Honk Falls Knife Co. 1921-1929

[JAMESC41001]

just got this Harness jack in today. Been looking for one of these for a while now.

[peanut740]

James,that is a dandy!Has good as they get.

[LongBlade]

Beautiful knife Jay - ... That bone and all look sweet!!!!!! Is it a cattle knife or harness jack as you mention? I'm thinking a cattle knife ... but a beauty either way ...

[JAMESC41001]

Thanks Lee. Think your right. Cattle knife sounds correct. Although I’m not sure the distinction exactly.

[LongBlade]

Jay - Harness jacks are usually a spear point blade and a punch or awl side by side in a regular jack 2 blade style... I believe Cattle knives are 3 (or 4) blades like yours but the spey blade next to the clip with punch on other end would be a cattle knife blade pattern ( a clip blade is classic on them as opposed to spear point blades as on the HJ).. Cattle knives came in many different blade arrangements but check the Cattle knife thread for lots of great examples... It is a stunning Cattle knife Jay ...

[JAMESC41001]

Thanks Lee that is a great explanation and much appreciated.

[FRJ]

James, that is a very special knife.

[JAMESC41001]

Thanks Roger and FRJ. Did not see your post right away Rodger. Thanks for the kind words. Luckily it is in better shape then the sellers pics showed. Tempted to clean up some gunk off it but I just put a little oil and left it as is.

[JohnR]

Jay, that is a great looking knife, congratulations!

[RobesonsRme.com]

Oh My.

That is nice.

That master clip is just killer.

Who wouldn't want a knife with that in it?

Charlie

[JAMESC41001]

Thanks Charlie. The Swedge cut Is definitely Napanochish. I like the way the long pull runs into the tang. You see this a lot with Honks. The threaded bolsters are not common though. The blades have good snap. The punch is very strong.

[JAMESC41001]

Like to get some opinions on these knives. When I first saw them I thought they may be “put together” knives after the fact. Most Honk knives follow Napanoch patterns although not all. These are pretty far outside the norm, especially the bolsters. I’m thinking more likely they were contract knives. Any input or opinions would be much appreciated.

[FRJ]

They sure are sweet!

[New_Windsor_NY]

They are BOTH very good looking knives. Gun to my head, the top one gets the nod.

[JAMESC41001]

Thanks guys. The bolsters are pretty distinctive. Especially the indents on the second one. Any idea what manufacturer did work like that that?

[peanut740]

The top knife has a German look to it.The bolster pins show up like German knives.Or it could be because the handles are celluloid.

[JAMESC41001]

That is interesting Roger. I finally got the book “knife makers that went west” by Harvey Platts yesterday. There are a few knives pictured in there with what looks to be very similar style bolsters. Like the one pictured here. I can’t recall seeing other manufactures who use

this feature. ??? Are there other that I do not know about?

[FRJ]

Any idea what manufacturer did work like that that?

Here are pinched bolsters on a Union Knife Co. tuxedo. I believe it's from Naugatuck.

[JAMESC41001]

Very nice knife there. For some reason I’ve been staying away from calling the bolsters on the Honk Falls “pinched”. Thought maybe these were a bit different From what I understand that to be??

[JAMESC41001]

Been looking at Napanoch’s relationship with Case and all the associated companies. Found something interesting. This is an add from a 1904 hardware publication. Check out the factory locations at the bottom.

[LongBlade]

Been looking at Napanoch’s relationship with Case and all the associated companies. Found something interesting. This is an add from a 1904 hardware publication. Check out the factory locations at the bottom.

Very interesting Jay .. I find the relationship among companies to be sometimes much more extensive than one may imagine...

Here's another knife with pinched bolsters - Jonathan Crookes Congress - Sheffield... I may have a few others with similar bolsters but just another example..

[JAMESC41001]

That’s a beauty Lee. The pinched bolsters on the western Knives are pretty distinctive. The Platts story has a lot of twists so it’s a bit hard to navigate. The factory collection is laid out in Jim Seargents book. Lots of knives from different manufactures until they started manufacturing themselves again. If I had to guess though right now I would say the two Honks I posted were made by western or possibly Union made them and knives for western. I thought maybe someone here may have a better idea but not much coming back. Oh well

[KAW]

Interesting piece of the puzzle you found there Jay... Lately I've become more interested in knife ephemera as it points to clues that there is more to the story than the documented history we have so far. Unfortunately... finding a piece like you have... proves there are several more missing pieces to find before we really get the big picture.

[JAMESC41001]

It’s true Ken. I’ve been spending more on books lately the knives. I don’t own any Case, Platts or Union Knives but the more I’m learning I kind wish I did. Crazy how many companies are part of the Case story.

[wlf]

Nice knives fellas, and I agree with Lee. I expect the cutlers had a fraternity and had influence across boundaries, on all levels of the industry.