All About Pocket Knives

Nice Joe - now if I remember right Napanoch made knives for Wilbert

Hey, thanks, jdub.

Thanks Lee.
I was bemoaning the fact, a while ago, that I didn't have a knife by Napanoch. Could it be?

I just double checked Joe - Napanoch did make knives for Wilbert ... now you have a 2 in 1 deal - a Wilbert and a Napanoch in one knife

Thanks Lee. That's great!
I've got a couple other Wilberts somewhere.

Joe, Jay, those 2 are very nice knives, love those saber clip blades.

Did add a Winchester Jumbo jack this week, right at 3 7/8" , pattern #2682. Nice full blades that unfortunately have been cleaned, spring for the main is almost twice as wide as the pen spring which seems to be typical for most vintage Jumbo's. Last couple pics show it next to a Challenge jack that is a large jack but not quite Jumbo size.

John, very nice Winchester Jumbo Jack and an almost Jumbo Challenge Jack! Yes that is a massive spring for that primary on the Winchester. Is it a nail breaker to open? I have a couple of split back Whittlers where those two springs acting on the primary blade make them very stout to open. Anyway, those are two beautiful vintage Jacks

Joe that wilbert is crazy nice. I had thought it to be a rare pattern but it seems it had a pretty long run.
John those ebony jacks are really something. No matter what phase I go through it all goes back to ebony jacks. Very nice.

Jay, I had a Valley Forge banana trapper like the Wilbert of Joe’s.

I’m also fairly certain Camillus made Wilbert knives for Sears and Roebuck.

JAMESC41001 wrote:My question is has anyone seen this pattern made by anyone before? Any help would be much appreciated.
Jay

Here is a link to an AAPK post from member obsidianedge that shows a beautiful Napanoch example of pattern 1950.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=41499&p=408740#p408740

JohnR wrote:Joe, Jay, those 2 are very nice knives, love those saber clip blades.

Did add a Winchester Jumbo jack this week, right at 3 7/8" , pattern #2682. Nice full blades that unfortunately have been cleaned, spring for the main is almost twice as wide as the pen spring which seems to be typical for most vintage Jumbo's. Last couple pics show it next to a Challenge jack that is a large jack but not quite Jumbo size.

Nothing like a big old jumbo jack John ...

wlf wrote:Jay, I had a Valley Forge banana trapper like the Wilbert of Joe’s.

I’m also fairly certain Camillus made Wilbert knives for Sears and Roebuck.

Lyle is absolutely right - I do believe Wilbert had their knives made by a few manufacturers....

To that point -

RalphAlsip wrote:

JAMESC41001 wrote:My question is has anyone seen this pattern made by anyone before? Any help would be much appreciated.
Jay

Here is a link to an AAPK post from member obsidianedge that shows a beautiful Napanoch example of pattern 1950.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=41499&p=408740#p408740

-

Thanks for posting that link Jerry - actually Joe one thing I did notice was the threads of your bolsters did not match Jay’s post - and looking back at that thread from Jerry’s post I see Dimitri believed your banana knife Joe was made by Valley Forge/Boker - quite honestly I spoke too soon Joe - and should have noted it as a possibility by Napanoch but not a definite... you must have other Napanoch knives Joe ?? Knowing your collection I am sure you do

Duffer wrote:John, very nice Winchester Jumbo Jack and an almost Jumbo Challenge Jack! Yes that is a massive spring for that primary on the Winchester. Is it a nail breaker to open? I have a couple of split back Whittlers where those two springs acting on the primary blade make them very stout to open. Anyway, those are two beautiful vintage Jacks

Thanks for the comments guys. Lloyd this one is not bad,the pen has a heavier pull, both blades do have impressive snap.

wlf wrote:Jay, I had a Valley Forge banana trapper like the Wilbert of Joe’s.

I’m also fairly certain Camillus made Wilbert knives for Sears and Roebuck.

Lyle thank you for the info. After checking the link provided here I did some searching and found an example on an auction site that is marked Keene cutlery Napanoch. I will say the example posted on AAPK is about as nice as it gets. That is impressive. It would be nice to see a Winchester and not just the Catalog pick. It’s not often we get a chance to compare a relatively unique patter with examples of a wilbert, Napanoch, Honk Falls, and Winchester. I would be interested to see the jigged bone on the Winchester as I believe the catalog rendition is not to reliable in some cases. There a few patterns like this one that give hints into what is a confusing knife brand like Winchester. Good stuff

Great information/research James! Good insights and info Lee! Here is a banana folding hunter I have that looks like the one Joe posted. Is it possible that this one sold by W. Bingham Co. a hardware distributor in Cleveland OH was made by Napanoch? Thanks!

Nice looking knife Lioyd. What is the closed length on that one. It appears to be the Valley forge/boker that Lyle was referring to. If so I believe they were a bit shorter. Naps were 5 1/4 Winchester listed as 5 3/8. Thanks for posting it.

Nice knife Lloyd ... Like Jay said and I agree .. I think your knife is almost the identical twin of Joe's on the previous page and believe that was Valley Forge/Boker made ... The bolsters while threaded are somewhat different than the Napanoch in style - the threads are more robust and are spaced abit apart and the blade swedge and placement of nail nick are so very similar...

Thanks James and Lee! I measure this banana at 5 & 1/4 inches closed. Yes, the subtle differences from the Napanoch—I see what you mean. Another thing, the example I posted a photo of and the one Joe posted has four pins not five like the Napanoch. Anyway, just thought I would ask and see what you experts thought. I have a few Valley Forge pre VF in circle marked on pile side primary blades (pre circa 1916) and I got to say the jigging pattern is different than on this banana. I don’t know about what later (after 1916) Boker VFs looked like because Imdon’t have any to compare. I thought this banana might be an Ulster product but who knows for sure. Your insights are much appreciated!

Well, I wish I had been paying closer attention to the knives when I posted my sway back hunter.
I regret not seeing the differences in the pins and the lines on the pivot bolster.
But it does make for good conversation. By the way, my knife is 5 1/4" long.
Thank you Jerry for providing that link to Dimitri's comments. Very educational. So much to learn.
Lloyd, that is a very nice knife you have there.
Thank you, Lee, James and Lyle for all the comments and help.
John, those Ebony jacks are really special, as usual.

Just finished reading through this thread. Lots of great knives and information posted, great thread! I have no original Winchester stamped knives. I have quite a few Keen Kutters possibly made by Winchester, but the dogleg below is the only one I am sure was Winchester made.

Beauty of a Keen Kutter dog-leg Dan ... the dark jigged bone and very full blades especially the spear master is sweet ... what’s the closed length of the “bad” boy ?

Thanks Lee, it is 3 1/2".

Very nice Dan. That is a keeper. That bone is very familiar. I have both a Walden and Honk Falls with the same bone. I wish I knew more about it. How did it become common among the different companies. And is there a specific time frame. I know it is not really possible to narrow down specifically but maybe a general understanding is possible.

What fine old knife that is, Dan.

Well, I've been holding back and himen and hawin, trying to figure this old dogleg out.
Now I see Dans and his has the little pen in front of the main blade.
I'm afraid to put it down the drain. It will clog up my plumbing.

Wow! That’s a knife Joe

Thank you, James.
What are your thoughts on it being an actual Winchester.

FRJ wrote:What fine old knife that is, Dan.

Well, I've been holding back and himen and hawin, trying to figure this old dogleg out.
Now I see Dans and his has the little pen in front of the main blade.
I'm afraid to put it down the drain. It will clog up my plumbing.

That is one fine knife Joe!! Congratts!!!