NEED HELP WITH A HIBBARD SPENCER BARTLETT
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winchester907
- Posts: 193
- Joined: Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:48 am
NEED HELP WITH A HIBBARD SPENCER BARTLETT
I RECENTLY GOT THIS KNIFE AT AN ESTATE AUCTION. IT LOOKS LIKE IT HAS A BULL FOR A SHIELD SYMBOL. IT HAS BONE HANDLES. BLADE SAYS HIBBARD SPENCER BARTLETT. IM IN 60.00 ON THIS ONE. PROBABLY TOO MUCH. ANY IDEAS WHAT ITS WORTH. ALSO IT NEEDS A BOLSTER. AGE AND WORTH? DO YOU KNOW ANY ONE THAT COULD REPAIR IT AND PUT A BOLSTER OR BOLSTERS ON. I DID NOTICE THERE AREN'T ANY ON E-BAY. I GUESS THATS GOOD. AND IT HAS REALLY NICE BONE HANDLES. THANKS FOR THE HELP IN ADVANCE.
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msteele6
- Posts: 2048
- Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:29 pm
- Location: Houston, TX
Re: NEED HELP WITH A HIBBARD SPENCER BARTLETT
Nice knife and definitely worth more than $60.
This is a knife that Utica made for quite a few companies (H.S.& B. didn't manufacture any knives, they were a hardware chain). I have always understood that the shield is a buffalo head though some people say a bull or cow. As you noted, it's not a common knife but they do come up on eBay with some regularity. This knife is in excellent condition with the exception of the missing bolster. The knife would be worth much more, in my opinion, if the restoration of the bolster was done and there are several knife mechanics who are members here who would be competent to do the job. My guess is that finding (or making?) the threaded bolster would be the most difficult part of the restoration. No ideas on the cost of restoration but the value on this knife, with the missing bolster replaced would definitely be 4 - 6 times what you paid for it, IMO.
Edit: After racking my brain I finally came up with the name used for this knife, it's called a "Nessmuk" trapper, that name, in turn came from a writer for a sporting magazine, 'Forest and Stream', from the 19th century who used "Nessmuk" as his pen name. Real name: George W. Sears.
This is a knife that Utica made for quite a few companies (H.S.& B. didn't manufacture any knives, they were a hardware chain). I have always understood that the shield is a buffalo head though some people say a bull or cow. As you noted, it's not a common knife but they do come up on eBay with some regularity. This knife is in excellent condition with the exception of the missing bolster. The knife would be worth much more, in my opinion, if the restoration of the bolster was done and there are several knife mechanics who are members here who would be competent to do the job. My guess is that finding (or making?) the threaded bolster would be the most difficult part of the restoration. No ideas on the cost of restoration but the value on this knife, with the missing bolster replaced would definitely be 4 - 6 times what you paid for it, IMO.
Edit: After racking my brain I finally came up with the name used for this knife, it's called a "Nessmuk" trapper, that name, in turn came from a writer for a sporting magazine, 'Forest and Stream', from the 19th century who used "Nessmuk" as his pen name. Real name: George W. Sears.