IKCO The Imperial Knife Company

[1967redrider]

Joe, I don't think so (on the USA stamp) but I'll check again, might have missed it.

orvet, I agree with msteele6. I think goldstone wouldn't have stripes in it.

-John

[kamagong]

I only have one Imperial, a cattleman with Rogers bone scales.

[FRJ]

I've got these two oldies.

I've got a couple of cattleman I'll have to dig out.

[Joe Dirt]

Nice un's, Joe! And great photography too.

...... Joe

[Miller Bro's]

I only have one Imperial, a cattleman with Rogers bone scales.

Very nice old Imperial, it is WW II vintage

[paulsvintage]

very nice all........this stamp was used 1938 to 1940.

[garddogg56]

GREAT thread

[msteele6]

Here are a few I picked up off eBay. The bottom knife is actually a George Worthington Clearcut that the seller was apparently unable to decipher, he had them listed as all being Imperial. I was especially after the bottom two as I thought that one of them might have the old arched stamp, alas, no such luck.

[Joe Dirt]

These have been crawling around since the '30s.

I bought the toothpick without a blade in it and was unsure who it was made by. It had been sitting around for years with a Colonial blade in it, but I never pinned it.

Then along came the Imperial spider pen, so I finally new who made them. I just happened to have a re-handled pick with the right blade in it!!

Kinda creepy, but there a couple of my favorites now.

...... Joe

[Joe Dirt]

Nice cache msteele
What a pleasant surprise with the Worthington stamp!

..... Joe

[singin46]

Very nice examples fellas! Some of these handles I have never seen before.

[thefarside]

Here are a couple IKCO's and a multicolor Imperial from the late 20's. The Green Swirl Farmers Jack has the IKCO in the diamond.

[FRJ]

Nice looking knives. That's a great looking blade on that farmers jack.

How long is the dog leg jack on top?

[thefarside]

The dog leg Jack is 3 1/16 inches closed. I agree with you on the Farmers Jack, the saber grind adds a whole different dimension to the look of the knife.

[singin46]

Those are some really great examples you have there thefarside!
Thanks for showin them and welcome to the Forum!

[orvet]

Love that Farmer Jack!!!
Welcome to AAPK!

[paulsvintage]

NICE LOOKING KNIVES &

[Joe Dirt]

That farmers jack is GREAT, farside!! The heavy swedge and crescent pull along with the grind really makes the knife!!

..... Joe

[msteele6]

Joe Dirt,

Really nice spider web cell handles on those two. I always bid on them when I get a chance but so far, no luck. One day I will find a sleeper. That saber clip blade on the toothpick really looks great in that knife.

Farside,

Nice collection, I rarely see the end of day cell handles on Imperials, I think I have one, but it's not marked. The diamond IKCO mark is also unusual, I almost always see the "IKCO" in the parallelogram. I have a feeling that the diamond mark may be older and your knife would certainly lend credence to that belief.

[FRJ]

The diamond IKCO mark is also unusual, I almost always see the "IKCO" in the parallelogram. I have a feeling that the diamond mark may be older and your knife would certainly lend credence to that belief.[/quote]

That's a nice little tidbit of information. Thanks msteele6.

[msteele6]

FRJ,

I checked in Goins' last night and he dates the "IKCO" in a diamond as 1936-1938. He actually dates the "IKCO" in a "rectangle" (I think he means a parallelogram) as being used from 1930 - 1946 IIRC.

Mark Steele

[orvet]

Farside,

Nice collection, I rarely see the end of day cell handles on Imperials, I think I have one, but it's not marked. The diamond IKCO mark is also unusual, I almost always see the "IKCO" in the parallelogram. I have a feeling that the diamond mark may be older and your knife would certainly lend credence to that belief.

I am curious about what you are referring to when you say "end of day cell handles on Imperials."

[msteele6]

Orvet,

The top knife in Farside's collection is a knife that I would call "end of day" celluloid. The reason for this name appears to be that it is a mixture of several colors, and frequently, styles of celluloid instead of a single color or style, e.g. the blue-green swirl celluloid of the trapper in the same photo, or the cracked ice celluloid of the tear drop jack. The "end of day" terminology appears to come from the fact that it looks as if all the left-over celluloid from a days production was simply melted into a pot and used to handle the knives at the end of the working day (I don't know if that actually ever happened, maybe someone with more knowledge can say).

I'm not sure if this answers the question you asked (and, for that matter, I'm not sure that it's the correct answer for the question I'm answering)

M

[orvet]

Thanks M,
That makes sense.
I usually associate that term with the stuff that get produced when a factory closes.

Thanks,
Dale

[TripleF]

This is the oldest knife I own.....currently.

Based on the tang stamping it's from 1946 to 1956.