All About Pocket Knives

I recently got my first vintage hobo knife and it has piqued my interest. It was made by A. F. Bannister & Co. and, though not in the best shape, it's one of the coolest knives I've ever owned. So, with a newfound interest in hobos, I'm hoping some of you will show me your examples.

Hope ya don't mind newer ones my daughter Catie loves them

Here's a few from my collection:
#1 is a set marked,"Bethlehem March 1920" on the purse.
#2 is a Camillus 4 line circa 1918 in like new condition.
#3 is an Edward Wusthof set.
#4 is two pair of Edward Wusthof pull apart sets;one with pearl sides and the other with ivory.
#5 is a modern Hubertus take apart set.
#6 is a crudely made knife and fork marked,"M.A.M."and a word underneath that I can't read.
#7 is a German set;a souvenir of the MV(Motor Vessel)Bluenose,a ship of Canadian registry.This set must have sat in the sun as one side of the scales are darker than the other.
#8 is a set with two handles marked,"D.R.G.M."
#9 is a set marked,"Reico Germany"with faux tortoise shell scales.

For some reason the first picture did not come up so here it is:
Also some more pictures.

#1 A Salm knife and fork set in abalone.This set is really small;only about 5" long.
#2 an unmarked set with a plastic handle.
#3 Another unmarked set with fluted steel handles.
#4 Still another unmarked set in a sheath which came in the oval aluminum drinking cup.
#5 Another unmarked set in a sheath inside a plastic drinking cup.

with the economy the way it is- it is a good time as any to be a Hobo. I'm ready with this one marked CORICAMA Made In Italy
nice horn scales!

Here's my great grandfather's old Case 6251..

LC wrote:Hope ya don't mind newer ones my daughter Catie loves them

New, old...it's all good.

Owd Wullie,

WOW You must be proud of that knife! It is a really good looking knife.

Believe it or not, but that knife got me interested in pocket knives after a 30 year hiatus.

It belonged to my great paternal Grandfather. He carried it in South America in the early part of the 20th century whilst working for Standard Oil Company.

When I got it, the main blade pin was missing. I put a 1/8th brass rod in it and left it a bit proud so I could replace it with the proper pin stock some day.

Got some more pics here if you're interested.
http://s658.photobucket.com/albums/uu30 ... e_01/Hobo/

Thanks,
W

Owd Wullie that is one fantastic hobo! with the family history to boot. Here are some more hobo's I have...

Wullie that is the finest example of a Hobo that could ever be

Robeson made a three blade cocobola handled take apart hobo and marketed them as both Robeson and Terrier brands. Mike Losicco has a Terrier, I do not.

I've had two Robesons. The one I own now is really nice. It has a nice blade etch, "KUCO" with an arrow through it. I do not know who or what that might have been.

As an advertiser, it does not have a pattern number, but Robeson did number the pattern 231322. The Terrier would have been numbered 322231.

I have some photos of a Terrier hobo that sold on Ebay fairly recently. As you can see from the name I gave the Ebay photo, the knife sold for $375.00.

The Terrier would date 1910-1916. I suspect the Robeson to be of similar age +/-. It has a tang stamp that dates pre-1922.

WOW!!! Some REALLY great pieces in this post!As said before;doesn't matter if they are new or old,they're all great!
Here is my latest set from the 'bay;a very inexpensive set in the original jacket complete with instructions in..........Spanish!Considering it was made in Spain that is pretty logical.

Muchas Gracias Sr, Cabeza Grande!! ( Thanks Big Head )

There is some REALLY awesome stuff coming out of the closets here.

Keep 'em coming.

Some really amazing knives everyone!
I can't believe how many different styles of hobo knives there are! Keep 'em coming!

Just found a couple of pictures of my Great Grandfather. His name was John A Clifft. The pictures were taken in Carrizo Springs, TX. This one is around WWI sometime.


This picture was taken around 1930. In the front row, L-R, is my father, J A Clifft, Maude Clifft, my grandfather (in jodphurs and knee boots) and my grandmother.
The back row is all aunts and their husbands. JA and Maude Clifft had 5 daughters and no sons.


My Grandfather was a Lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps of the Us Army. He referred to it as the Jewish cavalry. I recall dad telling me that they were stationed out around or at Truth or Consequences, NM about that time in his life.

Anyway, JA Clifft is the man that carried my old Case hobo off to S America and back.

I thought it would be good to revive this thread.

I got some more great information from Paul Tsujimoto at Ka-bar (My thanks to him!). He told me that this knife is a Union Cutlery 7291 K & F. The stamp on the knife is called a “North American Union” stamp and was first used after the move to Olean, NY. Approximate date using this stamp is 1915-1925. He also told me that the stamp & the mother of pearl does make it a rarer piece, even if the tip of the blade was probably reshaped after the tip was broken.

I am posting this under my original thread in the q & a thread. Just thought I would post it here too.

i think you should 'post' that knife to me...save you all this trouble of research..

That is a beauty, knifegirl.

Here's one of mine:

I took this picture of my train-riding pal Bill in 1975 or 1976. If you know cabooses, you should be able to identify the railroad pretty easily.

trail, that is a great image.

I don't know cabooses, but that looks like West Virginia, Kentucky or Pennsylvania.
I agree it's a great picture.
CNoyes

Thanks for the comments on my picture. It is one of my favorites. The picture was taken on the Clinchfield Railroad which ran from Spartanburg SC to Elkhorn City KY. My memory has faded to the point that I don't know if we were in NC, VA, TN or KY when I took the picture, but Appalachia is one place, regardless of jurisdictional boundaries - and yes, it includes WV and PA. Clinchfield cabooses were distinctive, they were of a pattern more commonly seen in the west, in fact identical to the ones used on Santa Fe during the period.

Bill was the leader of the pack, and when he bought a Case Sodbuster we all did. Mine is sitting on the table in front of me as I write this.

We were high school students when we hopped trains, and the railroad men often mistook us for runaways. In truth we were just out of control middle-class teenagers with a taste for adventure. The train crews were the salt of the earth, the most generous and kind people I ever met.

whew...i guess that explains why i guessed Santa Fe R&R...
there is one parked downtown clarkdale, az...a half mile away...used as a tourist information center...instead of red, it is painted green and white.

sure didn't look like arizona though...