All About Pocket Knives

One of my favorite patterns. All four of these knives are H. Boker & Co's Improved Cutlery.

Those are some beautiful knives. Thanks for showing them to us.

I like the patten too.

Phil

My favorite pattern as well.

VERY nice knives.

Thanks for sharing.
Willie

I really enjoy looking at your Bokers. Thank you for posting them

Tim

Your old Bokers have some of the nicest jigged bone I've ever seen.
Coming from a Robeson collector, such as myself, that is high praise.

BTW; There's a nice Boker Improved toothpick up for auction on an internet auction site....

Charlie Noyes

Those are some really awesome knives, I love em! The third one is my favorite!

Thanks guys. I'm glad you enjoyed them. I have always really liked that pattern of knife.

Charlie...Thanks for the heads-up on the H. Boker Toothpick on that internet auction site. I might just have to get after that one!!

Someone asked me who made this knife. Any answers out there?
Thanks,
wazu013

Nice tear-drops, greedy! Absolutely beautiful knives!

I have a few tear-drops too. The first is an American Ace. The second is made by Passaic Knife Co. The last two are A. F. Bannister and Co. knives. The wood-handled one has the scarcer pointed end as opposed to a rounded end.

Great knives Gulo. I always enjoy seeing your pics

Very nice guys ! first Passaic i ever saw

WOW!! You guys are causing me to have palpitations. Very hard on an old guy

Greedy, those are spectacular. So much so, I bowed to temptation and won the bid on this '87 Winchester this morning. It's supposed to be unused, never sharpened, never carried. And the waiting begins.

Listing pictures, not mine.

WOW!! That's pretty nice Jerry

Nice one, Jerry. Is that called a candle end?

Here's my old Penn Cutlery Co. Is mine a candle end?

What a fine pattern this is. Beautiful knives.

Thanks T.J.

I don't know Joe. I think both yours and the one I have coming could be called "candle end jacks". That's the crazy thing about this addiction we call a hobby (See. Two names already for the same thing.), there are several names floating around out there for the same pattern.

I found this on-line. It's from "Blade's Guide to Knives & Their Values by Steve Shackleford. What we call a "tear drop jack", he calls a "swell end jack". Notice the end is pointed but much more blunt than yours.
I think yours, at the very least - and we'll see when mine gets here - could be called a "candle end". Mine was listed as a "teardrop" but if the butt is as sharp pointed as yours then I would call it a "candle end" also.

Maybe one of the more experienced knifers will come along and clear this up for us.

Just to prove my multi-name confusion theory, this is the last knife I got and I have seen it called a "Coke bottle jack", and a "swell center jack", and an "English jack", and a "coffin jack".
From Steve Shackleford's book, this is exactly the same pattern, right down to the slanted lines on the top bolster and he (or maybe just Keen Kutter) calls it a "gunstock jack". Lord give me strength.

Hey my second post. Not sure if this one belongs here but it looked similar. A Van Camp Hardware & Iron.
Bill

It very much belongs here and a fine example it is. I don't know anything about that tang stamp but I'm sure someone will be along who does.

Van Camp Hardware and Implement Company, Canton, Ohio.

(Error!! See below for correction)

I think. I'm referencing my feeble brain here. I'm at work and away from my reference books.

Can't help you with dates right now, but I suspect an early-mid 20th century time frame.

That sweet example you've posted looks like a 1930's knife to me.

Charlie Noyes

This showed up yesterday. Winchester 1987 - 2857, teardrop jack w/black jigged bone handles. It's a beauty.

I love that pattern!!!

See? I should have waited until I got home.

It's Van Camp Hardware & Iron Co., (as stated in the original post. Duh!) Indiannapolis, IN.

1888 - 1960 for cutlery, but company lasted until the 1980's.

Charlie Noyes

I cant get enough of that jack Jerry. She is awesome!

Most of my favorites.

You KILL me with that picture Wullie!