Mystery Knife Game

[C-WADE7]

Great stag on that one Q. It was your clues that helped me make an educated guess.

I don’t have one to post , someone else jump in.

[QTCut5]

Not to be a game hog since I just posted a mystery knife...but I do have another one that I think will be more interesting to the "vintage contingent" among us especially the lovers of vintage ebony handles

[Madmarco]

It seems ~Q~ got in before me as I was typing this out, so I guess we'll just do a double unless anyone has another suggestion? Just because I just received this I'll jump in here!

First clue: It was made overseas.

[Madmarco]

Is it an Ulster, ~Q~?

[wlf]

Battle axe

There it is!!! Not sure if it was due to, or in spite of, my enigmatic clues, but you nailed it nontheless. Well done, sir
IMG_E4887.JPGIMG_E4892.JPG


FWIW, here's a bit of information on the Battle-Axe Brand that I gleaned from the pages of AAPK:


J.W. Hickey of Winston-Salem NC, Hickey & T. Shouse of Winston-Salem, and George Smith of Hardin Wholesale who later became a partner in Blue Grass Cutlery. Brands were Battle Axe with House & Hardin, some with a secondary stamp of Hickey & Shouse[/i]

George Smith passed away the last year or so. He was the money man and buddy of Charlie Dorton, who was the knife man of the Smith, Scott, and Dorton trio of Blue Grass Cutlery.
I met him when I was with Daddy buying Mommy a Waltham watch for Christmas at Hardin's Wholesale before he moved the store into the town of Kenova proper.

Camillus ~Q~

[QTCut5]

Is it an Ulster, ~Q~?

Nope, the Vintage Mystery Knife (VMK) is not Ulster

I'm going to have to do a bit of research before I can begin making even remotely semi-educated guesses on your Modern Mystery Knife (MMK)

George Smith passed away the last year or so. He was the money man and buddy of Charlie Dorton, who was the knife man of the Smith, Scott, and Dorton trio of Blue Grass Cutlery.
I met him when I was with Daddy buying Mommy a Waltham watch for Christmas at Hardin's Wholesale before he moved into the town of Kenova proper.

Camillus ~Q~

Thanks for sharing that bit of history, Lyle. I am constantly amazed at the vast knife knowlwdge and connections to the vast network of professional knife people past and present that can be found here on AAPK BTW--I'm inclined to believe my previous mystery knife (Battle Axe Stag Mini Trapper) was probably a product of Blue Grass Cutlery.

Sorry, the VMK is not Camillus

[C-WADE7]

OVB on the vintage and Moki on the new?

[QTCut5]

VMK is not OVB

[Gtrclktr-351]

VMK = Boker

[QTCut5]

VMK = Boker

VMK Boker

[wlf]

Vmk. Walden

[edgy46]

Vmk Robison?

[QTCut5]

Vmk. Walden

VMK Walden

Vmk Robison?

VMK Robison

[QTCut5]

HINT: The VMK is a man's name

[Gtrclktr-351]

HINT: The VMK is a man's name

With a little digging, which is educational even if this isn't the right company., I discovered a brand I had never heard of.
Is the VMK a Ralph Brown?

[C-WADE7]

VMK-John Primble?
Marco- how about Graham Clayton

[QTCut5]

HINT: The VMK is a man's name

With a little digging, which is educational even if this isn't the right company., I discovered a brand I had never heard of.
Is the VMK a Ralph Brown?

Digging can indeed be educational, I learn new things all the time on AAPK while searching for completely unrelated information...it's kind of like reading multiple entries in a dictionary when you just wanted to look up a specific word. Unfortunately, the name you dug up, Ralph Brown (which is a new one on me, as well, I might add), is not the name on this VMK HINT: Instead of using a figurative shovel to dig for the name, perhaps using a literal calculator to solve this equation: 2025 - 160, will provide a clue to the VMK brand name

VMK-John Primble?

Well, John Primble certainly is a man's name but it's not the name on the VMK

SIDE NOTE: I have never been able to determine if John Primble knives were named after a real, historical person or merely a trademark name used by Belnap Hardware. Neither do I know if the name on the VMK was a real, historical figure or merely a trademark name used by a company that contracted knives out to be made by other manufacturers One thing is certain, though: there is no shortage of mysteries in the Mystery Knife Game

[QTCut5]

First clue: It was made overseas.

Well, Marco, that certainly narrows it down

That knife looks too nice to be made in China, so I'm guessing it was made in Japan. Although it's probably much too fancy, I'm going to go way out on a limb and guess Parker Imai?

[Gtrclktr-351]

Digging can indeed be educational, I learn new things all the time on AAPK while searching for completely unrelated information...it's kind of like reading multiple entries in a dictionary when you just wanted to look up a specific word. Unfortunately, the name you dug up, Ralph Brown (which is a new one o


NOTE: I have never been able to determine if John Primble knives were named after a real, historical person or merely a trademark name used by Belnap Hardware. Neither do I know if the name on the VMK was a real, historical figure or merely a trademark name used by a company that contracted knives out to be made by other manufacturers One thing is certain, though: there is no shortage of mysteries in the Mystery Knife Game

Found this on Worthpoint:"The Ralph Brown Co. is a very rare mark. The seller of the knife shown said, " It appears to have been made by Ulster for The Ralph Brown Co. of San Francisco sometime before 1906."
In searching the interwebs, the only two product lines I could find produced by The Ralph Brown Co. San Francisco, CA were pocketknives and fly-fishing rods.

And on Wikipedia: "Belknap Hardware became one of the nation's largest wholesale enterprises with nationally known quality brands, among which Blue Grass was the most readily recognizable. John Primble knives, developed by an employee of the company, became a Belknap brand."
The Wikipedia article did not say that was the employee's name.

I've got a thirst for knife knowledge and way too much time on my hands!

.

[Madmarco]

VMK-John Primble?
Marco- how about Graham Clayton

There is only one way you were able to guess that correctly, C-W, and I assume that's why the "wink" emoji, right?
I pass to you buddy!

[Madmarco]

First clue: It was made overseas.

Well, Marco, that certainly narrows it down

That knife looks too nice to be made in China, so I'm guessing it was made in Japan. Although it's probably much too fancy, I'm going to go way out on a limb and guess Parker Imai?

Not Parker, ~Q~, C-W has guessed correctly.

[glennbad]

Henry Sears

[QTCut5]

Henry Sears

You're a mathematical genius, Glenn!! Henry Sears & Son 1865 it is

[glennbad]

Glad to see my edumication paid off!

Someone else can post one up in my place...

[QTCut5]

OK, sure...I seem to be on a roll...so, no moss will be growing under my mystery knives

Here's another vintage knife with an ebony handle for your attempted divination.

Raising the Mystery Knife Game stakes --- the correct guesser wins this knife (if they want it and send me their address )