All About Pocket Knives

Joe that’s a beautiful quill pen folder

Thanks so much, Lloyd

I have to add the same: that is The Nicest Tortoise i have ever seen. Some are dried out and cracked and others are intact but with a dull surface.
This one shows why it was a highly prized knife handle. I have not seen this 'beauty' in a vintage tortoise handle before. Thanks for showing it.
Now you have the responsibility to keep it perfect & bright. How does one maintain a tortoise ? I don't know but from the number of 'bad' ones there must be certain conditions needed for full preservation.
kj

This one is not really in my collection wheelhouse but as we say It spoke to me so I brought it home from the Blade Show.

Nice one Greg! That would speak to me also How long is it closed?

Thanks Lloyd! It's 3 inches exactly.

Sweet Northfield Greg ... Northfield knives do tend to speak to us pretty well

They sure do, and that one is a beauty Greg.
Nice catch and thanks for showing it.

If this knife had wood handles it would be called a "Boys' Knife" but i think this is more intended as a "Ladies Knife". I wonder what it was called in a Northfield catalog, if there was such a thing.
Beautiful knife, great condition. Now you have the responsibility of maintaining this condition. Never handle it over a wood or tile floor.
kj

Thanks for all the kind comments. It is a bit more petite than a boys knife and may have been a ladies knife.

Very nice, Greg!

danno50 wrote:Very nice, Greg!

Thanks Dan!

My only Northfield, 3in. ivory I believe, snaps open and closing.

Beauty Bill .... No doubt ivory and excellent condition!! Great score - Northfield knives have not been easy to find at all for me - still would like to score a Northfield Boys knife among others to fill a gap in that subcollection - just no luck in all my searching

That is a beautiful little knife, Bill. I'm glad you got one.
Thanks for showing it here.

Thanks Lee and Joe. I was really happy to find it.

Old ivory knives are very nice Bill.

Thanks Lyle

Cool lookin' knife Bill.
Talking about hard to get... I've been lookin' to score a nice Northfield for nearly a year now, but no luck yet...
did pick up another Excelsior this past Saturday at the Lehigh Valley Knife Show.
This one has the straight line tang stamp verses the curved one I picked up back in July from eBay.
I've read that Northfield bought Excelsior & continued making that brand.
Was one style tang stamp used by Northfield vs another when it was a stand alone company?

Very nice knives Ken, especially the bone I'm in the same boat as you, I can't find an Excelsior, and you can't find a Northfield.

Ken, I can't answer your question. I'm not near my books.
Not sure that would give you an answer anyway but don't throw them out.

Very nice knives.

Thanks Joe... Since they are pieces of history... I would never think of throwing them out...

I can’t access Goins because it is not within reach but will say this about Excelsior Knife Co - many assume because the company is listed as 1880-1884 provides no evidence it was made in that time period - straight or arched stamp - Northfield after buying and incorporating Excelsior into the Northfield shop continued using the stamp on knives until approximately 1904... thus a knife marked Excelsior could have been made anytime in that time frame... and Northfield stamps if I remember correctly are also impossible to date in terms of production... David Anthony’s book on Great Eastern Cutlery has a good informative chapter on Northfield but do not believe the answer for stamps is definitive from my recollection.... Northfield supposedly also used UNXLD on knives but when in terms of a date I have no clue.... I’ve seen very few Northfields with that stamp... I have 2 Northfields and 2 Excelsior knives - again while I can say they are rare it may be they reside mostly in collections and not for sale .. ie there may have been alot made but are hidden away...

Note in edit - after Northfield closed Henry Gill got a lot of the blades and still made Northfield knives - how is one to know which were original to the Northfield shop or came from Gill’s cutlery shop afterwards ... There was a Northfield fixed blade Henry Gill made for WWII soldiers - those for sure are known as his work and the price tag on them is high...

Here are 3 of my Northfields. The two big ones show considerable wear and the pearl has near full blades. The English Jack still has "Hunter's Pride" etched out on the blade. I have one more, a celluloid jack that I'm not sure where is hiding at the moment. ___Dave

Nice knives Dave ... thanks for sharing those!!