America's "Little Sheffield"

[ea42]

Regarding the razors most of the cutlery companies had them made in Germany and Britain with their respective tang stamps and shipped here for re-sale. Razor making was a whole other specialized ballgame and took a lot of skill and specialized grinding equipment to get that tin foil thin edge. I'm not sure who, if any made them here but I know Schrade Cut Co had them made overseas, and I'm fairly certain NYK did as well. That's a really cool example KAW, I had that on my watch list for quite a while! Greg those are beautiful Electrics!

Here's another flatware set from NYK in the original box, I think that paper they're wrapped in is original as well. KAW I don't know if each pattern had a name but they were numbered. This, according to the box was pattern 210, handles appear to be rosewood:

Eric

[FRJ]

Very nice flat ware, Eric.

[FRJ]

Here's a nice little Schrade.

[FRJ]

Here's a nice old New York Hammer harness jack.

[ea42]

Joe that serpentine jack hits all the right buttons; beautiful pattern, matchstrike pull, older tang stamp, can't get any better than that!!

Eric

[FRJ]

Thank you, Eric.

[tongueriver]

Joe that serpentine jack hits all the right buttons; beautiful pattern, matchstrike pull, older tang stamp, can't get any better than that!! Eric

Yup; that's a good one, alright!

[KAW]

Sorry guys, I was pressed for time when posted last & was remiss in commenting on the contributions of other. Time to make amends....

Lyle, very nice lookin' reconditioned farmer's jack there, still has the classic look!

....and speaking of classic, Joe, those Jacks are very classy!.... but what really caught my eye is that sweet Walden with the MoP and THOSE bolsters!

Greg, thanks for chiming in.... I, too, would like to think they would had continued in the business.... just strange that there is no mention of it.... that I can find anyway.

Eric, I must admit.... I had never thought they may have imported their line of razors.... Hmmm, food for though....
When I posted the tableware, I did not expect this amount of interest....
Seems like someone in the know should write a book on them as it appears one is sorely lacking. Very nice set you have there & the box.... that's just icing on the cake.... so sweet!

[KAW]

I wasn't going to post these two as they are really not much to look at.... but I decided they would make a good segue from NYKC to the Walden Knife Factory. Since I have already mentioned earlier in this thread the howabouts on the formation of the company, I won't repeat it.

These two slimlines (I do seem to be attracted more to this style or is it just a coincidence I come across them more often?) represent the first examples I acquired of a NYKC and a Walden folding pocket knife. Both were found at flea markets. The NYKC is the two blade one with the faux wood grain celluloid handle. I'm not sure what the black covers on the Walden are, but they do look like plastic, so I guess they, too, are celluloid.

They are in fair condition.... the main blade on the NYKC has a slight wobble & the pen has lost it snap.
The Walden also has no snap at all to it.
....but they say you never forget your first....

[FRJ]

Thank you, Cal and Ken for the comments on my Schrade.

Well Ken, those two knives do have some history. They are honest old knives. What is the length of the Walden? Is it a boys knife?

[ea42]

Ken those are some fine knives, the Walden is in really nice shape. The handles actually look like cocobolo, although pics can be deceiving.
Here's a classic NYK locking hunter:

And a "whittler", although I prefer to call it a senator since nail files have no place on an actual whittler:

Eric

[edge213]

Eric, that locking hunter is a beauty.

[FRJ]

Eric, your knives are first rate beautiful.
The New York locking hunter is a stunner.
And the "whittler"; I, too, have wondered about the placement of the nail file in whittlers.
Is it a gentleman pen; a senator, as you say, or must we cave to the pattern. I suppose we have to cave to the pattern, but the idea of a nail file has a different implication.
Yours is a beauty.
I have one remarkably the same except for that striking, through the tang, long pull on yours. Always a knee wobblier.
Mine is an Empire. I'll get some pictures tomorrow.

[orvet]

Oh yes, by the way, AWESOME KNIVES!
Eric and Lyle you have drooling down my beard!

[KAW]

Dale.... my apologies if creating this thread has upset you, but respectfully it is because the 165 year history of Hudson Valley knife manufactures is so intertwined that many of the topics do not fit into Brand Specific Forums that I started this thread. An excellent example pertains specifically to the two forums you used for your examples. I wanted to start a thread last month titled "Schrade Evolution" in which I was hoping to start a discussion comparing Schrade knives to those of its direct successor Canal Street Cutlery. Now my dilemma.... Do I post it under the Schrade Legacy Forum where the Schrade followers will see it & not all the Canal Street followers or do I put in the Canal Street Forum where the Schrade followers may not find it? So I decided to post in both forums, which didn't work well either. With two different locations the discussions became disjointed, incoherent and both threads fizzled out.

Within this thread is another example when a member asked the question why Walden? As there were three big name companies in the little village, which Brand Specified Forum would that discussion fall into? ....and there are many other topic yet to be explored such as Schrade & Ulster sharing the same factory in Ellenville & I'm not even talking about when they were both just brand names under the umbrella of Imperial Schrade, but when they were still operating as two separate identities.... the intricate relationships between some of the more obscure brands such Napanoch and Honk Falls, etc...

I'm sorry for not knowing about the administrative nightmare associated with threads. In fact to be honest, I didn't even think there would be any.... other than the occasional user that gets out of line....and from a users' point of view, I would have thought searches would be easier within one thread than having to search several forums with hundreds of threads. I do know as a fact from a poster's point of view that it is much easier to keep track of the discussion in a single thread then it is in several different locations.

Anyway. perhaps a compromise would be to have a forum just for Hudson Valley companies that would serve as an umbrella where threads can be Brand Specific and also where threads can be on topics of the intertwining history as well.

Respectfully submitted....

P.S. I have seen your postings around the board and was hoping you would like to join in, but I was not expecting this kind of response....

[FRJ]

Here is a New York Knife Co. Walden stamp that is barely readable.
What a nice little knife this is. 3 1/4" with half stops x 2. Very snappy.

For me, I think "America's "Little Sheffield"" is a fabulous thread. I'm having a lot of fun with it
and there is a lot of information coming out of it.
Ken has done a great job here, and he presents his information with an obvious passion.
I think we are lucky to have him here.
As a poster I don't know the difficulties of administering a large thread. I'm sorry Dale isn't happy with this one.

Actually the idea of cranking up a thread for Connecticut cutleries sound good to me.

[FRJ]

Here's a New York Hammer brand you might enjoy seeing. Used a bit, but honest. 3 5/8".

[FRJ]

And here's a grand old Schrade Cut, Co. 3 11/16".

Thanks for looking.

[FRJ]

Thank you, Dale.

Here's another old Ulster. 3 5/8".

[orvet]

Please ignore my previous posts, now delete.
My intent was not to rain on anyone's parade or dampen anyone's enthusiasm but to make it easier for members to access the information in the future.

My sincere apologies if I offended anyone.

[KAW]

I hope everyone had a nice holiday over the Labor Day weekend....

Thank you Dale for allowing this thread to continue. If you still believe this thread could turn into a monster, I hope you would consider creating a forum where threads all about Hudson Valley Knife Manufacturers as a whole can be directed to. In any event, I hope you will want to join in.

Joe.... thanks for the kind words of support.... you made me blush!
....those are sweet very traditional lookin' knives.... Is that a sheepfoot as the main blade of the Schrade. I'm tending to favor the look of the sheepfoot over the more traditional spear.... and I love the look of the wood grain on the handle of the Ulster you last posted.

Also, I want to make mention and thank Dimitri (Miller Bro's) for the support he sent in a PM & hope he decides to join us here too.

Just a quick note that I did get to the Wawarsing Knife Museum over the holiday weekend, which happened to be the last weekend they were open for the 2017 season. Of course I ogled over their collection and they were kind enough to look at a few samples of mine I brought along.... they gave some encouraging words.... they are very nice folks there. Too bad I have to wait to next summer to visit them again.

Now to regroup!.... Since I already gone into how Walden Knife Co. came about earlier in this thread (page 2), I won't repeat it here again....
but I will post one of my favorites.... a Walden Knife Co. 2¾" sleeveboard that appears to be a salesman sample with "0751F" crudely hand etched on the back of the main blade.... as always..... I welcome comments....

[FRJ]

KAW, I'm glad you came back to continue to post on this thread. I thought it turned into a lead balloon.

That's a fine sleeveboard you are showing.

[orvet]

If you get a chance you might want to visit my friend Rich at the Wawarsing Knife Museum.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=20159

[KAW]

Thanks for the welcome back Joe & I hope you will get busy posting those wonderful knives of yours again.

If you get a chance you might want to visit my friend Rich at the Wawarsing Knife Museum.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=20159

Dale.... I had met Rich last year & was hoping to get to talk with him again this year, but the folks at the museum told me he was absent due to an unfortunate accident recently where a tractor turned over onto him. Fortunately, nothing life threatening, but he will be laid up for a while so they say.

[orvet]

Yes, when I talked to him last week he was still really sore and taking it very easy.