All About Pocket Knives

hey upnorth, the natural curve of the antler really works on a fine knife like that!

a donor camillus i picked up at the flea market today

Picked up this little ka-bar hawk today along with a ka-bar rope knife. pretty good shape. Can anyone tell me what time period this stamp was used?

This Tested XX Case might be my favorite Hawk! It's a smaller one;easy to pocket, and the blade is pitted but full. Nice redbone handles, and bear-trap snap make it a delight!

really cool little hawk there upnorth. I have been eyeing one of those little guys for a while, but thier prices always seem to go a bit out of reach for me.

My latest Hawkbill. Another Harrison Bros & Howson 'Alpha' knife. Very solid, great snap and 1/2 stops and nice rosewood handles.

very nice s-k.

I'll second that

Another nice one S-K.

Dale

I see you have tapped your secret source of great old knives again, s-k!! Thanks for showing it to us!!

I love that Hawkbill SK, very nice as usual...Once again your secret source came through, watch out for that night security guard at the museum..

Sunburst

upnorth wrote:I see you have tapped your secret source of great old knives again, s-k!! Thanks for showing it to us!!

We got to hire us a detective to find that secret source.

Thanks for sharing!

pretty used up, but still snaps and has half stops, the cattaraugus cutlery stamp is nearly worn out, but it's there. It has a tapered spring, first I have seen like this

Very nice sk, boy whoever he is, that source, is doin a fine job.

Singin46

Thanks everyone.

Cool knife MM. Some of my Sheffield Hawkbills have a tapered spring....very thick at the non blade end and much narrower at the blade. Do you think this was designed to allow the non blade end of the handle to be much thicker and thus fit the hand better or for some other purpose? s-k

smiling-knife wrote:Thanks everyone.

Cool knife MM. Some of my Sheffield Hawkbills have a tapered spring....very thick at the non blade end and much narrower at the blade. Do you think this was designed to allow the non blade end of the handle to be much thicker and thus fit the hand better or for some other purpose? s-k

S-K,
Can you post a pic of the springs in question? I would like to see them.
I would hazard a guess that it is for some other reason than than handle thickness. It would be much easier, (and less expensive from a manufacturing point), to just make thicker handles. I expect that those old knives have quite a bit of snap to the springs.

Dale

Of course you guys have me looking at all my knives' backsides! I guess it's better than looking at chickens' backsides !
This old Schrade Cut.Co. "banana" has a tapered spring; seems about 1/32" difference end to end.

Here's another tapered spring, this one on a cap bolstered Empire from a long time ago. The bone is hand-jigged, in the round, and following the curve! Makes for a fat handle with a tapered, circular cross section. And that tapered spring will chop a pencil in two!!

very nice old hawks upnorth!

Those are SWEET Charlie!
I like both of them, but that banana is especially nice.

Dale

Beautiful knives upnorth. I really like the Empire HB.

Dale here are some photos of the springs. The widest point in 5/16 and it tapers to slightly less than 5/32. It does have great snap perhaps as a result of this spring design. It also changes in thickness. It is wide and thin at one end and narrower but thicker at the blade end if that makes sense. s-k

Quite a taper, s-k! If it tapers in thickness AND width, it was quite a feat of engineering.
Are the bolsters integral on that knife, s-k??

S-K,
I agree with Charlie, "If it tapers in thickness AND width, it was quite a feat of engineering."

Do you have an approximate age to the knife? I would guess that most of that knife was made by hand, including the spring. Absolutely amazing!

I want to come to the UK just to see your collection of Hawks!
Wonderful old examples of the cutler's art, my friend.

Dale

Hi upnorth. Yes it tapers along both dimensions. At the end shown in the first photo it is barely 1mm thick whereas at the blade end it is about 5mm thick. Perhaps the end the spring was made thin to facilitate the bend around the handle. The bolsters are attached rather than integral. With a magnifying glass there appears to be a seam visible. Thanks for your interest. Does this lead you to any conclusions? s-k

Thanks Dale. Your message appeared while I was working on my response to upnorth. I don't know the age for sure. I think the font is older style and I am estimating 1880s perhaps. s-k