What Is Your "Holy Grail" Knife

[jljr1944]

My holy grail was to have a complete collection of the cattaraugus wrench knives.
I now have them after several years of searching. My "holy grail" now is a MIller Brothers gravity knife with blade etch.

[Miller Bro's]

My holy grail was to have a complete collection of the cattaraugus wrench knives.

Jerry,

What is the difference between all the 3-W`s in the bottom photo.

[Jacknifeben]

1944, YOU WIN.

[jljr1944]

What is the difference between all the 3-W`s in the bottom photo

Just different blade configurations plus you will notice one that has a slanted bolster. The slanted bolster model is hard to find. One of them is a linotype knife and it is also hard to find. Cattaraugus made versions with a punch blade normally referred to as the 1W.

[jljr1944]

The knife on the left has the slanted bolster and the screwdriver/wire stripper blade.The one in the middle is the linotype operators knife. The thin blade on the middle knife is flat on one side and slightly beveled on the other side. Extremely rare to find one with this blade in the original condition. This blade normally gets sharpend at some point. The knife on the right is the standard 3W wrench knife.

[Just Plain Dave]

Can't say that one knife would ever do it.

My wants are even pretty easily fulfilled....

Something like this Imperial Dogleg with real bone and good old steel.


Huh! Maybe I was wrong about the steel. This knife had specks on the blades after being in my pocket a while. It was so polished I was sure it was stainless. It does get good and sharp!

I just don't like the look and feel of the shell handles. One wiggles a bit.

[Miller Bro's]

One of them is a linotype knife and it is also hard to find.

What exactly was this blade used for? I see it is marked "Patent Appld. For"

Thanks for the reply

[jljr1944]

The blade was used to seperate the type when it came out of the linotype machine.

[Miller Bro's]

Jerry,

That makes sense, come to think of it I have an old typographer`s knife that has a blade like that

[testcase]

I would probably have to have mine custom made...
I want a carbon steel teardrop harness jack in real ivory....

I have simple taste...

[johnnierotten]

I want a carbon steel teardrop harness jack in real ivory....

Sounds good.

[dcgm4]

Any rare vintage knife by a New Jersey or Virginia company is a holy grail for me. But if we're getting into specifics I've got 3. The first is a knife from Carlin-Hulfish Co. of Alexandria, VA. Alexandria is my birthplace. The second is a knife marked Bryford. This company was in Bloomfield, NJ, which is where I spent many happy summers with my maternal grandparents. I've seen straight razors with this stamp but never a knife. And last but not least, if I could ever afford it I'd like a custom knife made by either Tomonari Hamada or Ryuichi Kawamura. It'd be a swell-center stockman with carved blacklip pearl handles and gold accents. A guy can dream, right?

[Miller Bro's]

I had to go back 304 pages to find this thread I started 10 years ago!

A lot of members not with us anymore but now we have many new faces here so I thought I would bring this thread back from the graveyard to see what others consider a "holy grail knife". It doesn't have to be particularly valuable or rare just something you really want.

Let's see what you have acquired or would like to find

[#goldpan]

My grail knives would be the Camillus 72 short line in bone in both first gen and second gen configurations. I used to have those but had to sell them. Now I want them more than ever.....

image.jpeg (30.77 KiB) Viewed 3242 times

[doglegg]

I guess the one that I was most excited to fine is this 1st generation 72 but with the very early no line tang stamp.

[#goldpan]

Dog your making me drool That’s one mighty fine knife you have there. If it ever needs a new home my door is always open!

[edge213]

This is my holy grail knife.
Terrier Cutlery Barlow.
I do not have one.

[doglegg]

Dog your making me drool That’s one mighty fine knife you have there. If it ever needs a new home my door is always open!

Thanks Randy.

[doglegg]

This is my holy grail knife.
Terrier Cutlery Barlow.
I do not have one.

That's a gorgeous knife David. Easy to see why you want it.

[edge213]

This is my holy grail knife.
Terrier Cutlery Barlow.
I do not have one.

That's a gorgeous knife David. Easy to see why you want it.

Thanks dog, Charlie Noyes has one, the only one I've ever seen.

[Maddogfl]

Since I am not a collector, I have very limited specific desires. My holy grail knife was a WWII M-3. I found one at a price I could live with and it lives here temporarily. I will conserve it and pass it into history. While I will still handle every knife in every second hand shop that I come across, and buy the ones that suit my fancy, I can go to my grave without knife regret. That is one less thing to worry about.

That said, if anyone has an American made Switchblade from around the 30s, that looks like a traditional pocket knife, that they are sick of looking at, maybe we can talk!

I remember a conversation with my Father, probably in the early 60s, our discussion was about switchblades. He told me that it was a shame that they had become unavailable. He claimed that they only became illegal because of the movies and the reaction of knee-jerk politicians and scared housewives. He told me that switchblades were popular in the 30s and 40s with one armed men. In those days, a lot of the vets of foreign wars and industrial accidents would gather around the courthouse square and whittle, tell lies and slip the occasional shot of whiskey. Between wars and sawmills, there were a lot of one armed men around in those times. As a kid, I remember being somewhat freaked out about the number of men walking around with one arm, especially the ones that had some type of grappling prosthesis, and the sewed up sleeve was not much better... My father employed one of the men with one of the stainless steel hands and the man enjoyed taunting me with it. To a nine year old they were like something from the Twilight Zone.

[Mumbleypeg]

Over the years I’ve had several different “holy grail” knives. As I have managed to acquire them I move on to the next one (there’s always another one). As a collector of scout/utility knives, for a good while I was on the hunt for these.

I found them all thanks to AAPK! I get by with a little help from my friends.

But the one that has eluded me for over 50 years is a Case Tested 5383 whittler. I found and acquired one in the early 1970s, only to learn a few years later it’s a counterfeit. Since then I’ve seen several others that, alas, were also counterfeits. The one or two I’ve seen that were legit either were not for sale or were priced beyond the meager reach of my pocketbook. But I search on!

Ken

[Papa Bones]

Over the years I’ve had several different “holy grail” knives. As I have managed to acquire them I move on to the next one (there’s always another one). As a collector of scout/utility knives, for a good while I was on the hunt for these.

I found them all thanks to AAPK! I get by with a little help from my friends.

But the one that has eluded me for over 50 years is a Case Tested 5383 whittler. I found and acquired one in the early 1970s, only to learn a few years later it’s a counterfeit. Since then I’ve seen several others that, alas, were also counterfeits. The one or two I’ve seen that were legit either were not for sale or were priced beyond the meager reach of my pocketbook. But I search on!

Ken

Very well said Ken. I was thinking on this post the other day. I think as we continue through the years, and as our desires or styles to add to our collection changes, so do what we consider the Holy Grail or Unicorn knife. Some you find, and some stay on hold until you find the one in the condition you desire. I have many I am still looking for that I consider Unicorns.

[Umcknifeguy]

My holy grail, reckon the only two I have left, would be a Schrade Walden 891 stock pattern with the typesetter pick and a Remington gunstock pattern

[jmh58]

Case Red Bone Loom Fixer..
John