Walden Co Op Knives

[ea42]

I just picked up a Walden CoOp hawkbill and thought I'd share some pics with y'all. These are mighty rare, started in 1870 after 18 cutlers from NY Knife Co. bailed when Col. Bradley forbid the playing of baseball during the old lunch break. These guys knew their stuff as they were trained in Sheffield, and proceeded to start their own company by renting some floor space and power from the Rider Erickson Engine Company in Walden, NY. Once they outgrew the space at Ryder, they purchased the Gills Andrews Mills at the foot of Water Street in 1874, where they remained, and grew, until and after the Merger with Simmons in 1902. The CoOp name was used until the move in 1874 (4 years), when they changed it to Walden Knife Co. If anyone else has one (I know LT has 1 or 2), feel free to post 'em!!

(FYI- there were a goodly number of failed woolen mills ripe for the taking in Walden after that industry failed in the late 1800's, this was the reason they tried, successfully, to lure knife companies to the town.)

Here ya go, and no, I didn't carve my initials in it , but at least whoever did was mighty neat about it!

Eric

[Sauconian]

Nice addition Eric !

Remarkably good condition too, for such a hard one to find.

Fran

[philco]

Nice find Eric.

With the exception of the initials carved into them, those handles look to be in remarkably good condition. I don't think ole "F. S." gave that one too much of a workout.



Phil

[Another Knife Collector]

Great find! nice example of a rare stamp.

[upnorth]

A rare treasure, Eric!
I like it, initials and all!! They make it even more interesting!

[ea42]

Thanks guys!

Charlie, I agree, the initials are kinda cool actually, makes you wonder just when they were added, although I don't think folks have used serifs on their intials in quite some time!

All steel on this one, not a trace of nickel silver or brass. I'd say the blade might be down as much as 10-15% judging by the size of the blades on some of the old hawks. Was in DIRE need of oil when I got it, and the blade was a bit rusty, and had a light patina of tar on it
The results are where it's gonna stay, don't want to rub off that real patina too much! It's definitely in nice shape for its age, probably the oldest knife I own.

Eric

[cusprider]

Great hawk with Personality and History

Classic styling-deep swedge and rounded handle. Very few companies maintained the deep swedge past the 1940s.


If memory serves; Schrade made two models, one like the above and the model 136-square "banana" handle. Do you know if the model 136 was a Schrade innovation or if Walden developed it. The earliest model 136 I've seen was marked Schrade/Cut Co.

Again, Congrats on a great accquistion This Hawkman is very

Wm

[ea42]

Wm (William?),

The Cut.Co was the 1361, it was an over 4" long knife, with a flat butt. I don't think Schrade developed the style, as the basic design goes back to the Sheffield knives (many of those had steel or brass butt plates). The other Schrade was the 1391, smaller at 3 9/16", with smoothed handles that more resembled the Walden knife (although the Walden is larger at a bit over 4"). Curiously, Schrade didn't introduce these knives, or any hawkbills for that matter, until around 1932. Here's a shot of a 1391:

[galvanic1882]

Great knife Eric and I am glad that you picked up one marked from such a rare group of cutlers!!!! Attached is the one I own but the mark is a bit different. All iron hardware on this one also. It is 4" closed and I just love the etch GRANGE.

[upnorth]

Thanks for the historical snapshot, Eric!
And for showing us your beautiful example!
And for yours Mike! Just a great example of the art!!
I love it when the etch is deep enough to withstand some use.
Most more modern-electro etch is fragile, and easily wiped away.

[orvet]

The modern Electro-Chem etch machines can be used to make a deep etch.
IIRC, I used a deeper etch on the paring knives I made for you Charlie.

With practice, patience and a larger stencil, it is possible to get an Electro-Chem etch as deep as a tang stamp, if you use them in the DC mode. In AC mode, they just mark the surface of the metal by removing and redepositing metal from the blade. Direct current flows in one direction and removes the metal from the blade and deposited it in the etchant pad.

Dale

[upnorth]

The etch is still perfect, and I've put a lot of miles on the first one, Dale!

[ea42]

Glad you posted that one Mike!! That's a stamp I'm more familiar with (CoO Knife Co. on top), at least on the two others I've seen. Possibly the size of the tang played a part in the configuration? I'm going to bring this one to the meeting tomorrow to see if anyone can shed some light on it. I'll keep you posted.

Eric

[Clark23]

See nothing has been posted in over 15 years on this thread, so i will post. Hope you all enjoy, newest addition.

[wlf]

Great knife Clark

This Co op knife is stamped same as Mike's.