Now we have a Colonial thread,Show'em

[Bonfire bob]

AND NOW, the King of them all......

[TripleF]

He bombed you back Bobby! Knice stuff Joe! Very knice! Great target too!

[Bonfire bob]

Thanks pal...Scott, I think the world of you guys...
Bobby P...

[knifetime]

Hello Bob,I have one for you to look at,hear it is.I was told that this knife came win you bought a pair of boots.I was also told it was made by Colonial.I know it came with a sheath that is now long gone.Thanks for any help.Phillip

[Bonfire bob]

Hey Phil, what a historic little knife! This was our old "Cub Hunter" and we made them for years with a multitude of handles, sheaths and on display cards! We started the "Cub Hunter" line in 1939. Some of the original's had tiny bone handles! This one looks to me it could be dated mid to late 40's! It has seen some action and God only know's who bought it, carried it, and save it all these years!! If it could only talk.....
Nice little prize; hold on to it...
Bobby P. CKCo....."Cutler 4-Ever"....

[knifetime]

Hey Phil, what a historic little knife! This was our old "Cub Hunter" and we made them for years with a multitude of handles, sheaths and on display cards! We started the "Cub Hunter" line in 1939. Some of the original's had tiny bone handles! This one looks to me it could be dated mid to late 40's! It has seen some action and God only know's who bought it, carried it, and save it all these years!! If it could only talk.....
Nice little prize; hold on to it...
Bobby P. CKCo....."Cutler 4-Ever"....

Thank you Sr.It was my wife's fathers knife,and about 10 years ago I got it gave to me from him.I use it to this day,it is great to clean other knives with and holds a good edge.I use it all most every day.I keep it out on a shelf where it is easy to grab to open boxes and to clean knives.
Great job on the knife,thanks again.Phillip

[Bonfire bob]

Greetings knife nuts...
I am well aware this is a Colonial show-em thread but today I bought something that I must share with all of you. It's a medium stockman Chinese three blade stone handled knife and what convinced me to buy it was that it came in a green stone box. In the past few years there have been several type knive's like these selling at very low prices and I don't buy them for any future collecting value. The truth of the matter is that China has trained and hired real cutler's to make these knives and I must confess, the quality, fit and finish is outstanding!! I bought them because I loved how well they were made, and I could finally own these handle material knives without spending the hundreds of dollars that Case and other big company's are fetching for them. I now have in my collection a few Abalone, Mother Of Pearl, Gold Lip MOP, and even some Black Lip MOP knives I could never afford. The qaulity of these items is comparitive to anything I've ever made myself!!
Obviously they will NEVER be worth more than what I paid for them but a Black Lip MOP Trapper for $ 40.00??? Unbelievable!! Being a cutler and craftsman my whole life I can appreciate the product itself and not worry about any selling value!
The green stone box and the price of 20 bucks is what I paid for this beauty!!
I don't know what the stone box or handle is but they are beautiful! That's what I bought them for...Check out this "Rough Rider" medium stockman..
This comes from a cutler who appreciates good quality, no matter who made them!!
Bobby P...confession's of a cutler...

[knifetime]

It is a real nice knife, Bobby.
I am starting to think like you Robert,I like some of the knives that are made in China with thin the last 10 years or so.I,like you ,don't think there going to gain a any value but like you, that is not why I have bought a few 0f them over the last few years.
Well that seems to be a bad subject around hear so that is all I will say about it, but nice knife and great box Robert and thanks for sharing it with us.

[Bonfire bob]

You seem to be the only person who's come forward with a response at all....
All you have to do is read my book and you can clearly see that it is the craftsman, cutler,
and or thier work that I personally appreciate more than anything because I was so un-appreciated at Colonial....
With the exception of maybe an extra cut scale here and there so that the blades do not show a horrizontal scratch or scrape on the blades which means they blades were not properly bent at the tang to insure a proper drop in the pocket of the closed knife..
That's a definate no-no when it comes to making pocket knives; I had a few slip through in the early days too!! I've seen many CASE items with a similar problem, from time to time.
All in all, if you have not seen studied, owned or held one of these new "Cutler made" Chinese knives, you should. I can honestly say, as far as quality and workmanship is, the likes we have never seen from overseas.
All the corners are straight, the ends finished perfect, the blades are beautiful, the tang stamps are deep and readable, the hefting on the handle/bolster line are impressive, the blades open and close smoothly with that good ole' fashion American snap!!
The pins rivets are finished nice...all they really need is a double thick center cut scale to insure plenty of room for the blades to drop cleanly.
I wonder what people trained these cutler's from China?? I bet they were American cutler's!!
Just for a moment, try to step away from the collector, investor, value seeking individual,
because it's not going to happen!!
Nothing in the world of cutlery will ever be more valuable than American made knives to the average knife collector; European work included...
Just take a look at what I bought for under $ 200.00 in these pics. If these were American made, they would have cost me $ 1,000.00 easy!! Check out the handle spacers and the precision in the handles...Abalone, MOP, Black and Gold Lip MOP, incredible work back springs and blades, tiny handsome ribbed nail pulls, unbelievable!
Your input, good or bad is always appreciated and respected here at AAPK...Bobby..

[tangstamp]

Bobby,

Congrats on the latest find. That's a gorgeous set and you have an impressive collection. Rough Riders are some of the most impressive, value-priced knives coming out of China. As a long-time customer of SMKW, I have seen some great knives come from this line. I'm especially impressed by their variety of patterns, most notably their camp utility/scout knives and marlin spikes. The fit and finish is excellent and their walk and talk instills confidence in the product. Another line, also SMKW, is the Colt line of slip-joint folders. Every detail is designed to present a quality product with attention to detail. From the impressive gift boxes and polishing cloths, to the impressive patterns rarely seen only from much more expensive American-made cutlery companies. This line is exceptional for the asking price.

Like you, I see knives as the end result of a cutler's work. I, also, remember a time when knives made in Japan were considered junk like many people see knives made in China today. Many of those Japan-made knives bring top dollar today. In any case, buying knives solely as an investment is folly. Knives should be collected and/or used for the pure enjoyment of appreciating the craft and precision-crafted tool. A well-made knife should be appreciated, regardless of where it originated, as long as it comes by the hands of a maker worthy of the craft. Of course, there is something special about American craftsmanship, but when the difference is dollars, then you buy the best you can afford and enjoy them for what they are. Someday, we might just find ourselves looking back and remembering the quality work that came from China as we look to the next country providing the cheapest labor and talking about the junk that comes from there. Do you even want to imagine?

[knifetime]

You seem to be the only person who's come forward with a response at all....
All you have to do is read my book and you can clearly see that it is the craftsman, cutler,
and or thier work that I personally appreciate more than anything because I was so un-appreciated at Colonial....
With the exception of maybe an extra cut scale here and there so that the blades do not show a horrizontal scratch or scrape on the blades which means they blades were not properly bent at the tang to insure a proper drop in the pocket of the closed knife..
That's a definate no-no when it comes to making pocket knives; I had a few slip through in the early days too!! I've seen many CASE items with a similar problem, from time to time.
All in all, if you have not seen studied, owned or held one of these new "Cutler made" Chinese knives, you should. I can honestly say, as far as quality and workmanship is, the likes we have never seen from overseas.
All the corners are straight, the ends finished perfect, the blades are beautiful, the tang stamps are deep and readable, the hefting on the handle/bolster line are impressive, the blades open and close smoothly with that good ole' fashion American snap!!
The pins rivets are finished nice...all they really need is a double thick center cut scale to insure plenty of room for the blades to drop cleanly.
I wonder what people trained these cutler's from China?? I bet they were American cutler's!!
Just for a moment, try to step away from the collector, investor, value seeking individual,
because it's not going to happen!!
Nothing in the world of cutlery will ever be more valuable than American made knives to the average knife collector; European work included...
Just take a look at what I bought for under $ 200.00 in these pics. If these were American made, they would have cost me $ 1,000.00 easy!! Check out the handle spacers and the precision in the handles...Abalone, MOP, Black and Gold Lip MOP, incredible work back springs and blades, tiny handsome ribbed nail pulls, unbelievable!
Your input, good or bad is always appreciated and respected here at AAPK...Bobby..

I don't know who trained them all, but I do know that BUCK and A,G, RUSSEL had a lot to do with it.
Hey Bobby on that Colonial # 17 Shell Jewelry Knife,it is gold plated,where a lot of them done like that?

[Just Plain Dave]

There is no question that Rough Rider has their stuff together in making knives.
Three of mine feel and look good enough to carry.
A few more look good but don't feel so nice.

I did turn one Barlow down at a flea Market because a Bolster was pulling away from a liner...

[Bonfire bob]

Hey Terry, thank you very much for stepping forward with your honesty!!
Like you said, I didn't buy these as investment items, I bought them because the all around quality is Impressive!! I could never afford a Gold or Black lip MOP knife and even back in the day, I couldn't even afford the handle material!! Now they are using much smaller pieces and using extrodinarily superb spacers and the fit and finish is unserparred!!
Thanks pal for your excellent appraisal of what I was trying to say!!

Hey knifetime, nice to hear your input about cutler training; I think you hit the nail right on the head! In refrence to the # 17 shell, which is the skeleton of the knife I give away FREE with each copy of my book. The majority of these shells like most of our jewelry knife including the # MC-47 money clip knife were blanked in solid brass or stainless steel. They were polished to a high buff and sent out for a heavy clear coat from the platers, or we lacquered them in house. We definately did some gold plating on these but for the most part, solid brass and stainless...we made the same knive's with 2 dozen different shell exterior designs, all done in the secondary opperation press room..
Bobby P CKCo..

[tangstamp]

This just came in the mail! I bought it on eBay. More on the way!

[knifetime]

Very nice Terry.

[knifetime]

Hey Terry, thank you very much for stepping forward with your honesty!!
Like you said, I didn't buy these as investment items, I bought them because the all around quality is Impressive!! I could never afford a Gold or Black lip MOP knife and even back in the day, I couldn't even afford the handle material!! Now they are using much smaller pieces and using extrodinarily superb spacers and the fit and finish is unserparred!!
Thanks pal for your excellent appraisal of what I was trying to say!!

Hey knifetime, nice to hear your input about cutler training; I think you hit the nail right on the head! In refrence to the # 17 shell, which is the skeleton of the knife I give away FREE with each copy of my book. The majority of these shells like most of our jewelry knife including the # MC-47 money clip knife were blanked in solid brass or stainless steel. They were polished to a high buff and sent out for a heavy clear coat from the platers, or we lacquered them in house. We definately did some gold plating on these but for the most part, solid brass and stainless...we made the same knive's with 2 dozen different shell exterior designs, all done in the secondary opperation press room..
Bobby P CKCo..

I see why tarnish did not come of win I polished it,the clear coat,so it is brass.Thanks for the help.
PS,Very fine work from Colonial.

[1967redrider]

Bobby, thanks for all of you help with picking up your book.



Took a few pictures of the few Colonial knives I have. The fixed blade/hatchet does not have a ricasso stamp, just an etch. It could be a Utica made set. The little Davy Crockett cap lifter/hatchet knife is an Imperial in which "Fess" Parker played the part of Davy Crockett. I think it's interesting that both folders have screwdriver and cap lifter blades.

[tangstamp]

This one is gorgeous. Nearly new condition off the 'Bay.

[Bonfire bob]

Hey red rider, how are ya!
Let's start with the fixed blade/hatchet combo.... If there is no tang stamp on the fixed blade, and other features I can see and I can tell you, this is not a Colonial. We did make this combo for years but this particular fixed blade has a nice deep swedge and the blade etching that says "outdoors Sportsman". I'm 98% sure this is NOT a Colonial and maybe an Imperial. For a knife of this size to be sold without a tangstamp is almost impossible. I personally blanked these fixed blades in the secondard operation press room and we always applied a tank stamp; either in the primary or secondary press opperations
The little two blade celluliod knife is ours for sure, as you can see..I don't remember the stock # because these were made and sold for add specialty or Embassy manufacturing,
the advertising department of Colonial...
The Davy Crocket knife is ours and we made tons of this style # 826 with clear covers and
Davy Crocket, Daniel Boone, all the old western stars, Elvis, Coca-cola, and several images
including old naked lady pics! These were made with plastic handles and hot die stamp advertisments, as well as casted Elvis and Coca-cola inprints. Please see a pic enclosed here and from my book refering to castings..
Terry, nice Colonial Camper # 2644....

[1967redrider]

Thanks for the info, Bobby, and the book arrived today! Can't wait to dig into it.

[tangstamp]

Thanks for the info, Bobby, and the book arrived today! Can't wait to dig into it.

I've read it cover to cover and found the pictures interesting and the information regarding processes helpful. The front story about the death of a major American cutlery company is sad and frustrating at the same time. It's a rare glimpse into the workings of American manufacturing and working in a multi-generational family business.

[tangstamp]

This just in! Vintage COLONIAL USA Swiss Master Mountain Guide Multi Tool Camp Survival Knife - Thanks TripleF!

[Bonfire bob]

Who me??
Well, I see this # 4804, our nicely made Mountain Guide. We made these to the bitter end!
Considering the gold and black box, it was made in the early 90's..condition wise it's probably worth about $ 25.00, maybe more. The Colonial Swiss line was changed so many times and each time it got better and better.
Bobby P....

[TripleF]

Glad it went to a AAPK member tangstamp!!

[TripleF]

Since Bobby pretty much only views this thread, I'll post a pic of this Colonial Cork Handle Floating Knife here and look forward to his response!

I've never seen this Colonial knife before.......