Imperial Easy-Opener

[WelderBob]

I found this Imperial jack a while back and it is listed in Michael Silvey's book on U.S. military Knives. I'm wondering which branch of the service used it and if was WWll or later...knife appears to have never been used, it's in excellent shape for WWll era knife.

Bob

[knife7knut]

Beautiful old Imperial!!! Don't think it is the same as in the Silvey book.Those knives had a manicure blade as a secondary blade.I have one by Schatt&Morgan and another one by W.R.Case and Sons Bradford.
No matter;that knife is pristine.

[blademaker]

Nice old Imperial and nice pics! Thanks for sharing....now I know what mine should look like with full blades.

Craig

[coffeecup]

Probably navy issue but in the course of interviewing WWII vets over the past 30 years I've heard Army/Air Corps vets, and even Merchant Marines, claim these were issued to them. I suspect they were grabbed by anyone who recognized they were (and are) a handy little knife.

I've got a dozen or so (including the one in my pocket), but WelderBob I've never seen an Imperial in such nice condition. Congrats!

[WelderBob]

Thank's for the info guys...military or not they are well made and I would of snaged one too.
Crag I think yours got used while mine laid in a drawer...waiting to be found...

[orvet]

Beautiful old Imperial!!! Don't think it is the same as in the Silvey book.Those knives had a manicure blade as a secondary blade.I have one by Schatt&Morgan and another one by W.R.Case and Sons Bradford.
No matter;that knife is pristine.

I think I must have a different book by Silvey than you do.
I am referencing Pocket Knives of the United States Military, by Michael Silvey, printed 2002.
In that book on page 65 it shows 6 easy open jacks, none with manicure blades.

Ironically all knives on that page, except the Imperial, have a clevis for a lanyard.
On the next page Silvey mentions that these were "Navy general utility knives," though I am used they were used in other branch as well.


Bob-
Does yours have steel fittings or brass and nickel silver? I think most of mine have steel fittings.
I have several of these and they are one of my favorite patterns and just a great user pattern!

Please let me know if you ever decide you want to get rid of that one!


Here is one of mine that has some miles on it.
It is nice to see yours and see what they looked like new!

Thanks for sharing it with us!

Dale

[Navihawk]

Here's a couple, an all steel 4 line Camillus





And an Imperial with NS.

[WelderBob]

Dale, I just got a copy of Silvey's book and on page 68 there is a pic of an Imperial that looks
identical to mine. The one I have has nickel bolsters, bail and brass liners...pins are brass and
nickel. I'm thinking this one was made before or right at the start of WWll. I see a few things
different on yours...the pins look larger and the handle cut out is a bit forward. On the few I've seen the pen blade seem's to be used the most and the master's are pretty full...I'm trying
to figure that one out.
I've renewed my interest in military knives Dale so I may hold on to this one...

Bob

[Miller Bro's]

Bob,

Your knife is an early WWII era U.S Army easy open jack. The later war models had all steel mounts. The pen blade is stamped U.S.A.(United States Army), most think it means United States Of America. The knives that were not military contract do not have any markings on the pen blade, just the main blade is stamped Imperial. Camillus also made them as well as others. Imperial also made a 4-blade utility knife, this model had the shield stamped U.S.A.

Nice knife in great condition!

[Desktop]

I saw this post and remembered I have a box with a handful of knives some of which looks like easy open knives. I got these from a friend who bought some stuff from a flooded basement. The knives are all rusty and many of them have broken scales. I tried to open some of the blades last year but couldn't. I don't even know who made them. They've been in this box for a while haven't had the time to see if some of them could be cleaned up. Any ideas what they are? Worth trying to clean up some of them?

[Miller Bro's]

I see a nice Robeson on the bottom of that pile in the middle. The rest are Camillus and Imperial.

The Robeson does not look too bad, the rest are parts knives.

What a shame they got wet

[Navihawk]

throw that robesomn in some mineral oil for a week. rub it down with a cloth.
What a cryin shame.

[coffeecup]

I saw this post and remembered I have a box with a handful of knives some of which looks like easy open knives. I got these from a friend who bought some stuff from a flooded basement. The knives are all rusty and many of them have broken scales. I tried to open some of the blades last year but couldn't. I don't even know who made them. They've been in this box for a while haven't had the time to see if some of them could be cleaned up. Any ideas what they are? Worth trying to clean up some of them?

Desktop, I've been thinking about these for a while and while they may not be "worth" ($$) cleaning up, they might be worth it as users. These old easy-openers are just darn nice EDCs. Every time I get one as a user someone comes along and talks me out of it. A lot of older folks (in their 70s and 80s) seem to like them for both nostalgia and because they can actually open them without another tool.

[Jody744]

in the last pic above the 2 blade in the middle on top
looks functional. looks like it's missing the bail though

[Desktop]

Thanks coffeecup and Jody744!
I've sent them off for closer inspection and clean-up.
There are two Imperials and I think one of them still has the bail.
We'll see what comes out of it - I'll post some pics when they get back!

Thanks all!

[coffeecup]

I've got a couple of parts knives if you need anything along those lines.

[268bull]

I bought an Imperial Easy-opener today. Everything about the knife compares to the pictures shown with exception to the handle material. My knife is handled with black, jigged, synthetic material. I don't believe the knife to be of WW2 vintage, however, does anyone know if that was the case that Imperial went to using a synthetic handle in later production? What years did Imperial produce the Easy-Opener for the military? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Dale H.

[coffeecup]

I bought an Imperial Easy-opener today. Everything about the knife compares to the pictures shown with exception to the handle material. My knife is handled with black, jigged, synthetic material. I don't believe the knife to be of WW2 vintage, however, does anyone know if that was the case that Imperial went to using a synthetic handle in later production? What years did Imperial produce the Easy-Opener for the military? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Dale H.

As far as I know, there was no WWII military production with composition handles. Celluloid has a bit of a flammability problem, which the military saw as a Bad Thing. The knife could have been made pre- or post-war, check out the tang stamp dating information here: http://allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_f ... al+marking

[268bull]

Thanks Coffeecup for the web page referal. According to that, the knife was made between 1936-1952. So my guess is that it's a post war manufacture. It's a much sturdier built knife compared to other imperials I've handled. Thanks again, Dale H.

[Gunstock Jack]

I guess there must be a lot of these old knives around, WelderBob, but that is prob'ly the nicest one I've seen. Here's a couple of mine, including one I rebuilt out of two identical worn out, broken bladed, 4 line Camillus. The first is a Cami, the second a USA marked Imperial, and the third a Pal. The Cami has squared tangs on both blades, the Imp has rounded on both, and the Pal has rounded master and squared pen. The rebuild has stabilized cherry burl slabs and I removed the bail. Makes a great EDC!

[WelderBob]

Jack, Thank's for the pic's...nice looking bone on those knives. The third one down with the
bail through the bolster, does it have steel liners and bolsters..?

That's a nice looking rebuild there...

Thank's
Bob

[Gunstock Jack]

Bob, the bolsters on the PAL are NS and it has brass liners. When I first got the knife, I thought there was something wrong with it, as the master blade does not bear on the spring at any time through its sweep. On closer inspection, I saw that the tang is completely ground round, but the pen tang is squared. The master opens real easy, though.

[WelderBob]

Thank you Jack, The one I had years back was all steel, but I can't recall if the blades
had half stops.

Bob

[RobesonsRme.com]

I agree with M.B. that the Imperial that started this thread is an U.S. Army knife. Notice how much larger the "U.S.A." stamp on the pen blade is compared to the manufacturer's stamp on the master. I'm pretty certain that stands for United States Army, not United States of America.

I also agree with M.B. that the little EO without the bail lying in the middle of all that rust is most likely a Robeson. The bone is a dead give-away for me.

I'd get that knife out of that bowl and immerse in some penetrating oil for a few days.

Here's an unmarked, as to manufacturer, but obviously a Robeson made knife marked only, "U.S.A." that I bought off Ebay last year. I think the bone is similar to that in the bottom of that bowl.

Charlie Noyes

[Miller Bro's]

Thanks coffeecup and Jody744!
I've sent them off for closer inspection and clean-up.
There are two Imperials and I think one of them still has the bail.
We'll see what comes out of it - I'll post some pics when they get back!

Thanks all!

Any pictures of how they turned out?