All About Pocket Knives

dcathome wrote:I received this well used knife from my dad before he passed in 2010. He said he carried it through his time in the Korean War. Going through this post I don't see anything that looks like this knife. The square top and the curved handle. Any guess on the year it was made?
Waterville Cutlery.jpg

Nice looking old Waterville!! A special knife to you I am sure!! There are some very knowledgeable folks that will be around shortly to answer your question. Let me say Welcome!!

Pre-dates the Korean War by many years.Waterville went out of business in 1913 according to Goins.

What a grand old knife you have, dcathome. Even better that it was your dads.
Of course it shows some wear but when it was new they didn't come much better than that knife. It's a beauty.

This knife could have also come from this era of Waterville. Or a later era which also has "CONN." in the stamp.

Bye the way, we appreciate that your dad served our country.

Thank you for the welcome and thanks all for the information!

Here is a 3 & 3/8 inch Waterville Cutlery Co. pen knife. Ebony handles and caterpillar shield

Nice old warrior of a Waterville decathome ... Cool and sentimental background!!

Nice Waterville pen Lloyd .. The shield is so cool ...

Here's a Waterville I realized I never posted... not the fanciest knife for sure but another Waterville ... 2 7/8" closed not including bail... the metal frame and spring placement inside reminds me alot of the Schrade folded liner patent and knives - the frame is one piece folded over (The last photo I attached is a Shapleigh made by Schrade with folded liners though it has wooden covers) - I wonder when Schrade was awarded that patent - anyway I guess one would also consider this a skeleton knife pattern... I'm not sure what to call this knife - a single blade pen or jack ... Blade snaps hard and I really like the "double swedge" - check it out in mark and pile side photos as the swedge extends almost to tang of blade ... This most likely was a knife made for "work" given the durable design or a knife that could be afforded by many... there is something I like about this knife
Schrade made Shapleigh Boys Knife with folded liners:

I like caterpillars, quite a bit actually.

Very nice little knife, Lee. Could that be a boys knife?

Thanks Joe ... Not quite sure what to call it though not a classic boys knife - probably multi-purpose and a carry for your work pants ...

Here are a couple:A dog leg jack well used and a miniature advertising knife with nickel silver handles.

Good to see the Waterville thread come back to life!! You guys are showing some great knives!! Lee that is a very cool Waterville. I like it because it seems to be made to be used a little harder than the pearls, ebany and such. Great patina on that rascal too! I see why you like it!!

More often than not... it never ceases to amaze me where & when certain brands show up...
I spent this past weekend in central New Jersey to attend a wedding. Before the wedding, we decided to go to an antique show in the area.
Lo & behold... in a dealer's show case was the distinguish form of a quill knife. Upon inspection, the tang is marked with Waterville in an arch with the second line being a straight MFG Co. with a sticker price of $38 and with the dealer saying he was willing to do better with $$$. So barely holding my composure... I finally obtained my first obvious 19th century knife....

Nice score Ken ... I have not seen that tang stamp very often ... just guessing but think it is earlier than later in their existence...

Thanks Lee... according to the OP of this thread... (1847−1855).

Pearl pen

My only Waterville.

michaelspayth wrote:Pearl pen

Nice - the bolsters are engraved aluminum though abit worn... aluminum in those days was more valuable than gold or silver

edge213 wrote:My only Waterville.

Another classic pen from Waterville ... I see that curved shield on a fair amount of Waterville knives though not sure it was the only company that used them.

Waterville no doubt is one of my favorite old CT companies!!

Here are 3 Waterville and a Northfield

Great looking old knives, Ike.

Yes very nice

That hyphenated Waterville stamp is one of my favorite stamps from any brand that I've seen so far! Something about the simplicity of it I guess.. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the comments! Still feeling my way around the website, just realized this weekend that "Knife Lore" is where I will be spending 90% of my time, love those old knives and the history gained from all here.

Waukonda wrote:Here are 3 Waterville and a Northfield

Very nice Watervilles and a Northfield to boot Ike ... What is the closed length of the knives? Particularly curious about the Northfield...

Thanks Lee, Northfield is the lower knife in 1st photo. An old workingman's knife, a single blade barehead jack, the original owner never could have imagined that it would still be around and treasured 100 plus years later.

Waukonda wrote:Thanks Lee, Northfield is the lower knife in 1st photo. An old workingman's knife, a single blade barehead jack, the original owner never could have imagined that it would still be around and treasured 100 plus years later.

Thanks for posting those measurements Ike ... The Northfield at that size and pattern I would call a Boys Knife - we actually have a thread here devoted to Boys Knives under Knife Lore... anyway as someone who collects Boys Knives I just have not seen a lot of Northfield Boys Knives and still looking to fill that gap.. nonetheless that Northfield is a lovely example!

Here's a couple of Waterville's I got at the NCCA show a week ago today. They are both 3 5/8" closed.

They are quite similar so two different posts.