality but most of the knives I’ve seen are pretty nice.

Ken

[David Newton]

Hi Ken,

I will see if I can get anymore info from my remaining siblings and post it here. I was unaware of the interest.
Dave

[Mumbleypeg]

Hi Ken,

I will see if I can get anymore info from my remaining siblings and post it here. I was unaware of the interest.
Dave

Thanks! If it’s about knives you can bet someone here on AAPK is interested.

Ken