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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danno50
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by danno50 »

Nice find, John! ::tu:: Looks like a whittler blade configuration to me as well.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by JohnR »

Thanks for the comments guys, it's a nice looking knife. I left out that it is not a split spring, maybe why it's listed as a gunstock stockman in some of the books.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by ludwig26 »

Heres a Cattaraugus I picked up today. Anybody help with the time frame it was made. Its still snappy and tight.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by GRS »

I have had this knife for twenty or so years. It is a Catt and I wonder if anyone can tell me more about it.
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richard
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by richard »

its got a freemasons emblem on the scales. did it come with the purse /case ?
maybe a master of the lodge knife.given to ever 'G' was?
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richard
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by richard »

i found this about the freemason letter G . [quote[When did the letter G become part of the Square and Compass? No one knows exactly, but it is believed to be somewhere between 1730 and 1768, here in the United States. The "G" is not used in the center of the square and compasses in all jurisdictions around the world.]quote]
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by peanut740 »

Cattaraugus made several of those enameled fraternal knives for many different organizations.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by GRS »

I got the purse and knife together. I do believe they probably came together. I had the stitching “very fine” repaired on the purse. My father-in-law gave it to me after I joined the Lodge back around 1979 or 80. He had purchased it from an old man in the Lodge years before but I didn’t know Much about it. I just thought it was very nice and displays all the working tools of a Mason.
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peanut740
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by peanut740 »

I have done some traveling myself. ::handshake:: There are folks that collect those Catt enameled knives trying to make a set.They will bring a good price for a small knife.I would say it originally came in the pouch,sold separately. ::tu::
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by Twhite »

Hello hello new to the forum and I have a Catt I was hoping someone could give a general date of manufacture. My dad picked it up a few years ago and recently gave it to me.
Closed length 3-7/8”
Blade 2-7/8”
Secondary blade 2-1/8
Stamping 3C inside of a circle
Number 21269C I think

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

Post by richard »

nice knife, they made these from 1890 untill 1930.
i dont know if they reproduced them at a later date ?
are any of the blades stamped 'little valley N.Y. ' ?
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by FRJ »

Very nice swell center Jack, Twhite. Beautiful blades.

Here is a nice little string cutter. Covered spring. A hard to see Cattaraugus etch on the main blade. 2 5/8".

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

Post by Twhite »

richard wrote:nice knife, they made these from 1890 untill 1930.
i dont know if they reproduced them at a later date ?
are any of the blades stamped 'little valley N.Y. ' ?
No nothing other than the numbers and the 3C
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by knife7knut »

Just received a half dozen of these from my good friend and fellow knife nut Guy Manwaring.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by galvanic1882 »

Twhite wrote:Hello hello new to the forum and I have a Catt I was hoping someone could give a general date of manufacture. My dad picked it up a few years ago and recently gave it to me.
Closed length 3-7/8”
Blade 2-7/8”
Secondary blade 2-1/8
Stamping 3C inside of a circle
Number 21269C I think

Thanks
Tom
Great knife Tom and Cattaraugus knives with the 3C marking are hard to find.

Love that covered back Pearl Joe, I had one years ago but let it go. Here are pictures I have posted before of covered back Catt's
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by FRJ »

Thank you, Mike.
Very nice little Catts there. ::tu::
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by utahbound »

Very nice, I love those covered back pearls!
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by Twhite »

Just picked up this cart whittler 32153 for a rehab project. From the numbers this should have MOP. It appears to be smooth bone. The pins in the handle are copper. This leads me to believe that it has been rescaled. Am I correct in this assessment?

All three blades have decent snap and no slop to speak of. It will be improved after rehab.

Any info on this particular model will be greatly appreciated as I would like to bring back to factory looking.

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

Post by richard »

very nice old catt you have there.
here is one i revamped.
they probably replaced your one with bone scales.
because MOP is hard to fix on. with pins. it nearly all ways cracks.
i would like to see how you get on with your one.
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Twhite
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by Twhite »

Beautiful knife. I hope I can get mine half as nice.

I just started doing knife rehabs. I really like Cattaraugus knives. This one caught my eye so I ponied up with $30.

Did you have much trouble working the MOP? I will be getting B grade as to not go insane when I wreck my first attempt.

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

Post by richard »

here is a easy way to replace the MOP.
i used 2 pack epoxy resin. to replace the missing mop on this whittler.(not a catt :( )
MOP is easy to work into shape. once fixed in place. i use a dremel rotary tool with a fine grit. grinding wheel.
then a polishing buffer wheel.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by Wally Taylor »

I hope I'm not bringing an old post up. But I live 25 miles from Little Valley, NY. I just bought this old Cattaraugus two blade Jack from an old neighbor man. I just love this knife, and I'm tempted to make this my EDC.
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by doglegg »

That is a beauty. Great pick up. Congrats. ::tu::
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Re: Cattaraugus Cutlery Co. Little Valley N.Y. 1886-1963

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Beautiful knife. I love the old Catts! So many beautiful knives. So much rich history. We need a Cattaraugus Collectors subforum! ::tu::

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

Post by Wally Taylor »

I'm tempted to take my metal detector over to the old plant. Probably been worked a lot, but You just never know. Sometimes they find a pop can and don't recheck the spot. If I even found an old shield I'd be thrilled.
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