All About Pocket Knives

Here are my Robeson Pocket Eze, Mastercraft and NoRustain folders.

Pocket Eze with red shields and known for sunken joints.

No-Rustin with blue shields and known for stainless blades.

Mastercraft with black shields and known for bronze bearing on tang.

(Note some missing significant shield paint or never had any to begin with)

Thanks for looking,

Lloyd

A fine looking bunch of knives, Lloyd, from one of the best.

Thanks Joe I appreciate your nice comment! These three Robeson brands offer a world of collecting opportunities. They are not easy to find but well worth the effort. The hunt goes on Lloyd

I thought I'd show of one of a few Robesons I bought.

It's 4 1/2" with a 3" sheepsfoot, steel frame and liners.
Has the arch stamp, nice tight knife.

I was hopeful it mite be military because of the bail
and large blade, but I'm not so sure now. Maybe
just a big work knife.

Most interested in your opinions.

Bob

Does that knife have a pattern number on it?

Charlie Noyes

No number on the knife.

Bob, That's a fine looking knife.
I guess I'd call it a rope knife for lack of a better term ...... and before Charlie pegs it.

Thanks' Joe, I think your right on "rope knife" , when this was made I'm sure alot of rope was being used.
Not that I'd want cut much over 1/2" with this one.

Bob

Bob, where have you been? I don't recall seeing any recent posts from you.

I've never seen such a knife before.

Not saying it isn't legitimate, just that I've never seen one.

But, I see several Robesons a year that I've never seen before and I seriously doubt I'll have seen them all before I die.

Given the lack of a pattern number, it could have been a special factory order. Might have had an etch on the blade indicating that.

That ROBESON / U.S.A. / CUTLERY etch on a master blade is a rare thing. I'm not sure I even have a knife so marked on the master.

Tom Kalcevic, in Knives Can Talk! does, however, date that stamp on a master blade 1917 - 1939.

The frame looks like that used on any one of a few English Jacks that Robeson made, like the 119 and the 151, also the 610, but without the bolster lock mechanism.

Possibly, the blade is not original to the knife, but I'm leaning toward that not being the case.

I'm not sure if I'd call it a "Rope Knife". Might very well have been, though.

It would be nice to discern an etch on the blade and figure out, based upon for whom it was made, what its purpose might have been.

Interesting knife.

Charlie

Hello Charlie, I haven't posted much for a few years, still on the job and we have lots of work...that will change shortly.

I'm a pattern collector, 4 to 41/2 knives are what I like and this one falls into the "neat one" pattern.

I have no doubt its legit, came from one of our forum members..... Thanks Mike ...and has been looked at by
Tom Kalcevic and both said its the real deal. I think its a heavy duty work knife that was built to see if it was popular ?

Since you mentioned English jacks, this one is the same frame size but with two blades, love the long pen.
Its 4 1/2" , nickel bolsters, 3 1/4" blade.

Bob, that English jack is a real beauty and that long pen is a great secondary. Very nice knife.

I've got a nice, but worn, sleeveboard to go with a couple of other somewhat matching ones.
The new one has four blades; the others have two blades in this frame pattern.
Nice and fun to have trio.

Great showing there Joe. All three are beauties.

Thanks, Phil.
Yeah, they're really nice knives.

Joe, you have a truly impressive threesome. Congrats.

Beautiful worm-groove bone!

Three beautiful knives, Joe!

There is something elegant about a Robeson knife.
kj

Put a zero into those pattern numbers and you ID the pattern as "022"

I have a two blade version of that.

I have never before seen a four blade 022.

You've got some great Robesons.

Here's my lone 022 pattern sleeveboard.

Charlie

Thanks for the nice comments, guys.

Charlie, the knife you show must have a catch bit which accommodates the longer main blade.
The same as my knife in fourth picture down.
In the fifth picture down I show an unopened knife of same frame with no catch bit and smaller blade an no model stamp.
I'm assuming this knife is a much older knife.

That pick bone makes it an older knife, too.

Charlie

Thank you, Charlie.

Here are a couple of Robesons I picked up at the OKCA show recently. The first is a No-Rustain swing guard lock back pattern no. 619872. It is 4 & 3/8 inches long closed. The blade has the full etch RUSTLESS-STAINLESS although because of the light is not visible in the photo. The blade is full and the folder shows very little evidence of use. The bone handles have no cracks or splits but there is a tiny little piece of bone (near perfect half circle) missing under the pin below the shield. Looks to have been missing for a long time. The No-Rustain shields usually have blue backgrounds and this one has hints of blue paint under magnification but it is mostly gone.

The second folder is a three blade EE Serpentine stock type Wood Craft pattern and is 3 & 5/8 inches closed. It is a Pocket Eze model with sunken joints. Pattern no. 633875. The red background of the shield is pretty full. The blade etch WOODCRAFT is composed of what Charlie refers to as little logs. Under magnification it does indeed look like it is made up of little logs. Mine has the full etch but is somewhat obscured by some minor staining or spotting. Both Joe (FRJ) and Charlie show prime examples earlier in this thread. The non primary rear pivot blade is what looks like a slanted chisel or gouge. It is has full blades, near perfect dark jigged bone handles and shows little evidence of much use.

Anyway, here are the pictures and thanks for looking, Lloyd

Lloyd, those are two beautiful knives right there.

The swing guard lock back looks like it has peened pins but also looks like I see some spun pins too. That radius at the top pin looks like a spinner slipped off the pin.
Really smart bolsters on that lock back.
Good score on those two.

Thanks Joe great observations--much appreciated! Lloyd

Here's a nice old Peanut. 2 13/16". It's in great condition.

Thanks for looking.