Holley Manufacturing Company A.D. 1844

[FRJ]

Thank you, Tommy and Lee.

Lee, when I worked Hartford several years ago I saw a sign indicating the site of the Charter Oak.
There is a big scuzzy apartment building there now. Not good.

[Miller Bro's]

Very nice Joe

[FRJ]

Thanks Dimitri.

[Miller Bro's]

This is a later model Holley knife box.

[Beechtree]

^ Great knives and ephemera posted here!

This finely made, water buffalo handled locking dirk measures 4 3/4".

[peanut740]

Beechtree

[FRJ]

What a beauty!
Fine old knife, Beechtree.

[LongBlade]

Beechtree - - that is one fabulous looking Holley - in fact that knife deserves another ...

Is it truly a dirk - or would one consider that an english jack with a lock back??... and I only ask as I really don't know.. I was always under the impression that dirks were double edged spear point type blades or a single blade that came to a point with a long swedge on top (sort of like the old folder I posted towards the beginning of this thread that is not a Holley but Sheffield-made knife with integrated liners/bolsters) but I can no doubt be wrong... either way that is one beauty!!

[Beechtree]

Thanks Peanut, Joe and Longblade,

As for the dirk comment, I think you are right and maybe a more appropriate name would be a locking english jack. I guess it is one of those things where multiple names might be used. I call it a "dirk" due to its size, with a more typical english jack being 4 - 4.5", and the locking feature. I also have seen in old literature a simple barehead jack with and elongate top bolster and etching called an English Jack, although I cannot remember where.

[SamM]

This is the only Holley I have, a hobo that has seen some use and abuse.

I will say this thread has been immensely informative, learned a lot about Holley history!

[FRJ]

Nice one, Sam.

[Miller Bro's]

Very nice camp knife

[carrmillus]

.....that one is a real treasure!!!!.......... ...................

[danno50]

They just keep coming, great show of old Holleys and ephemera. I am especially partial to the ebony (and other woods) handled knives. Which it seems like most of these are.
Dan

[Mason]

^ Great knives and ephemera posted here!

This finely made, water buffalo handled locking dirk measures 4 3/4".

Great thread with some really amazing knives shown, but this one jumped out at me for both its striking appearance and terminology. The terms "Dirk", "Dagger", and "Stiletto" have always seemed fairly generic and even a bit vague in meanings. Various definition searches provided equally generic descriptions. We all have our own mental pictures of what these terms refer to and most likely they are fairly similar. A little further checking did reveal that the word "Dirk" is a Scottish term dating back to the 17th century and was also called "Dork". "Dork" has Swedish roots in the word "Dolk", and German roots in the word "Dolch", which translates to "Dagger". In looking through other reference material, It seems that Dirk and Dagger were primarily Northern European terms which carried over to the United States. Most of us think of a Dirk as having a slender double edge straight blade, but the term "Dirk" has also been used in identifying both fixed and folding knives with kris (wavy) and clip type blades from Europe and the United States. Enclosed are a few pictures showing a small variety of Dirk models including one of Beechtree's fine Holley example which is listed as "Lock Back Dirk" in a Holley catalog.

[olderdogs1]

Picked up this hoss of a knife the other day " Holley 4 3/4" bone jack" Built the right way!

Tom

[FRJ]

WOW!
A big old work knife in great shape.
Beautiful knife, Tom.

[carrmillus]

.........beautiful old knife!!!!............ ..........................

[danno50]

Fantastic old knife!! Great pickup!
Dan

[wlf]

I expect that is a heavy beauty with great snap.

[peanut740]

Tom that's my kind of knife!

[olderdogs1]

I appreciate the comments, guys. Lyle , you are right. A lot of heft and great snap. You could work with this knife all day.

Tom

[LongBlade]

Beauty of a Holley Hunter and lovely jigged bone Tom .... At 4 3/4" and style I believe it is same period Holley Hunters Dimitri and I previously posted on AAPK - ivory and Ebony handles all with same bar shield and same bolsters (tip and pivot) ... But the major difference was ours were big saber spear point blades while yours has a clip blade - very cool - same tang stamps best I can see too!! Interestingly it shows the different styles of hunters offered probably around same time period (the latter is speculation just given many similarities)... Be great for you to post your knife on this other thread under Knife Lore on Traditional Hunters - yours be a great addition: http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... rs#p471763

Here's mine that started on first page of that thread for quick comparison: - (guess mine was only one that had a bail bored out and lined with iron)

[wlf]

Those look almost like Empire shields Lee.

[kootenay joe]

A knife collector friend recently was granted a PhD for his research into the Holley family including the knife business. The Holley family includes many influential people going all the way back to Paul Revere (part of 'the family').
He spent a few weeks in the Holley Museum cataloging everything there including the original Holley catalogs. He says that the only original Holleys he has seen on ebay are in heavily used condition.
The reason for this lies with an old knife mechanic who if still alive would be in his 90's. About 50 years ago he was buying up all the old Holleys he could and then taking them apart and re-building them as 'new' Holley knives. The easiest ones to spot are those in which he did not follow a catalog image. For example an incorrect blade: he might put in a clip whereas Holley only made that pattern with a spearpoint, etc. He also made some 'fantasy' Holley knives, i.e. ones that are nothing like any known Holley and are no in any catalogs.
About 1-2 years ago an ebay seller whose real name is "Jim" sold much of this old guys remaining 'Holley' collection, maybe about 40-50 knives. According to my friend not one was real.
Note: i am not referring to any knife posted here. I cannot tell the difference between an all original and a re-built Holley. I posted because it is now part of Holley history and deserves to be recorded here.
The knife world is forever deceptive which makes serious collectors dig deeper.
kj