All About Pocket Knives

I've allways wondered why there is two different styles of Cotton Sampler blades? The old rounded spear type and the big hooked spay type. Is there a reason for this?

Johnnie i stold your pictures! Hope you dont mind. If you do, come up to North Central Arkansas and we'll discuss it over some trout fishing.

hard to say....tooling? the rounded version was sold as a folding skinning knife before it became a cotton sampler. the big sheepfoot was a modified rope knife.

rig, that would be great! fishin and discussion. you bring the bait and i'll bring somethin to sip!

Did I hear something about fishin and 40 creek?..................lol

Actually Johnnie i'm used to stock tank jumping like we did when I was a kid in Central Texas. I was happy with a stringer of blue gill. But I live just South of the Buffalo River and they say its supposed to be good trout fishing! But for sure, you bring the mason jar with the sliced apple in it and i'll get the bait. We just better make sure we dont sip too much and then eat the bait ourselves!

Here is a little more history about the "cotton sampler" and its name over time.

The first illustration is from an old 1907 Schatt & Morgan catalog. It shows the pattern number but is not named. I have always wondered what the S&M salesman must have called it. Notice the half circle notch cut from the tang. I have never seen this in a real knife.

The second illustration is much different in design, close to the S&M cotton sampler pattern of today. From the Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. 1933 catalog. There is a very interesting description for the uses for this knife. Does anyone have this knife in your collection?

Third illustration, from the 1938 Maher & Grosh catalog, is the more conventional pattern but this time also called a skinning knife. Does anyone have an earlier catalog? It may have been called something in the older catalogs.

Cool old catalog information David!
Thanks for sharing!
Can you tell me where you found these old catalogs to view?
Thanks!!

The Hibbarb and the Maher cataloges I bought on Ebay. You see them occationally for sale there. The Schatt I bought from an individual.

There are three more cotton sampler illustrations on page 176 of Blade's (Levine) guide to Knives, Rogers, Russell and Remington.

As ya'll are discussing cotton samplers, I thought I'd throw in this Ebay listed S&M. Looks like a nice knife.
Please note that this is not my knife, and I'm not trying to sell it. Just thought it might interest someone here.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0329370687

Charlie Noyes

thanks for the link. i'm the first bidder.

sniped at the end!

Too bad, Johnnie. That is a nice knife.
I cannot believe that you have just now joined Ebay.
Charlie Noyes

"I cannot believe that you have just now joined Ebay."

huh? been buyin and sellin knives on ebay sense 2002.

It sold for way to much money IMO
There was something about that knife that wasn't right, I can quite put my finger on it. I don't know maybe it was just to buffed up, like somebody was trying to hide something.

How about this one? Is it too buffed up?
...CCBill...

Bill, nice knife! Can I see a pic of the tang stamp? Yours looks different from the one on e-bay.

Thanks M.B.