All About Pocket Knives

I would LOVE to hear the stories this knife could tell!

Great knives in a cool thread all .... Nothing like a good pocket worn knife and that dark patina ... and in good tight condition with hard snapping blades -

I think this Waterville Harness Jack fits the ticket as a start -

A regular as one of my carries ... Pal Blade Co .... Gifted to me by Cal (tongueriver) as an 'extra' in a trade.

These are some of my edc knives!

look close and you can see this old western was once jigged bone.
Bruce

Most of the knives I acquire are to be displayed as part of a historical collection. With that in mind, I attempt to select knives that show the minimal amount of wear.... as full a blade as possible.... etc.... then when they arrive, I usually try to clean them up a bit.... take as much tarnish off the blades as I can by hand to shine them up a bit.... shine up the bolsters, backsprings & liners as much as I can, etc....

Last fall, I acquired this oddity.... a Wallkill River Works.... the economy line knife introduced by New York Knife in 1928.
Don't believe they made too many before they closed in 1931.

.... and you know, when it arrived in this condition, I felt something in my heart telling me.... "leave this one alone!"

Here's another pocket worn and dark patina oldie from Thomaston Knife Co in a pen knife -

Have this Case 35 frame that has rode in a few pockets and now rides in mine.

Sorry for the poor photo.

Here's an older CASE ('64-'69) what would qualify for Pocket Wear & Patina

6292 ten dot pocket wear and pantina my Grandpa earned.this is my Imperial Barlow with wear and patina that I earned.

Patterned patinas, a piece of scotch tape an exact knife and a little imagination and the possibilities are endless. 5 minutes and you have jaws.

Here's 2 Case knives that I bought back when I was in high school. Both of them were used and abused, they were treated as tools. The 61048 was the first knife I remember purchasing and the 62048 was probably the second. The single blade was originally an XX now with a 9 dot replacement blade. The 2 blade is a Case XX over USA that shows lots of pocket wear and patina, even though the spay blade is broken there is a small portion of the nail nick, enough to open it easily. The single blade has a forced patina and the handles show some pocket wear. My dad actually confiscated both of these knives when I went in the Marine Corps and literally wore them out!
Treefarmer

Over a century a half of use and patina, this Josef Sziraki pearl Lobster qualifies. Handmade somewhere in the 1850s by a Master Cutler in the central part of what used to be the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he was instrumental in the evolution of cutlery for that part of the western Europe.

I still carry it on occasion, mostly for weddings and funerals and more frequently than I should but it needs to be shared and begs to be used, Still it continues to age and developed a beautiful patina and hopefully do so for it's next caretaker.
This pearl is so deep and rich from years of use, the oils in everyone's hands over the years has imparted a honey gold highlight to the iridescent colors the pearl reflects from the different angles. Like I said, even the pearl has patina and character,
All the hardware fittings are German Silver including the earpick used to scoop out earwax long before the invention of the Q Tip
I have a pic of the file open somewhere i'll have to dig it up.

Case Tested pen knife.

This old Opinel and me have spent a little time together.

Joe,
What's the "flat head screw" looking thing in the end of your well used Opinel? Have I over looked that on the ones I own?
How long have y'all been together?
Treefarmer

Philip, I'm afraid I had nothing better to do during that hour of time and wanted to make the knife my own.
That screw has been in there for at least 32 years.
Thanks for asking.

Heres a 1976 old timer! With some good pocket wear!

Here are two of my favorite Pocket Wear knives.
The Case XX c1940-1964, was most likely closer to the 1940 end due to its wear? If you look closely, you can barely make out the C and A on the shield. The jigging has nearly disappeared on both sides. Looks as if the original owner did not have a blade preference, perhaps he just opened up whatever his thumbnail came to? The blades are razor sharp.
Unfortunately I have no ownership documentation on this Case. But I can assume it was an "Everyday" EDC and wore out many pockets.

My second knife is a Hammer Brand, (Yes, solid bolsters) very old. c1880-1931 not as much historical wear as the Case, but still well loved and used.

Both knives are tight, have snap and no wiggle.

KAW wrote:Most of the knives I acquire are to be displayed as part of a historical collection. With that in mind, I attempt to select knives that show the minimal amount of wear.... as full a blade as possible.... etc.... then when they arrive, I usually try to clean them up a bit.... take as much tarnish off the blades as I can by hand to shine them up a bit.... shine up the bolsters, backsprings & liners as much as I can, etc....

Last fall, I acquired this oddity.... a Wallkill River Works.... the economy line knife introduced by New York Knife in 1928.
Don't believe they made too many before they closed in 1931.

.... and you know, when it arrived in this condition, I felt something in my heart telling me.... "leave this one alone!"

I think you made a wise decision! Thanks for showing the knife here. Would like to see more of your collection.

Ken

I got a lot knives that fit here but here's 4 of my favorites. The Case's wear and tear is my fault the Crown, Queen city, and Lenox were loved by someone else before me.

There's been a few great "oldies, but goodies" since I visited last.... cool stuff

Thanks Ken... (How about that another Ken) Like I said most of my other knives wouldn't really qualify for this thread.... I started a thread called Schrade Evolution under:

Knife Forum > Brand Specific Knife Forums > Canal Street Cutlery Collector's Forum

that showcases an 80+ year old Schrade next to a 2013 Canal Street Cutlery descendant. Maybe I need to come up with thread topic like.... oh, I don't know.... "Oldies, but still got some shine".... I do have a few that would fit into that category.

Anyway, here's another oddball that definitely belongs here and would like to find out more about it.... This EO Jack is ID'd with a tang stamp F. Westpfal / Walden who had a NYCity business address. Maybe a retailer?.... all I know about him is he filed bankruptcy in May, 1917.... so I guess that makes this knife at least 100 years old.... & it looks it!!

YIKES!!!.... I know this is one ugly lookin' knife.... but it was not my intent to scare everyone away!....

I do hope someone can tell me who made this knife for Westpfal....

Goins lists "F.WESTPFAL, WALDEN N.Y." circa 1874 to 1928, with no other information given. He also lists a "F.WESTPFAL, NEW YORK" stamp as being 1874 to 1928. I believe it is likely that these are two stamps used by the same company. Perhaps the company was located in New York and some of their knives were manufactured in Walden? Company founded by Frederick Westpfal, who died in 1900. The business was continued by his four sons. No mention of who might have made knives for them.
Levine lists a "Westpfal, Frederick (&Bro.) in New York, NY as a wholesale/retail business. Knives made in US and Germany. circa 1884 to 1940.
Dan

Very interesting, Dan.
So, I guess they recovered from the May 29th, 1917 bankruptcy announced in the American Cutlery issue printed in Sept. of that year. Never found a follow up mention in the later issues. Kind of a bummer.... for that means the knife may now be less than a hundred years old....
I've been hoping I can get a knife that breaks the threshold into the 19th century... but like with this one, there's no telling if it is or isn't?
Thanks for the info.... that's what I find so great about this board!