Aurum Etchings & Alcas in stag

[oupa]

I posted this question on another forum, but it was shovelled over to Bernard Levine's forum....so I do not expect a timely friendly answer.

So, here goes:
Two "Baby Bullet" style lock-backs in stag.
Mint in box.
Are these perhaps rare, valuable and/or collectible or are they just plain ol' using knives?
Dirk

[upnorth]

Hi Dirk!
Ain't google wonderful!
Alcas.com will tell you a few things. They are apparently located in Olean, New York, and are the parent company of KA-BAR.
Aurum Etchings, a separate company, is a story of environmental irresponsibility, their abandoned Texas facility having to be cleaned up by the EPA in 2000.
Nice knives though!! Don't know how they came to be!!??

[jonet143]

the baby bullet is listed in voyles' guide to commemorative knives, 1960-1990 with a value of $100. book published in 1995. i like them.

[oupa]

Thank you for the input.
I am no collector and with these being mint in the box, I was unsure if I should put them in my pocket or pass them along to someone who collects.
Yes I do know about their makers via Google, but it did not enlighten me as to their rarity or status as collectable knives.
Dirk

[muskrat man]

Hey Dirk, nice to see you here. Could you shoot me an email when you have the chance? I really like that first one.
[email protected]

[useem]

is this the same ALCAS that was selling a fixed blade called "the solution" back in the 80's?

[W5RWU]

VERY NICE!!!!
W5RWU

[Timstools]

Aurum Etchings knives are very collectable and are now known as A&A engraving but they no longer do this type of work on knives.

If you were to have similar deep engraving work done as is often seen on Aurum knives and have it done by hand it would cost a fortune, it makes these knives very desirable.

I keep an eye on US ebay prices and I saw a similar one go for $325 recently, although $150 to $200 would be more realistic, yours is a Baby bullet so maybe a little less.

The stag handle gives it a nice touch.
Regards Tim

[knifeswapper]

Dirk,

Good to see you still kickin. Be a buddy, send me that second one...

[lt632ret]

Tim I was just about to suggest contacting you and you showed up you are the man when it comes to Aurums. Oupa How could you make the statment that Bernies answer might not be friendly of timely I am aghast. Welcome aboard. LT PS the only Aurums I have are the bowies he did for Schrade.

[Timstools]

you are the man when it comes to Aurums

Thanks LT thats nice coming from one the most experienced collectors in the US

Here is a nice example of Aurum Etchings work on copper plate roughly A4 size, it arrived today.
They were capable of putting this kind of detail onto knives and did so.
Every piece of the darker section in the picture is etched into the surface of the copper.
The Photo cant accurately duplicate the all the detail.
You will have to scoll accross to get it all in.

[oupa]

Hallo there Mike.
If you really want the Baby Bullet....as always I am open to a trade or two from your website.

lt632ret, Ol' Bernie has been rude to me and others in the past and I let him know how I felt about his up-tight attitude, so we do have a history.

[upnorth]

Bernie??? Rude????

[lt632ret]

I understand your feelings. I hope you did not find my sarcasm offensive. Mr Levine is one of the most knowledgable people in the field . I feel his Levine 4 may be the best book available on his subject. Mr Levine makes his living in this field. I do not ,I can makes mistakes or admit not knowing something without it affecting me to any great extent. He cannot. Mr Levine is the best but no one could be as good as he portends to be. He often has to deal with people who ask inane questions, often the same ones he has answered over and over. I particularly understand this and it can become tiresome and lead to curt ( using a polite term). answers. Also there are times when he may not have an entire or correct answer that he will use various means to circumvent his responses these are often offensive and condecending and are mainly defensive. In knifeworld he asks that if he is wrong regarding something he stands ready to be corrected. That really is boiler plate but it is nice that he at least offers contrition. Once again he is the top gun and as such everyone is hunting him ( often fighting from several directions and alone ) I give him credit, wish him only the best, respect his knowledge and what he has done to advance the understanding of the subject, however like yourself unless unavoidable I also choose not to seek his council. It is only my opinion. LT

[oupa]

My take on this subject is that he runs two forums (that I know of) as a part of public knife related forums.
The object of these forums is to enlighten and help.
If he feels that the novice is an unwanted pain, he should not participate and shut his forums down.
Being rude and condescending does a lot of harm to new knife collectors and enthusiasts.
Dirk

[lt632ret]

It should be noted that Mr Levine is quite democratic in that which he bequeaths upon his minions . His rhetoric is not just for the novice. I know some of the most knowledgable well known collectors and experts in the field whom he has pissed off with the same impunity as he would the most fledgling student of the topic.

For whatever motivation he is good at rileing people up although why it is necessary is beyond me. He has the name, the knowledge ,and the backing perhapes it is the notarity he seeks they say that any press is good press if they are talking about you and here we are doing just that. Still what a shame he has so much to give, why it has to be given in such a way as to alienate people is what I cannot figure. I suppose continually dealing with the public can be wearing it is not an excuse just perhapes part of the explanation. LT

[oupa]

Met up with a guy I went to school with after about 20 years had gone by.
He had become a fine woodworker and specialized in inlay work - mostly table tops.
He had acquired an old hanger at a small abandoned airport and converted it into a workshop.
Times were hard and business not too good, so he installed flat-pack kitchen units just to make ends meet.
He hated it.
He always was a bit of a cynic, but became surly and began drinking too much.
Soon he lost his wife and most of his friends.
I had always found him amusing and visited him on occasion.
On one such an occasion I noticed one of his last remaining hand-crafted tables was gone.
When ask about it, he said that he had sold it.
The story of the sale must have some sort of lesson in it.
Apparently an elderly couple arrived in a fancy car and after being ignored they approched him and pointing to the table asked what was his lowest price on it for a cash sale.
He looked at them and commenced telling them of the hours spent, the planning, the love and feeling he had bestowed on the piece as he gave it life.
He was curt and rude - giving the impression that he could not care less if they bought his work or not.
He ended by saying that such a work of art does not have a "lowest" price - it has a price.
A price that may persuade him to part with it - and that price is $4000.
They bought the table on the spot and came back the next day to order 6 chairs as well as a buffet to go with their table.
Now I knew that the table had been available for around $1000 - perhaps even cheaper seeing that my old friend was not doing too well.

He has taken to wearing a floral caftan, stopped shaving and has become an "eccentric"....a much sought after "artist".
These days he only takes on high dollar commissions.
Being rude must pay......

[Timstools]

Being rude must pay

Nahh !! He got the money but he lost me!

Kindness is the most Beautiful word in the english language.
We could all do with a bit more of it, including me.
Tim

[Timstools]

is a story of environmental irresponsibility, their abandoned Texas facility having to be cleaned up by the EPA in 2000.

Actually upnorth that is not correct, here is the full account that the EPA dont reveal on the net.

There was nothing inherently toxic in the process that couldn't be managed with ordinary methods. These were the same processes used in all semiconductor factories at the time. The was the same process I initially set up at the Buck plant at El Cajon and later in the Buck facility in Idaho. Neither Buck facility had issues. The Buck facilities operated with equipment earlier designed and built in Aurum's Texas facility. In the Idaho facility, I updated the Buck etching process but the fundamentals are the same.

The problems with the original Aurum Etchings site existed before the facility was purchased. It was already contaminated. The contamination found in the soil were chemicals that Aurum Etchings did not use anywhere in its manufacturing process. They were dumped by the previous owner.

The site had been in use for several decades earlier by a company named METCERAM who manufactured parts for the electronics industry with lead and cadmium and certain chlorinated solvents. These had been leaking into the soil for years.

During the decade and a half we were there, our waste water streams from the process were monitored and documented by both the City and the EPA and were in compliance. What we did not know, of course, what was in the soil where METCERAM was dumping contaminated water directly into the soil under the building itself. The EPA did not blame us directly but regulations state that the company owning the property is responsible regardless. The building/property was then controlled by an investor. He chose not to clean up the property because it would have involved removing the building itself. The property passed to the City. The EPA didn't actually clean the site but simply reclassified it. The contamination under the building was simply declared no danger to people in the building.

They simply hosed down the interior and repainted everything. It was really a tempest in a teapot. Aurum Etchings did not cause it. The two Buck knife etching sites the facility at A & A have never had environmental issues and used equipment designed and built at Aurum Etchings in Garland.

Samuel Shortes
President/Founder Aurum Etchings

[Bret888]

This is an interesting thread. I don't see many Alcas knives, but bought my 3rd one last weekend at the case show in Bradford PA.
I also saw 2 knives, at the same table, marked Aurum. No other markings, and no etch, just plain. They looked like the same frame pattern as the one I bought, but two blades.
Were these left over, and never got etched?? He wanted $150 each, so I left them lay...
This one I bought, for $25 and is in better shape than my other two.
Incidently the label on the 1st knife pictured, is from an old gunshop that was 20 miles from me, and closed in the mid 80's.