All About Pocket Knives

name on blade is hammer i think looks like it was never used

Hi Artie;
Welcome, Cant tell much without more info. Pics of top and ends of box. also knife open showing tang stamp and ends and back of knife. There are some very knowledeable Hammer brand folks on here and with this info someone should be able to answer you.
wb

picture of tang?

looks like an imperial branded hammer brand to me. After imperial purchased the hammer brand trademark from NYKC (the year 1936), they started making the shell handled knives bearing the arm and hammer tang stamp. Does it have new york knife co. marked anywhere on the knife?

only thing on blade is hammer brand usa with a arm. inside the box is a card that reads (this lucky coin and this knife will bring good luck into your life)

other knifes. i picked up a yard sales

Nice collection Artie, I especially like the candy stripe and the hobo knife.

Thanks for sharing,

Sunburst

cool, artie

Do I see a circle tang stamp on the candy stripe?

only thing i can make out on the candy stripe knife is hartford something under that but i can't make that out.

What is that little hawkbill, top row, just a couple over from the right? TIA

that one says boker usa

I think Imperial Schrade stopped using the Hammer Brand in the early 1970's.

Dale

Hi Artie;
If the bolsters on the original question knife are solid, not a clip on then its probably before 1931. If the foregoing is true then the cel will probably be solid and not a shell. These are questions that can be cleared up with more pictures. The difference in price could be several dollars.
wb

i have no idea what the bolsters are or the cel?? lol. let me know what pictures you need and i'll post them. thanks you all for the help this is a great site and i'm glad i found it

A closeup of one end of knife and a closeup of backside of knife. Also a closeup of stamp showing hammer. The bolsters are the chrome looking ends of knife. Cel or celluloid is the material that handle of knife is made of. It can be a volitale substance. Try to keep knives with these handles away from other materials. Also keep in as low as humidity as you have down to as low as 30%. Dont try to make it perfect its cheaper to get rid of knives.
wb

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

Hi Artie;
It is a later model Imperial Hammer with shell handles and clip on bolsters as my eyes see it. There are others on here who are far more familiar with this brand. The knife looks to have been extensively buffed. If you blow up the image you can see the striations from a wheel of some sort.
If it is as I see, on a scale of low,medium,High and Very High the price range would be low.
wb

Bernard Levine's 4th edition, rates the value of the post-1931 Hammer Brand's as "low." That being said, any knife (or anything else), is worth what someone is willing to pay.

In such good condition I could see myself paying $25 for that knife. If it is in an original factory box, perhaps another $10 for a total of $35. This isn't too bad for a knife that sold new for probably less than $1.

Check this post by Phil, about half way down the page. Phil shows an original display card for these knives with a price of $.98. http://allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_f ... c&start=30

So, a knife that sold for the 1950's or 1960's for $.98 that now sells for $25 is an increase of 2551% (if my math is correct....maybe I need more caffeine). I don't think that is a bad return on an investment. I don't know many other knives that appreciate that much in about 50 years.

A collector friend of mine once told my that some of the knives made as working knives (like this one) often are worth more than knives that were made with the idea collecting because it is very hard to find one in pristine condition. Everyone who bought them used them and often used them up.

Thanks for bearing with my morning musings,
Dale

That tang stamp in Pic 1 was used circa 1945-55.

I will agree with Orvet about folks collecting these. Those display cards are still to be found and collectors are looking for mint Hammers and Others to fill them.
If it is not Case or Remington, some just toss them to the side. None of these were not made to be collected anyway.
JMO also


9ball

question.
were any of the knives manufactured in the 40s or 50s meant to be collectible? i don't mean the odd commemorative. i believe the jewellry boom is fairly recent.

I think Camillus made a George Washington knife back then, the real one is in a Masonic Lodge in D.C. IIRC.

They been putting gemstones on knives and other weapons for years. Some stories are in The Bible, Old Testament. I got an old one around here from the mid-East/Persia I will post one day.

If you are talking about these new "Art Knives", I think that came along in the mid-eightys or so.

no, i don't mean presentation or cerimonial knives. what i meant was does anybody think any of the producers of knives thought their knives would be collectible. not just tools. at one time case, rem. win. camilus, etc. were tools of function. when do you think the manufacture of knives turned from function to colection.

afterthought, sorry, this should have been a new subject.