All About Pocket Knives

Got your email Mark, and thx for the info KK!

kennedy knives wrote: ↑Thu May 21, 2020 11:56 pm Mark the Paragon is Bad To The Bone I've owned a few if it had a pocket clip I would probably care one

Gary, I’ve been trying for years to acquire one of these without paying too much. I agree these are really sweet knives.
Here once again are my Paragon fixed blades. The first one was a kit, no handle material. Muskrat Man put this exotic hardwood handles on for me. You can really see the design flows through from fixed to folder. I don’t own many fixed blades but these are ones that have really gotten my affection.
Tommy Lee did a great job designing and the Japanese craftsman did a great job of execution the designs.

Sharpnshinyknives wrote: ↑Fri May 22, 2020 12:18 am

kennedy knives wrote: ↑Thu May 21, 2020 11:56 pm Mark the Paragon is Bad To The Bone I've owned a few if it had a pocket clip I would probably care one

Gary, I’ve been trying for years to acquire one of these without paying too much. I agree these are really sweet knives.
Here once again are my Paragon fixed blades. The first one was a kit, no handle material. Muskrat Man put this exotic hardwood handles on for me. You can really see the design flows through from fixed to folder. I don’t own many fixed blades but these are ones that have really gotten my affection.
Tommy Lee did a great job designing and the Japanese craftsman did a great job of execution the designs.

The top one is gorgeous!

Hi Mark I have owned the Fixed Blade by Tommy Lee that you show as a Paragon . When he was a live would set up at shows and we would trade knives and talk he was a mess good guy and made a great knife . I still come across his knives from time to time being I live in South Carolina . Just sold one of his at Christmas at the Gun Show here.

I would still like to know why you still find these Paragon knife kits for sale on Ebay? What is the story behind all those unfinished knives?
These are truly fine knives. The blades aren’t thick like a lot of fixed blades, but they are wickedly sharp since they are so thin and so maneuverable. I sure wouldn’t try prying or cutting bone w/ these. That dagger is a joy to stab and slice paper, cuts in either direction like slicing through butter.

Hope I'm doing this correctly, because I didn't see a box to start a new thread, and I wanted to post some pics! If it's wrong, please delete and advise on how to start a new thread! O.K., here goes! This 1st knife is one you've seen posted by Mark from SSK. I recently received it FROM Mark, as he was kind enough to buy it and hold it for me! It's a 9 1/4" Blackjack Mamba Lockback/SS dagger blade with amby thumb-studs, SS scales/black derlin inlays, invisible pins, SS liners, B/J stampings, and weighs-in at 8.6 oz.'s. The run-up on this knife is virtually invisible, and it opens with a very satisfying "click"! This is not a new knife, as it's been around for awhile, but it's new to me! It sits in my display since I would hate to use it and spoil it's beautiful appearance, but, would make an excellent EDC! P.S.-Sorry my ugly mug is in the pics but I only have the camera that's built into my PC, and I need 1 hand to hold the knife and 1 to click the pic!

Thought I'd get the 2 you've already seen out of the way, so here's the 2nd.! This one was also acquired from Mark, and it's the one that really got my juices flowing for Japanese knives! It's a 7" Marbles Lockback/SS spear-point blade with nail-nic, NS bolsters/detailed engraving, what appear to be NS pins, black and white swirl horn scales, brass liners, Marbles and Seki stamps on the tangs, and weighs 2-3 oz.'s! Also in my display, but would make an excellent EDC!

Got this one from an ebay seller that has hundreds of these Japanese knives! It's a 6 1/2" slip-joint folder called the "SHARK"/SS reverse katana blade with nail-nic and SHARK etch, brass bolsters and pins, SS liners, white ABS scales/"ELK HORN" crest inlaid, mid-finger groove, "ELK HORN" and "SURGICAL 1980" stamped on the front tang, "TAYLOR CUTLERY" and "JAPAN" stamped on the rear tang, and weighs about 2-3 oz.'s! Good little piece for boxes, strings, etc.!

This knife came from the same ebay seller as the last one! It's a 6" folder that is called, if I'm not mistaken, the "ANT"! I was going to refer to this knife as a lockback, although I'm unsure if it would fall into that classification, since the blade release is the ball-bearing that you see incorporated into the front engraved bolster. It has a SS drop-point blade/ amby thumb-studs, although I immediately removed them since I have a dislike of thumb-studs, I will say engraved bolsters, although unsure once again, since the bolsters and handles are all 1-piece, which also explains why there are no liners, what appear to be SS pins, lanyard hole, the word "ANT" along with a stamp of an ant on the front tang, and "SEKI-JAPAN" stamped on the rear tang! Weighs a hefty 5 oz.'s! I bought it because I thought it was unusual, but it arrived razor-sharp, and could definitely be used as an EDC!

The final one from that ebay seller is also somewhat unusual! It is 7 3/4" Beretta "Bullet-Release" folder/SS drop-point blade with nail-nic, SS liners, black rubberized scales with gold bullet inlaid for blade release, lanyard hole, and weighs-in at about 4 oz.'s! Has "BERETTA" stamped on the front tang, and "SEKI-JAPAN" stamped on the rear! Came razor-sharp and could be used as an EDC, but in this case, strictly a conversation piece!

This next knife is a pretty rare piece! It's a 9" FIXED blade stiletto/SS bayonet blade, NS bolsters/flat-guard "ears", brass liners and pins, jet-black ABS scales, and, O.M.O.R.,(that's right, ROMO spelt backwards) HK350, and JAPAN stamped on the front tang! Weighs about 6 oz.'s! I had never seen a FIXED blade non-folding stiletto prior to this one, other than one by Latama that my auto seller had, and, one that is 11" that is currently on it's way to me! Very cool rare knife!

Madmardo, That is quite an infusion of Japanese quality. All fine acquisitions.

The next 4 knives I don't have much info on, so if anyone knows some details on them, please feel free to comment! This 1st. one I bought from a seller here in Canada, that could only tell me that it came from Japan, and he bought it in England nearly 40 years ago! It is a 12" Lockback folder/SS katana blade, NS bolsters with detailed engravings of a dragon front and back and top and bottom, brass pins, SS liners, jet-black ABS scales/jimping for grip, and weighs-in at 8 oz.'s! There are absolutely zero markings on this folder! This is a gorgeous one-of-a-kind knife that is strictly a show piece!

This is the 2nd. mystery piece! It is a 10" fixed blade katana/SS full-tang blade, NS bolsters/accent grooves, brass pins, dark walnut scales, and weighs about 9 oz.'s! I got this one on ebay, and all the seller could tell me was that it was built in Japan! Also completely unmarked! A very solid, well-built knife that could be used for an assortment of things, but this one only graces my display!

My 3rd. unknown piece! It's a 10 3/4" in the sheath, 10 1/4" out, fixed blade katana/SS full-tang blade, SS pins, dark walnut scales/sheath, and weighs-in at 9 oz.'s! Has "Kibu" and Japanese characters etched on the front of the blade! Once again, bought on ebay with no info other than made in Japan! It's a very solid well-built katana that would be extremely useful around the house and yard, but, I only display it!

And finally, my last unknown piece! This is an 11" Tri-sided, 1-piece dagger/SS construction, milled finger grooves, and removeable "ears", or finger guards!(see bottom pic) Weighs about 8 oz.'s! No markings whatsoever! Purchased on ebay with the same story of no info other than made in Japan, but not from the same seller as the others! This would be a very deadly weapon should the need arise, but would slide comfortably into a boot for concealment, although this one goes into the display! If anyone knows anything further about these unknown pieces, I'd love to hear about them! That's it so far for my Japanese knives, but I'll be receiving more soon, and I'll post those as well! I'll also be posting some of my autos, but this isn't the correct thread for that! Hope ya liked them!

Thanks for the compliment Q.S.!

Madmarco wrote: ↑Fri May 22, 2020 8:28 pm The final one from that ebay seller is also somewhat unusual! It is 7 3/4" Beretta "Bullet-Release" folder/SS drop-point blade with nail-nic, SS liners, black rubberized scales with gold bullet inlaid for blade release, lanyard hole, and weighs-in at about 4 oz.'s! Has "BERETTA" stamped on the front tang, and "SEKI-JAPAN" stamped on the rear! Came razor-sharp and could be used as an EDC, but in this case, strictly a conversation piece! WIN_20200522_12_56_33_Pro.jpgWIN_20200522_12_56_40_Pro.jpg

Nice knives Mark. This Beretta was designed by Master Ichiro Hattori. There are a few different versions of this knife that Beretta had made. Even a fixed blade.
I have been curious about that Ant knife. I have seen it many times but never bought one.
I think I know the seller you are referring to on Ebay. He has a lot of great Seki made knives. Jacob goes over to Japan about once a year for the knife show and buys a lot of his inventory right from the source. Very knowledgeable.
Really nice knives. The ones you don’t know much about, I can’t help much there. One thing I do is look at the Custom Knives on JKD website and check them against any of the knives they still have pictures posted for. You might stumble across one that just happens to be made by one of the Masters in Japan. Can’t hurt and it’s worth the look.

Thanks Mark! I saw a fixed blade Beretta that you were talking about, very cool! The Ant knife is officially called, "ANT 2", and it's pretty cool too! The ebay seller goes by sterlingltd01, and his name is Jonathan Johnson, he is stationed in Kennesaw, Georgia and he's a member of ABS. He has many Seki knives, as well as Case, Victorinox, and many other brands. Really nice guy too! Don't know if that's the guy you meant. And, I will check the JKD site regularly, since there are some beauties there!

Madmarco wrote: ↑Sat May 23, 2020 2:20 am Thanks Mark! I saw a fixed blade Beretta that you were talking about, very cool! The Ant knife is officially called, "ANT 2", and it's pretty cool too! The ebay seller goes by sterlingltd01, and his name is Jonathan Johnson, he is stationed in Kennesaw, Georgia and he's a member of ABS. He has many Seki knives, as well as Case, Victorinox, and many other brands. Really nice guy too! Don't know if that's the guy you meant. And, I will check the JKD site regularly, since there are some beauties there!

I thought you were referring to eprague. Jacob is in Washington State. I know the seller you are referring to, just not as well.

Yes, I know of eprague as well Mark, as a matter of fact, I have been trying to order one of his Will and Fink Horse Head bowies by Tak Fukutu, for months now, but every time I go to pull the trigger on it, I find something else I want, starting with the B/J Mamba I got from you! He has 5 left, so hopefully I'll have the funds to order one before they're all gone, it's a beautiful knife!

Here is one that I forgot to post here, I think. It’s a Seki Cut fixed blade. I.C. Ishakawa Cutlery is the company behind Seki Cut, they also own the brand name of HIRO. The blade on this is a HIRO design knife for sure. The handles are gold lipped pearl and abalone. I bought this one from KJ or Roland over a year ago. It’s a very elegant design.

That's sure a beauty Mark! Nice score!

Thanks Mark. It’s one of the few fixed blades I own. Don’t collect many of them but almost all of them are Japanese.

Sharpnshinyknives wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 9:30 pm Thanks Mark. It’s one of the few fixed blades I own. Don’t collect many of them but almost all of them are Japanese.

You picked a good one.