Rare patterns

[thegreedygulo]

Very cool knives, Dave! I really like the Saynor and that trick knife. Those are just awesome!

Here are some of my rare patterns. The first is a sleeveboard congress by A. F. Bannister & Co. The second is an F. A. Koch with fancy bolsters. The third is a slim sleeveboard jack by Boker. I've seen pen and whittler knives with this frame but this is the only jack I've come across so far. Last is a knife also by Boker which has a blade pick at the end.

Nice knives everyone!

dcgm4: Glad you posted that Bannister sleeveboard congress. I have often wondered if such a named pattern actually existed ever since I bought this H. Boker a few years back.

[djknife13]

I like those, and I'm not a big congress fan. I may have seen them in a case somewhere and didn't pay any attention to them. Maybe I've even got one in my safe and didn't consider it as anything other than a congress. It makes me wonder how many other pattern combinations (crossbreds) there are that I hadn't considered. You can teach old dogs new tricks.____Dave

[thegreedygulo]

Here's a few old H. Boker rare patterns. I've posted them in other threads, but thought they would fit here.

[peanut740]

Well done Roger.

[thegreedygulo]

Thanks Roger! It took a long time to find that group.

[dcgm4]

Awesome knives, greedy! Sleeveboard congresses seem to be pretty rare. Your Boker is only the second one I've seen. Love the stag on it, by the way.

It's 4 inches closed, has a fairly thick spring and surprisingly strong nice snap for a thin knife on both blades. The wide side is 1/2 inch and the narrow side is 3/8 th inch.___Dave

Nice knife, Dave. Given its length I'd say you're right about it being a double-end jack. Seems too big to call it a pen knife. My slim sleeveboard is smaller, just over 3 3/8" closed. Probably too short to be considered a specialty knife like a melon or sausage tester.

[thegreedygulo]

Thanks dcgm4 & I agree; they do seem to be pretty rare.

That's the only one I've seen except in old Boker books & hardware advertising. Here's a page from Boker's 1928 catalog that shows a couple of sleeveboard congress patterns.

[Mumbleypeg]

Greedy, those are fantastic, unusual, and beautiful, all at the same time. Thanks for showing them. I'm really intrigued by the first one. Would you call that a double gunstock, or what?

Ken

[thegreedygulo]

Thanks Mumbleypeg; glad you liked them.

That first one is called a double gunstock pattern. Here's a more upclose picture of it.

[wlf]

And they went to the right home RR,speaking of right home. I grin great big.

Seriously Roger,is that sleeveboard congress pressed stag or whatever? It has the look,I don't think I've ever seen Boker's version. Seems most of the European makers had their versions of this pressed material.

These are rare,maybe just for the pattern ,but mostly for the handles. Anybody know for sure what it is?

Some call it snakeskin stag,Black Forest stag,etc. It did not come off the buck that way. It is from a mold.
I call it pressed stag,because it looks like stag not horn,though I have never heard definitive evidence of the exact material. It is molded as each maker's version is identifiable.

Seems these had a short run in early cutlery history. I don't remember ever seeing one with a USA mark.

Here are examples:
1.Wostenholm's version

2,3,and four are Henckels version.

[thegreedygulo]

Lyle: I THINK the congress sleeveboard is just well worn stag. It looks more that way in hand to me than it does in the pictures. Boker did have what they called "patent stag" on some of their early knives. Personally, I think pressed stag is a very good description of it. Mark Zalesky & I had a discussion about this a few years back and this is what he had to say about these two knives. I think You're really going to like one of them.

The jumbo sleeveboard and the farmer's jack are where it gets interesting. Note that the texture appears to
be raised, not cut in, but is pretty consistent in pattern. In my experience you see this material on English knives and German knives, but not on American knives, and collectors call it "snakeskin stag" or "snakeskin bone." I really don't know how the pattern is achieved but if I'm going to guess I'll say that it may have been done like pressed horn razor handles, squished with heat and pressure into a die. Bone or stag? (I'm talking about second-cut stag here.) Not sure, and maybe both have been used over the years. I think of it as being not as classy a material as pickbone or fine genuine stag, but still used on some good knives.

[thegreedygulo]

Lyle: Here's another example of what I think is H. Boker's patent stag handles. I have seen very few old Bokers with "pressed stag" handles.

[peanut740]

Lyle: I THINK the congress sleeveboard is just well worn stag. It looks more that way in hand to me than it does in the pictures. Boker did have what they called "patent stag" on some of their early knives. Personally, I think pressed stag is a very good description of it. Mark Zalesky & I had a discussion about this a few years back and this is what he had to say about these two knives. I think You're really going to like one of them.

The jumbo sleeveboard and the farmer's jack are where it gets interesting. Note that the texture appears to
be raised, not cut in, but is pretty consistent in pattern. In my experience you see this material on English knives and German knives, but not on American knives, and collectors call it "snakeskin stag" or "snakeskin bone." I really don't know how the pattern is achieved but if I'm going to guess I'll say that it may have been done like pressed horn razor handles, squished with heat and pressure into a die. Bone or stag? (I'm talking about second-cut stag here.) Not sure, and maybe both have been used over the years. I think of it as being not as classy a material as pickbone or fine genuine stag, but still used on some good knives.

Roger you went and done it now showing Lyle that farmers jack!

[wlf]

Speaking of where it belongs....

Thanks Roger. I remembered I had another pressed stag picture copied somewhere,and it was a Boker.

Yes the pattern is consistent on all knives by the same makers.I've seen Wostenholm cuts called patent stag,I will look again,but I thought that was their composition.

I think patent stag is a good name for it.

Edit: Wostenholm called their black composition imitation stag,which is different from the "Patent Stag" shown above.

[knife7knut]

Here's a few that may or may not qualify as rare:
Miller Brothers Lobster pattern with a pair of scissors rather than a pen blade.
JCN Co pull ball with a file built into the blade on both sides.
Press Button Knife Co one armed man's knife with textured aluminum scales and blade etch for A.A. Marks Co; maker of artificial limbs.
A Schrade double end auto in 3 3/8ths in size with a clip master blade(normally a spear)
Automatic Knife Co double end pen with flip levers to open blades partially.
A Case Tested XX letter opener knife with coffin handles(still haven't found a listing for one)

[dcgm4]

That's the only one I've seen except in old Boker books & hardware advertising. Here's a page from Boker's 1928 catalog that shows a couple of sleeveboard congress patterns.

Thanks for sharing that catalog excerpt, greedy. It's nice to know there is old documentation of these sleeveboard congresses. When I first acquired the Bannister and couldn't find the pattern in Levine's it made me wonder if the knife had been reworked.

Very nice, k7k! That Press Button is sweet!

[RobesonsRme.com]

Some great and unusually patterned knives have been shown in this most interesting thread.

Double-Ended Gunstock knives are quite scarce.

I picked one made by Robeson, with four blades. off Ebay a few years ago. It's not in the best condition, but I suspect there are not very many out there.

Charlie Noyes

[djknife13]

I've posted this knife on other sites but it probably should be on this site too. I didn't think of it until I saw Knife7Knut's addition. This is an early knife distributed after the civil war before Schrade began making the auto version of these one armed man's knives. ___Dave

[knife7knut]

I've posted this knife on other sites but it probably should be on this site too. I didn't think of it until I saw Knife7Knut's addition. This is an early knife distributed after the civil war before Schrade began making the auto version of these one armed man's knives. ___Dave

Dave: Does the button slide on that one or is the blade designed to slide back and Forth? I have a small two blade knife around somewhere that you open the blade normally(with the nail mark)and then push the blade back slightly to lock it in position. Made in Germany I think and has French ivory scales.

[thegreedygulo]

Nice knives knife7knut.

[knife7knut]

Nice knives knife7knut.

Thank you sir;I love unusual knives.That has been the focus of my collection for some time now.

[peanut740]

I've posted this knife on other sites but it probably should be on this site too. I didn't think of it until I saw Knife7Knut's addition. This is an early knife distributed after the civil war before Schrade began making the auto version of these one armed man's knives. ___Dave

Someone has an ad in this month's Knife Magazine looking for one of these.

[djknife13]

I've posted this knife on other sites but it probably should be on this site too. I didn't think of it until I saw Knife7Knut's addition. This is an early knife distributed after the civil war before Schrade began making the auto version of these one armed man's knives. ___Dave

Someone has an ad in this month's Knife Magazine looking for one of these.

We have been EMailing back and forth but for now I don't have any interest in selling. I have had several pretty tempting offers but I got the knife from a friend and it was her one armed Grandfathers knife so it would be a hard one for me to sell.___Dave

[djknife13]

I've posted this knife on other sites but it probably should be on this site too. I didn't think of it until I saw Knife7Knut's addition. This is an early knife distributed after the civil war before Schrade began making the auto version of these one armed man's knives. ___Dave

Dave: Does the button slide on that one or is the blade designed to slide back and Forth? I have a small two blade knife around somewhere that you open the blade normally(with the nail mark)and then push the blade back slightly to lock it in position. Made in Germany I think and has French ivory scales.

The button slides the blade out of the handle and pivots it around and into the slot to secure it in place to cut and eat. The blade is very sharp on the outside curve and you cut with a rocking motion. ___Dave

[wlf]

Nice assortment,as usual , of unusual knives Ray.

Dave sounds as if that knife has some value, more in it's history than monetarily.