Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

The Cattaraugus Cutlery Company was started by John Champlin and his son Tint in 1882. It was first incorporated under the name J.B.F. Champlin and Son as a wholesale distribution company based in Little Valley, New York. The business proved to be a successful endeavor, and it soon branched into a knife production company named Cattaraugus.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by gsmith7158 »

CheckSix wrote:
gsmith7158 wrote:Dave I'm talking about the Lucille in the Paul Newman film Cool Hand Luke. VaVaVaVoom!
Haha..!! I had forgotten about THAT Lucille. That was quite the tease back in the day.

No question about it. She was tearing ole George up.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by Old Folder »

CheckSix wrote:
gsmith7158 wrote:Dave I'm talking about the Lucille in the Paul Newman film Cool Hand Luke. VaVaVaVoom!
Haha..!! I had forgotten about THAT Lucille. That was quite the tease back in the day.
When I first read "Lucille" the below thought came to my mind.
Negan executes those who get in his way with his weapon of choice, Lucille. With the barrel end wrapped in barbed wire, Lucille is the iconic baseball bat that Negan wields to not only intimidate others, but eliminate them as well. As seen in AMC’s hit TV show, The Walking Dead.
Funny how my mind works.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by stockman »

Catt. Found in junk store a few weeks back. 3 1/2" closed. Fairly rough condition, purchased for a EDC knife. I probably over paid, thinking it would clean up it was so crudy I missed all of the blade corrosion. No pattern number,
only master blade tang stamped. Probably close to the end of Cattaraugus Cutlery Co.

Harold
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by chevycannontexasjack »

Maybe someone can help me out with this one, it's an electricians knife but every other one I have found like this either doesn't have the etching on the flat head blade or has a shield and a bail! Is this an early one?? It does have the Pat on the lock! It's my first Catt
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by chevycannontexasjack »

tjmurphy wrote:Let me stick my one and only Catt. in here:

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Just now seeing this, it's a little different from the one I have this has a shield and no pat on the lock! Awesome knife
Older knives are like women, they are beautiful, pricey, and rarely do you find the good ones!
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by truck »

The only Cattaraugus in my collection, a 3000R, if memory serves. The shield side cover is missing a fragment and is loose. Would I be committing a cardinal sin if I re-glued the cover? What glue would y'all recommend?
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by FRJ »

truck, I think it would be fine to glue the piece back on especially if you can get a good fit. Options, after cleaning area with isopropyl alcohol, would be epoxy or super glue type adhesive and not much of either. Hopefully others will offer advice.

Here's a Cattaraugus whittler I got recently. 3 5/8"

Thanks for looking.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by Duffer »

Truck a little glue and you will be good to go! Like Joe said and in my experience the surface brass liner must be very clean for good long term adhesion to work. I would very lightly sand the brass and clean with alcohol or acetone.

Joe that is a fantastic Cattaragus whittler ::nod:: Love the bone jigging. Looks like nature produced that bone handle surface. I would love to find a wharnecliffe Whittler as nice as this one. Lloyd

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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by FRJ »

Thank you so much, Lloyd. ::tu::
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by danno50 »

That is a beauty, Joe! ::tu:: Wharncliff whittlers are my favorite whittler.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by J1890 »

Sweet Catts!
Here is my first one. A 22219. Fast becoming my favorite. Of course if I had one of those wharnie whittlers, it probably be tied for favorite ::shrug::
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by djknife13 »

FRJ and 1890, Those are both really nice knives. ___Dave
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by LongBlade »

Nice knives Joe and J1890 ::tu:: ... as I have said before something about wharncliffe blades is very appealing (and for others interested in wharncliffes see the thread devoted to them)... Joe - a wharncliife whittler is indeed special and sweet bone with that classic worm groove jigging seen on many Cattaraugus knives.... J1890 - I really like the look of pocket worn bone which is quite nice on that knife - someone was quite proud to carry that knife at some point in its history ::nod:: ....
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by FRJ »

Thanks for the nice comments, guys. ::handshake::
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by J1890 »

LongBlade wrote:Nice knives Joe and J1890 ::tu:: ... as I have said before something about wharncliffe blades is very appealing (and for others interested in wharncliffes see the thread devoted to them)... Joe - a wharncliife whittler is indeed special and sweet bone with that classic worm groove jigging seen on many Cattaraugus knives.... J1890 - I really like the look of pocket worn bone which is quite nice on that knife - someone was quite proud to carry that knife at some point in its history ::nod:: ....
Thanks LongBlade. I'll enjoy being that someone going forward. It is pretty cool using a piece of history.
djknife13 wrote:FRJ and 1890, Those are both really nice knives. ___Dave
Thanks dj!
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by vikingdog »

FRJ wrote:
Here's a Cattaraugus whittler I got recently. 3 5/8"

Thanks for looking.
Joe, that is one of the nicest vintage knives I've ever seen.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by FRJ »

Thank you very much, Mike. ::tu::


J1890, that is a very nice folder you have there. ::tu::
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by ratlesnake75 »

Hey GUYS, I found this knife in a mixed Lot of junk I bought on ebay awhile back. I immediately contacted Mr. Mike Losicco(((the CAT Master))) and gifted it too him and Derek for their collection.

I do believe it to be an EXTREMELY early CATT knife. One of the very first CATT knives EVER MADE and POSSIBLY was made for JBF Champlin according to Mr. Mike. We know its look GERMAN too,,,Not unusual after discussing this with MIKE because he has around 4-5 examples of This Catt w/ No little valley cutlery stamping. Its an AWESOME Catt that I wanted to SHARE with Everyone.

There is NO MISTAKEN,,,This Catt knife is right after JBF Champlin knives and BEFORE Cattaraugus Cutlery was Producing knives in Little Valley NY. If you ever do come across a Cattaraugus Cut Co knife with No little valley stamping, PLEASE let Mr. Mike know you have it. This is the LEAST we can do as Knife buff's to insure the knives get into the right hands for our future Generations to enjoy.
Kind Regards,
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by LongBlade »

Very cool Mark ::tu:: ::tu:: ... a generous nice gift from you to Mike and Derek - ::nod:: :D
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by gsmith7158 »

Very nice gesture Mark! ::tu:: That one definitely shows influence from his time at Friedman & Lauterjung.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by galvanic1882 »

Yes Mark is a great guy and it is a treasure for us to have. Thanks again Mark!! We think that JBF had knives without the LV marking in Germany but are not completely sure. We wish we could find some paperwork to prove it. They are the earliest Catt's except for the Galvanic1882 marked knives but they are close.

I have about 5 now can't remember to be sure and Derek has I think 3-4.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by JohnR »

I don't seem to have much luck finding good Catt"s, I think I have 3 in my collection. Did manage to add a nice one this week.

It's pattern #22359, a large 3 3/4 jack, heavy substantial feel to it, looks to have had little use, perfect bone, full blades. Appears to have sat for quite awhile, had to clean some rust and the pile side bone is lighter like it faded from sun exposure. Searching around I do not see this pattern show up all that often.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by royal0014 »

That's just plumb beautiful!
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by galvanic1882 »

That's a great knife!!!
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by JohnR »

Thanks Mike, Chris, appreciate it. I was really impressed with this knife when I pulled it out of the box, love big jacks.
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