Bargain Isle Keen Kutter

Paul M · Post by **Paul M** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:24 pm

just picked this one up from the bargain isle on Ebay. It's marked E.C. Simmons, Keen Kutter, St. Louis... It measures 3 3/8" closed - main blade is 2 3/4"
Nail Nick on pen blade is broken but for under $30.00 I think I did allright.
Scales are Cocobolo and Liners are steel.
Any thoughts on the age of this one?

jonet143 · Post by **jonet143** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:42 pm

hey paul, looks like a k2305. in ebony it was a k2306. this from a 1910 catalog reprint. length, pin placement, construction materials, blade placement match. yours looks just like the illustration.

upnorth · Post by **upnorth** » Tue Aug 28, 2007 10:29 pm

It also looks like an early Schrade Cut, Paul; an S2151. Same shield, same pin placement. 1926 catalog. I wonder if they were the contractor?
In 1912 or so, E.C.Simmons took over Walden Knife Co. and their knives were largely produced there until about 1922, according to LG4.

ea42 · Post by **ea42** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 12:28 am

Paul,

Keen Kutter knives were pretty much exclusively made at the Walden Knife Company back in the early 1900's, especially while they owned it.
Here's a Walden that's likely a match to your knife , perhaps the shields are probably different to tell the difference between the two knives

. The closed lengthg is 3 3/16". Pin placement and pin size seem to match, as well as the long pull. The swedge on mine only looks huge because at some time over the last 80 or so years someone decided to do a bit of a sloppy filing job on it

.

Eric

Paul M · Post by **Paul M** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:02 am

Thanks for the responses Guys!
Do steel liners and the use of four pins help to determine the age of the knife? Outside of "work" knives did brass liners and the use of 3 pins become the norm for these knives in the 20's ?

upnorth · Post by **upnorth** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:53 pm

Dredging up thread from the bottom here! I think using less pins on knife handles did occur as time passed, Paul.
I was watching knives being made a Queen, and they lightly tapped a slight bend in the liners to make it spring against the handle, so fewer rivets would do the job. It was like taking a dull cold chisel, and tapping it once lengthwise on the liner. You could see the slight "pucker" on the side about to be covered with the handle, but you couldn't easily see a "bump" on the inside of the knife. The dent was only a few thousandths deep, but the result was a lasting tight fit at the edges with only 2 handle rivets.
Here's a crude sketch of a liner with bolsters only. (Must be a brokeneck trapper; very rare

)

jonet143 · Post by **jonet143** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 10:57 pm

charlie i see that indention on a lot of knives i have rehandled. also lends strength to the scale.

upnorth · Post by **upnorth** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:28 am

I see; makes it stiffer! Good insight, Johnnie!