Anyone Recognize This Tang Stamp?

[jerryd6818]

Can I please get some information about this tang stamp. My chart only goes up to 1984. The '84 'Q' has a knife through it to make the tail so it doesn't look like this. This is a late '70s - early '80s style 'Q'. Where the heck's the date? Did they go back to this style 'Q' sometime after what's on the chart? I'm guessing this is a 199x - 20xx stamp????

[tjmurphy]

Does this help?

[tjmurphy]

HUMPF, well, I guess not.

[jerryd6818]

Thanks TJ but I don't see one there that matches. This is the chart I copied from AAPK and nothing on it matches either.

[Aimus Moses]

Jerry, I can't see it very good in your picture but, it looks as if there is a mark under the USA on the tang stamp? You could try sending Queen an E-mail with a picture and maybe get an answer that way. If you don't mind, could you let us know what you find out? I'd like to mark it down for future reference.

Aimus

[jerryd6818]

Aimus, I'll try to get a better shot of the tang stamp when the knife gets here (I'm expecting it today) but I suspect that mark under the 'A' in USA is simply a flaw in the steel. I didn't think this would be such a stumper, especially since Queen knives are so popular and seemingly so well documented. Contacting Queen is a great idea.

The crown over the 'Q' doesn't even look like any of the tang stamps on either of the charts. The thought that's been niggling at the corners of my mind since I first saw this is, could it be a fake. But then common sense crowds that thought out of the way, "Why would anyone fake an electrician's knife. It would be tantamount to counterfeiting one dollar bills." This is quite the little mystery for me.

[BuckeyeSchatt]

Jerry I have a 1976 Electricians knife and your last post got me thinking, it has the 76 only tang stamp like the two charts show. My guess is your knife is a 1977-1983 as it might have passed thru the line without the #date being stamped on the tang. Take a good look at the chart that you posted and you'll see what I'm talking about. It could be a transition between 1976 and 1977 stamping? Keep us posted on what you find out from Queen.

[jerryd6818]

Aimus -- That spot turned out to be dirt.

Buckeyeschatt -- I understand what you're saying and that was one of the thoughts that passed through my brain-cage. Some of the things I've noticed since; the horizontal tail off the 'Q' does not extend over USA far enough to cover the 'A' and the crown is more "stylized" and not the four intertwined partial circles with dots separating it from the 'Q' as is depicted on the chart.

I don't have a guess so I called Queen Cutlery this morning and talked to Pat who told me he's been with Q.C. for 33 years. His expertise ran out at the end of the chart but he gave me an email address and I sent a picture. He said he will ask around to see if anyone knows anything about the stamp. It is a conundrum.

One piece of trivia, Pat said Queen made so many blades with the '76 tang stamp, they were still putting them in knives in '77 and '78. That just reinforces that it ain't no exact science folks.

[tjmurphy]

You're right Jerry. That Queen stamp is nothing like any listed and is different from modern also. Must be a prototype worth thousands.

[jerryd6818]

One of one?? Wow!

Thanks T.J.

[tjmurphy]

Not a problem. Anytime you want good news, let me know and I'll make something up.

[BuckeyeSchatt]

Jerry thanks for sharing your info very interesting stuff. I didn't notice what you said about the tail off the Q or the difference of the crown thanks for pointing that out. It's the history,the new and the unknown that makes this knife collecting sickness so much fun. I hope TJ is right about the prototype thing $$$$$!

[jerryd6818]

I hope TJ is right about the prototype thing $$$$$!

Since you're from Ohio, you may have heard of the Biggest Liar Competition they hold every year at the Kentucky State Fair down there in Louisville? Most folks don't know this, because T.J. don't like to brag, but he was second runner-up in 2007 and 2008 and first runner-up last year. Since ole Wall-eye McCoy (winner five years runnin' and yes, he's one of 'those' McCoys) got kilt down in Muhlenberg County last February, T.J. looks good to win it this year.
You go, T.J. I'm rootin' for ya buddy.

[tjmurphy]

Well Jerry, I wasn't going to bring that up, don't like to blow my own horn, ya know, but you are correct. Actually it was the second year in a row that I come in secont place. The year before I got beat out by a guy from Illinois. Ya know we liars is a pretty tight group and weren't none of us ever heert of this guy. He told so many and such big lies that the rest of didn't have a chance. When Obama finished his competition he had set a whole new standard for the rest of us. And, it sure looks like the next three years are down the tube for the rest of us, as long as Obama is in the competition. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[jerryd6818]

Well Jerry, I wasn't going to bring that up, don't like to blow my own horn, ya know, but you are correct. Actually it was the second year in a row that I come in secont place. The year before I got beat out by a guy from Illinois. Ya know we liars is a pretty tight group and weren't none of us ever heert of this guy. He told so many and such big lies that the rest of didn't have a chance. When Obama finished his competition he had set a whole new standard for the rest of us. And, it sure looks like the next three years are down the tube for the rest of us, as long as Obama is in the competition. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[tjmurphy]

You know, while I waz down there fer that competition, I ran into that Obama feller. He noticed I was carrying a bag and ask me what I had in the bag. I told him hamburgers. He ask me how many hamburgers did I have in that bag and I told him if he could guess how many he could have both of them. He guessed 4!!

[jerryd6818]

Alright, enough of this Tomfoolery (no pun intended). The guy from Queen responded to my email this morning and this is what he had to say.

"Having asked a few people, we believe this is the tang stamp used on knives made for the government in the 80's. This looks like it might be the electricians knife? We made several thousand. They had black delrin handles and carbon blades."

I'm going to say mystery solved. Col. Plum, in the library, with a knife. (BTW, that would be a knife made for the government)

[tjmurphy]

OK Jerry, all kidding aside, can you show a pic of the knife? It's good that you can still contact some manufacturers, pose questions, and get answers. You were lucky that Queen was one of them.

[jerryd6818]

Sorry, T.J. I guess what went through my mind was, "It's just a TL-29 and no one is interested in seeing another one of those", then I got all wraped up in the tang stamp but since you asked...

As the guy at Queen said, it has carbon steel blades and black Delrin handles. Since it's somewhere around 25 years old, there are a few rust spots on the blades but other than that, the knife is in excellent condition. Half stops are fairly solid and it snaps like a junk yard dog. My plan for it is to turn it over to one of our fine members here at AAKP to be converted into a single blade, EZ-open jack.

Notice how the nail nicks are stamped into the blades. I had never seen that before.
I don't like that because it detracts from the appearence of the knife but I have to keep in mind
that these were not made for beauty, they were made for the government.

The only thing I don't like about the knife is how low the screwdriver blade sits.
Of course that won't be an issue once that blade is removed, but...

It sit's so low they modified the liner so you can get your thumb nail into the
nail nick. After the modification, that's going to be the fly in the ointment with the finished product.

.

[tjmurphy]

Thanks for the pic, Jerry. The guy at Queen was pretty sharp when he said "looks like it might be an electrician's knife". I actually kinda like the looks of the nail nicks, different.

[justold52]

I can not figger out what the cut-a-way in the screwdriver is for?

[tjmurphy]

Someone said it was a wire stripper, but two of them??

[jerryd6818]

I did a little half-a__ed research on eBay and found a second notch of varying size down by the kick on almost all. A new Case and a Craftsman didn't have one but an older Case did and so did a Boker USA hawk-bill, Boker USA spear blade, Ulster, Holub, Colonial, Imperial, Ric Nor and Excelite.

The three I have range in size from almost unnoticeable on the Camillus to very obvious on the Queen.

Queen Stripping Notch 2.jpg (34.12 KiB) Viewed 3635 times

A George Wostenholm had two, the one down by the kick and another out towards the end beneath the primary notch.

George Wostenholm Electrician Mark 1951.jpg (28.21 KiB) Viewed 3635 times

The Holub had three more notches sized to (I'm guessing) 10ga, 12ga and 14 ga.

Holub TL-29.jpg (41.28 KiB) Viewed 3635 times

I've done a little electrical work over the years and can see where the bottom notch down by the kick would be handy. I'm not so sure about the topside primary notch.

(Pictures of other knives mentioned on request)

[bloomingeek]

Ok, here's my opinion on the two notches.

After I pull wire through the conduit, which would be attached to a box, I would use the notch closes to the tang to strip the wire towards me.
This is because I can't get behind the wires to strip them away from me. (Now a-days I use stripper pliers because they're safer, however if
the wires are long out of the box and there's a lot of insulation, the notch would be the best way.)

If I was stripping wires out of greenfield (which is flexible conduit) and it wasn't attached to some king of electrical box, I would use
the outer notch to strip the wire away from me so I could better control the greenfield. This would only work with solid wire. With twisted
wire I would only use pliers.
Fred

[justold52]

I'm not so sure about the topside primary notch.

Thats the one I was not sure of.

I like the tools of today a lot better.

That old braded insulation must have been hard to work with.

Thank you all for your helpfull feed backs.

I will keep my Sog knife to strip wire.

Ken