Made In Japan - But Made By ??

[Madmarco]

I have this recent "Made in Japan-But Made By??" acquisition for you guys to ponder cuz the seller didn't have much to say about it!
His listing stated it's an 8" oal lockback with a SS spear-point blade, NS bolsters, brass liners pins and lanyard tube, micarta covers, is missing the swinguard, and was made prior to 1960. It displays "FLASHER" etched on the front blade, along with a rear tang stamp reading "440 STAINLESS/JAPAN".
It only weigh about 3 oz.'s and arrive completely dull. Has a comfortable walk and talk of around 4 and displays a well preserved fit and finish for a 60+ year old knife.
If anyone has any further information about this one please provide it! Thx!

[OLDE CUTLER]

I recently acquired this "Made in Japan but by who" 11 blade knife. The only markings are an F with wings on the pile side of the master and "stainless, high steel" on the mark side. It is 3 and 1/4 inches OAL closed. The covers are sterling with floral engraving. Anyone ever seen this tang stamp?

[Ridgegrass]

Can't say for certain but the only Japanese "F" brand, other than Frost, that I know of is FABICO (F.A.Bower, 1950's), who imported from Japan and Germany. Good luck with it, nice piece. J.O'.

[Ridgegrass]

O.C., I was thinking it could just be the mark of an American jeweler or retailer who sold Japanese-made gents' knives?? I've seen that situation before with Italian, Japanese, Czech, etc. items. You've got a little mystery there. J.O'.

[OLDE CUTLER]

O.C., I was thinking it could just be the mark of an American jeweler or retailer who sold Japanese-made gents' knives?? I've seen that situation before with Italian, Japanese, Czech, etc. items. You've got a little mystery there. J.O'.

Thanks for your info. I should have posted a picture of the knife with blades open. There are 11 blades, including a golf divot tool and a ripper blade that only opens half way.

[Ridgegrass]

Could that be a wine cutter? It has a corkscrew. That's a really nice piece. Must've been from a jewelry/gift shop. Surprised its not initialed. J.O'.

[OLDE CUTLER]

Could that be a wine cutter? It has a corkscrew. That's a really nice piece. Must've been from a jewelry/gift shop. Surprised its not initialed. J.O'.

Yes, one scale has a square blank area for personalizing, but has not been used. Not sure how a wine cutter works.

[Ridgegrass]

Some wines, especially sparkling wines like champagne, have a thick, foil wrap and a light wire securing the cork.These must be removed to get the cork out. That short, usually heavier, hook blade does the job. I'm just guessing that's what it is because there's a corkscrew. Before the "crown" bottle cap was invented, most bottles, not just wine, had corks, so a corkscrew was a necessity, Here's a modern version of the same idea. There are lots of styles, usually at some angle to the frame to give it better purchase. Again, that's a really nice knife. J.O'.

[New_Windsor_NY]

The following four, fob or key ring, pattern or style of pocket knives, were among various groups or lots of pocket knives that I have purchased over the last couple of years. They now become my latest examples to be posted under this topic or thread. Not one of these pocket knives was the actual target of, or reason for, my purchase. They are however, in good enough condition to be added to my general, pocket knife collection. ALL four are JAPAN, one blade, one tang stamp, 1 1/2" closed (not including the bail), fob or key ring, pattern or style of pocket knives. One pocket knife is missing the bail. ALL four of the main blade front tang stamps say, "JAPAN" One is an advertising pocket knife. The main handle side says, "CAFE-' 16 ' and the other handle side says "MURDO, S. DAK." ALL four blades have a good half stop. ALL four blades have a good opening and closing snap. Overall, ALL four pocket knives are in FAIR+ to GOOD condition. ALL four pocket knives needed some degree of cleaning. I took some pictures and here they are.
Caption(s), if any, are on the BOTTOM of the corresponding picture(s).
Click on a picture to ENLARGE.

[Dan In MI]

I like the green on the advertising knife. Neat little group!

[New_Windsor_NY]

I.....

Thank you, Dan.

[knife7knut]

Here is one that fits this category; appears to be a copy of a S&W folder(pictured next to one). A paper inside the belt pouch stated it was made in Japan(but not by whom) for the S. S. Kresge(now K-Mart). Very well-made,

[Thoren39]

I recently acquired this "Made in Japan but by who" 11 blade knife. The only markings are an F with wings on the pile side of the master and "stainless, high steel" on the mark side. It is 3 and 1/4 inches OAL closed. The covers are sterling with floral engraving. Anyone ever seen this tang stamp?

IMG_5285.JPG
IMG_5286.JPG

I'd be interested in buying this from you if you decide to sell it.

[OLDE CUTLER]

I recently acquired this "Made in Japan but by who" 11 blade knife. The only markings are an F with wings on the pile side of the master and "stainless, high steel" on the mark side. It is 3 and 1/4 inches OAL closed. The covers are sterling with floral engraving. Anyone ever seen this tang stamp?

IMG_5285.JPG
IMG_5286.JPG

I'd be interested in buying this from you if you decide to sell it.

Not for sale.

[ThatWeirdKnifeGuy]

Some wines, especially sparkling wines like champagne, have a thick, foil wrap and a light wire securing the cork.These must be removed to get the cork out. That short, usually heavier, hook blade does the job. I'm just guessing that's what it is because there's a corkscrew. Before the "crown" bottle cap was invented, most bottles, not just wine, had corks, so a corkscrew was a necessity, Here's a modern version of the same idea. There are lots of styles, usually at some angle to the frame to give it better purchase. Again, that's a really nice knife. J.O'.

The scalloped/serrated version shown on your sommelier's knife is listed as a citrus peeler when its utilized in swiss army knives. So maybe the straight edge would be for foil so it would be a straighter cut, the serrated citrus peeler for making zest strips for fancy cocktails.

Nowadays they just have twist off caps, or wine comes in plastic bags in a box with a spigot.

[Thoren39]

I recently acquired this "Made in Japan but by who" 11 blade knife. The only markings are an F with wings on the pile side of the master and "stainless, high steel" on the mark side. It is 3 and 1/4 inches OAL closed. The covers are sterling with floral engraving. Anyone ever seen this tang stamp?

IMG_5285.JPG
IMG_5286.JPG

I'd be interested in buying this from you if you decide to sell it.

Not for sale.

Thanks for replying.

Here's what I have learned:

The "F" stands for Fujimoto, Yasuhiro who was a pioneer among Japanese pocket knife makers. He sometimes traveled to America for knife shows where he would display complicated multi-tool designs as a show of skill.

Working out of Tokyo for Yamada Knife (YAX, now known as Yaxell), his small workshop created many high-quality knives for domestic and international markets. The sterling silver-plated models seem to have been quite popular in post-WW2 America. I believe they were made sometime around the 40s to 60s. In America, they were often imported by a company called Stainless Oriental and bear that tang stamp. Notably, he once made a large butcher's knife that was used by the CIA in the 1950s.

Most of the collectors of his knives are located in Japan, as he's highly esteemed there as one of the founders of the pocket knife scene. They even dubbed him "The Last Craftsman."

[Mumbleypeg]

Thoren39, welcome to AAPK. It’s great having a new number who knows (or is willing to research) and share info about any area of cutlery history! Please continue to share.

Ken

[OLDE CUTLER]

I'd be interested in buying this from you if you decide to sell it.

Not for sale.

Thanks for replying.

Here's what I have learned:

The "F" stands for Fujimoto, Yasuhiro who was a pioneer among Japanese pocket knife makers. He sometimes traveled to America for knife shows where he would display complicated multi-tool designs as a show of skill.

Working out of Tokyo for Yamada Knife (YAX, now known as Yaxell), his small workshop created many high-quality knives for domestic and international markets. The sterling silver-plated models seem to have been quite popular in post-WW2 America. I believe they were made sometime around the 40s to 60s. In America, they were often imported by a company called Stainless Oriental and bear that tang stamp. Notably, he once made a large butcher's knife that was used by the CIA in the 1950s.

Most of the collectors of his knives are located in Japan, as he's highly esteemed there as one of the founders of the pocket knife scene. They even dubbed him "The Last Craftsman."

Wow, thanks for the research and information. The knife obviously also has a metal value with the handle material being sterling silver.

[Thoren39]

Not for sale.

Thanks for replying.

Here's what I have learned:

The "F" stands for Fujimoto, Yasuhiro who was a pioneer among Japanese pocket knife makers. He sometimes traveled to America for knife shows where he would display complicated multi-tool designs as a show of skill.

Working out of Tokyo for Yamada Knife (YAX, now known as Yaxell), his small workshop created many high-quality knives for domestic and international markets. The sterling silver-plated models seem to have been quite popular in post-WW2 America. I believe they were made sometime around the 40s to 60s. In America, they were often imported by a company called Stainless Oriental and bear that tang stamp. Notably, he once made a large butcher's knife that was used by the CIA in the 1950s.

Most of the collectors of his knives are located in Japan, as he's highly esteemed there as one of the founders of the pocket knife scene. They even dubbed him "The Last Craftsman."

Wow, thanks for the research and information. The knife obviously also has a metal value with the handle material being sterling silver.

No problem! Yours is in great condition. I can tell because the corkscrew isn't bent (common issue) and the thin grooves on the silver engraving haven't smoothed at all from pocket wear.

[New_Windsor_NY]

Not too recently, this pocket knife arrived in a group or lot of pocket knives that I purchased. It now becomes my latest example to be posted under this topic or thread. I did NOT purchase the group or lot of pocket knives to obtain this particular pocket knife. However, it did turn out to be a keeper and it did get added to my general, "foreign born", pocket knife accumulation. It is a JAPAN, two blades, six tools (a can opener, a cap lifter or bottle opener, scissors, a punch or awl, a file and a corkscrew), 2 1/4" closed (not including the bail), "Disneyland", souvenir or tourist pocket knife. The main blade front tang stamp says, "JAPAN" The shield says, "Disneyland - WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS" Overall, this pocket knife is in VERY GOOD condition. The blades and the tools did need a little cleaning. I took some pictures and here it is.
Caption(s), if any, are on the BOTTOM of the corresponding picture(s).
Click on a picture to ENLARGE.

[GringoBombero]

Wow! That Disney knife is one of the coolest damn things I've seen here on AAPK! Thanks for sharing!

[GringoBombero]

Here's my mystery Japanese knife.
Just has a stainless steel stamp on the pile side along with a Japan blade etch.

It feels like a very nice quality lockback. It has a beautiful mother of pearl inlay. I'm just kinda surprised such a nice piece doesnt have a makers mark.

Any ideas?
TIA

[Madmarco]

The only thing I know about your knife, G-B, is that it's very cool and I have a copy!

[New_Windsor_NY]

Wow.....

Thank you, GringoBombero.
You're welcome, GringoBombero.

[GringoBombero]

The only thing I know about your knife, G-B, is that it's very cool and I have a copy!
WIN_20240325_15_33_47_Pro.jpgWIN_20240325_15_34_32_Pro.jpg

Nice!
I also have another one around here which lost it's inlay. So it seems they shouldn't be too uncommon of a knife.