All About Pocket Knives

My father past away back in 96 and left me and my brother his case knife collection. We never concidered selling the collection but a few weeks ago my brother past away so I am concidering selling this collection.

There are several hundred kives, they seem to be organized by stamping and about 40% of them are XX USA no dots, 40% XX USA with dots, and 20% lightning S with dots.

The majority are bone and stag. One complete set of blue scroll 5????.

The question is, where to I go from here to evaluate the worth of this collection? I have used the price guide here to look at about 20% of them and they show from $50 to $1200 each. I know I should catalog each of them and do some research.

Also, what is a good product to put on the knives to prevent corrosion? 90% of these knives are near mint to mint condition and I want to keep it that way. I have one entire roll (felt lined leather roll with mounts for the knives) that is decompossing and leaving residue on some of them. It wipes off easy but I do not want to take any chances.

Thanks for any directions!

Brantel

Sir,

You need immediate help or you risk losing considerable value on those knives. I would be more than glad to help you if you would like to PM me. I am not a dealer in CASE knives but I do know a thing or two about them and I don't like to see anyone get taken. I am sure that others will have comments too, so you will need to see who you can trust. Best of luck to you with however you proceed.

Brantel,
God is shining down on you. You couldn't have landed at a better and more honest place than you just did. I will go ahead and personally vouch for pa knives as he is a force here, and he is absolutely correct in that if you need the help it certainly sounds as you do, your having a "friend" who knows knives (in general) is invaluable. His offer of help/service is invaluable and forthright. It could literally mean the difference of multiple-thousands of dollars. If your initial assesment is remotely right, the folks you sell to will be more than happy to buy/acquire the knives at current value. I am also positive Mr pa knives would have no trouble flooding you with abundantly positive and honest references as to his expertise and honesty, and,,,most important, one memebr of this site, defintely "in the know" of knives.
I would also like to offer any services or help you may require above and beyond pa's, I cannot think of any, but there is the offer. I am sorry for your loss, but this is a good and positive step to honor your Father and brother's memory by doing this collection the justice it seems to deserve.
Take care now,,-Glenn

To protect my knives I clean them with Happich Simichrome and then follow that with Renaissance Wax. Try to avoid fingerprints, and keep your knives where the climatic conditions are constant. You might also want to avoid direct contact with leather. From time to time mineral oil is good for natural handle material like bone and stag. It is impossible to give estimates on the worth of your collection without first seeing it. I can't help remembering last June at Parker's Show at Pigeon Forge, there was a young college age girl there. She was selling her deceased daddys collection for college funds. She rented a table and was set up right next to Mr. Jim Sargent who was helping her price her knives. What a noble act by the strait shootin Mr. Sargent. Whether you decide to sell directly to collectors by renting a table at a knife show or sell complete, I honestly believe Jim would be fair with you. Sorry about the loss of your loved ones. Good Luck.
Gary Moore

Wow,

You all are being very sincere and helpfull. Living in East Tennessee seems to be a plus due to the fact that it seems that Pigeon Forge seems to be a hot spot for collectors and shows.

My interest in selling these knives is not only to protect the value but to also pass on the legacy that my father spent 30 or more years collecting. He spent years and years going to shows, small swapmeets, and meeting people like the guy that used to setup and sell out of a van (I only remember him as "Red")

The bottom line is that I want these knives to go to people that will take care of them and appreciate them.

Currently I am cataloging the collection and will post back a listing soon.

Thanks very much for the help thus far, I think that I found the right place to start.

Brantel

If you do not have the time or knowledge; You could think about auctioning them off. There are several companies & folks who specialize in cutlery items. Two, I know of in East 10 E C.
Think also about doing it in conjunction with one of the larger knife shows. That way you will get a good mix of dealers and collectors as bidders.

Bryan here also offers this service online. Click on the link for Knife-Auctions.com for info or click on link for 'Cosignment' on the home page here.

Go to http://www.knifeworld.com and get a free three month subscription as a starting point. You may want to subscribe later also.

Just make sure you get someone who knows knives, they will know what you got and what will bring the best price.
JMO

9ball

BTW: If there is any Celluloid handled knives mixed in there, I would suggest you keep them away from the others. And do not store anything in leather.

Brantel, your thoughts are refreshing. You are right sir, the folks who will appreciate them the most are the small guys and not just a broker or dealer who looks for a profit, if you have the time and incling, I fopr one would love to see that list and have an oppurtunity to purchase one, a few, or, as many as my current girl will let me get away with. Sounds really good.-Glenn
By the way, if you are looking for the polish or Ren-Wax eluded to, you can link to my AAPK store and find them all there, and the great microfiber cloths too. Thanks again for your thoughts, I pray this will help you to see how happy people become to realize a treasure.
-Glenn

Will this volley EVER end???

Brantel,
Firstly like all the others have alreafy said, we here are very sorry for you loss. Know that above all else you are truely among friends on this site. There are many great people....great in character as well informed in knives Just about any question you may have concerning knives can and will be answered here. Now concerning your collection... certainly some pics will greatly help in answering questions , and you've got a big collection there so I guess that once you complie a list many of us will be asking for a copy. You my friend are certainly off on the right foot...P.A. Knives is "VERY" knowledgeable and well respected here, you can't go wrong with his advice.
Again, If you just wanna talk some time just pm me here, I too ahve lost my dad not too long ago. God will get you through it.
Take care...and keep in touch with us here...you're among friends.

later, Keith J. WT3L

Thanks everyone for the help....

After much thought and discussions with lots of people and pa knives,

I will be Ebaying my collection.

Please see the seller ID "Brantel" for a few weeks or months till I get them all listed and sold.

Thanks!

Brantel

Thanks everyone for the help....

After much thought and discussions with lots of people and pa knives,

I will be Ebaying my collection.

Please see the seller ID "Brantel" for a few weeks or months till I get them all listed and sold.

Thanks!

Brantel

You made a good decision Brantel.

This way you can target an even larger market, just be aware of some of the scams if your are selling Rare/High End pieces.
I didnot know you are familiar with using eBay. You might learn to like/keep some of these knives yourself.


Good Luck Spreading the Love & I will be watching here.

9ball

Hello,
I have another batch up for auction on Ebay. You can check them out under seller id "brantel". I have about 90 more knives to sell so please bookmark my id and check back often.

If you look at my feedback, you will find that I am a very honest seller and that I represent my knives as well as possible.

Thanks for the concideration!
Brantel

I saw some that you have for sale on E Bay Brantel.
Looks like by the bandage on your thumb you even cleaned some too.

Not to be noise but how did you find this site?

If I my quote Glenn (God is shining down on you). Glen helped my right off in the right way to protect my knives.

This site is so SUPER it’s unreal. I have learned so much here and most go out of their way to help any one and not just to make a buck. So even after you sell some of your knives. I hope your keep some for your self. Then keep coming back here just to talk and look at some super knives from the SUPER guys here. I fell you may have some stories to share with us if you have the time. I would like to hear some of them too.

Ken,

Yes, Glenn was a great help in my decision to use Ebay to get these knives back to the people that appreciate them most. I have received cuts on most of my fingers while photographing about 100 of these so far. The latest was a small blade that decided to snap shut at the wrong moment....

When I say my knives have excellent snap and razor sharp edges, I ain't kidding.

I found this site by using the price guide as a way to get some clue what these knives were worth.

It is a testimony to the hobby of knive collecting in that while I have been listing some 100 knives so far on Ebay, they have a way of growing on you as you start to examine each one, learn their characteristics, look at the way their made etc. It is almost addictive.

Thanks for the comments.
Brantel

Hey Brantel,

Watch out for those whittlers. I've found those to be the most dangerous when trying to open all the blades for pictures.

By the way... Sounds like maybe you should hold a few back to keep... It's a great hobby and we'd like to see you stick around here.

Bryan

Bryan wrote:Hey Brantel,

Watch out for those whittlers. I've found those to be the most dangerous when trying to open all the blades for pictures.

By the way... Sounds like maybe you should hold a few back to keep... It's a great hobby and we'd like to see you stick around here.

Bryan

I'll second that. I cleaned and photographed 2 or 3 hundred or so knives. I cut myself 3 times on those little 3 1/8 inch Bulldog Seductress Whittlers. Usually it was the small and sharp coping blade.