PA Knife, need your opinion...
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:31 am
Hey David,
I posted this Tidioute I bought almost a year ago, and I finally got some better pictures taken of it (though still kind of dark)
I am positive it has been taken apart and "cleaned" buffed etc etc.
On the fron there are three pins, one brass, one nickle, and the other you can see very well but it is there, just not bright. Where the nicke pin is, you can see evidence it was re-pinned.
On the back side there are 4 pins, 3 brass and the one nickle.
Blades line up with the back springs, and the main blade the stamp is very worn, but you can make out:
Tidioute
Cutlery CO
PA
Pen blade stamped the same, though it can be read very clearly. ( the "o" in CO is cut off though. The pen blade the pull is very hard to catch the nail pull as it seems to be very worn, and a real bitch to open. (Both Blades have a very good snap & Half Stops)
This knife was "super cleaned" and is very shiny, look inside the liners were cleaned, though not as well as the rest of the knife, and the inside springs were touched, but not buffed shiny as the rest of the knife.
Was wondering if you could tell me if it appears to be authentic stamps and knife? Or is this something that was pieced together?
My gut tells me it is probably a fake, main blade may be the real deal, but would like your opinion, as I imagine you have handled a few of these in your experiences in PA.
I posted this Tidioute I bought almost a year ago, and I finally got some better pictures taken of it (though still kind of dark)
I am positive it has been taken apart and "cleaned" buffed etc etc.
On the fron there are three pins, one brass, one nickle, and the other you can see very well but it is there, just not bright. Where the nicke pin is, you can see evidence it was re-pinned.
On the back side there are 4 pins, 3 brass and the one nickle.
Blades line up with the back springs, and the main blade the stamp is very worn, but you can make out:
Tidioute
Cutlery CO
PA
Pen blade stamped the same, though it can be read very clearly. ( the "o" in CO is cut off though. The pen blade the pull is very hard to catch the nail pull as it seems to be very worn, and a real bitch to open. (Both Blades have a very good snap & Half Stops)
This knife was "super cleaned" and is very shiny, look inside the liners were cleaned, though not as well as the rest of the knife, and the inside springs were touched, but not buffed shiny as the rest of the knife.
Was wondering if you could tell me if it appears to be authentic stamps and knife? Or is this something that was pieced together?
My gut tells me it is probably a fake, main blade may be the real deal, but would like your opinion, as I imagine you have handled a few of these in your experiences in PA.
Your gut feelings are all right on with this knife. This was made by the second Tidioute Cutlery Co. and typically they are clean and shiny as they were made with a different steel than they original TCC. The most important thing to recognize right away with this knife is that the secondary blade has the full stamp on it. WRONG. 
These should only be stamped TIDIOUTE. This was carried on by all the companies until PENN which did it too but not as consistently. The pins you mentioned is another factor. As you pointed out. In addition the wear of the handles must ALWAYS match the wear on the blades. It would be highly unusual for the handles to be worn and the blades not and visa versa.