All About Pocket Knives

Small herd of H. Boker moose pattern knives.

Those are beauties!! ::envy:: Very cool!

Thanks Gino.

Absolutely gorgeous knives!

never had one, but I love those kind of old bones
thanks for sharing

Absolutely magnificent! Just beautiful!

great old knives but an amazing feat to find 3 of the same basic pattern with identical shields---kudos to yourself.HiPower

Nice ones.

I want one! I would carry it for awhile.

One more moose. Heinr. Boker & Co Baumwerk-Solingen Germany-Alemania

OK - learning something now. I gather a 'Moose' is like a Muskrat but with a clip and either a spey or spear blade. Are they known by any other names?

PS - Great knives!

greedy - Those are crazy, I am not a huge fan of the pattern, but them swell centers made
my heart skip a little..........WOW!!


IM

Bootclad: Yes. They are also called Texas Jacks. The handle shapes may vary, but a moose pattern's master blade will always be wide clip while the secondary blade is either a spear or long spey blade.


Below is a page from Levine's Guide To Knives And Their Values (4th edition) that tells about the pattern. Click on the page to enlarge it.

IMBand: Thanks. I'm glad you liked them. The swell-center moose pattern is one of my favorite patterns.

One of my favorite patterns and my goodness those are beautiful examples..

I was not aware that all Texas Jacks or Moose pattern knives had a wide clip as the master blade. I wasn't even aware that Levine plainly states that on page 190 of LG-4.

Greedy's previous post sent me to my copy of Levine's Guide for clarification.

The reason I was concerned is because I have a Robeson that I've always called a "Moose" and it's built just like those swell-center equal-end Bokers with which Greedy initiated this thread.

Except, my Robeson has the spear as the master blade, as did every other example of this Robeson pattern I've ever seen.

The pattern number is on the back of the spear.

There's a photo of the Robeson at the bottom of this post.

Levine also states that a Texas Jack or Moose is a double-ended version of the "Premium Jack", a two blade jack built on Premium Stock Knife handle frames.

On page 191, Levine goes on to describe the Swell-Center or Balloon double-ended jacks as Bull Heads.

He also states they can have a spear or a clip master blade.

So, tell me; Are what I and others have previously referred to as a "Moose", actually a "Bull Head" instead?

I urge you to study Levine's Guide IV's section on double-end jack knives on pages 189, 190, 191, and 192 before answering.

Note that all the double-end jacks illustrated on the LG-4 page that Greedy posted are serpentine or sow belly frames, usually more associated with the Premium Stock Knife.

Charlie Noyes

wincester by blue grass in burnt orange bone, the 2 gecs are in stag & buffalo horn. all good heavy duty patterns.--HiPower

I've got to say, I never paid much attention to Boker knives. Since you've started posting your beauties, I've gained a whole new appreciation of that company.

You've got some damn fine looking knives and I thank you for showing them.

When I see a run of a pattern you've posted, I always ask myself, how's he gonna top this.

You've had no problems in my eyes topping your previous posts.

PLEASE keep it up.

Hi Charlie: You have raised some very good points. In my opinion, the knife you posted is definitely a moose pattern and that is what I consider all the ones I listed as well. To me the moose & Texas jack patterns are synonymous with one another. What criteria are you using to determine that the spear is the master blade of your knife? Is it because the pattern number is listed on the back of the spear? That is the one question I have always had concerning the moose pattern; You have two large blades of the same size that differ only in shape. What determines which blade is the master?

Though it's hard to see in my pics., in the group shot of the moose knives, you can still make out a slight blade etch on the spear point blade. Does this mean it's the master blade and not the clip blade which has no etch?

Regarding the bull-head patterns, I would consider them to be a moose as long as they have a clip blade and either a spear or long spey and are at least 3 & 7/8" long when closed. If they are any shorter or have a small blade or punch as the secondary blade, I would just consider them a swell-center or balloon jack.

Below are some pictures of moose patterns from knife books & catalogs. The first picture is from The Official Price Guide To Collector Knives (15th edition) by C. Houston Price and Mark Zalesky. Note what is said regarding blades & handle shapes.

Next is a page out of Boker's 1928 catalog. Note that on the swell-centers the blade etches are on the spear blades and on the premium stockman style moose the etch is on the clip blade.

The last picture is just one that I threw in the mix for fun. I suppose it would be called a congress moose. By the way, if anyone knows where one of these are for sale or trade (an H. Boker of course), please do not hesitate to contact me as I've been looking for one of these for a long time.

Thanks for the kind words Owd Wullie. I'm glad you enjoyed the knives. I think a lot of people feel/felt the same way as you where Bokers are concerned. To me, the old H. Bokers are not only beautiful, well made knives but they were made to work with everyday. I grew up on a dairy farm, so I can appreciate that. The old ones also have excellent metal in them; they will grab a whet rock when you drag a blade across it.

Thanks for that info Greedy, very interesting.

There was even a Case Classic series knife made that most folks call a Moose pattern that had the spear blade as the main with an etch on it. The 62046J pattern. I call it a Moose pattern. If you will notice Schatt & Morgan's knife pattern made like this, it has the clip blade as the main, just opposite of the way the Case Classic knife blades are.

Aimus




Note: Not my pictured, borrowed for example.

OK, let me preface this post by stating that I am waaaay out of my league with regard to expertise and knowledge of historical knife lore and lineage … but I do have an observation to toss into the mix …

I have these two GEC Northfield 54 Mooses (Moose? Moosi? Meese?), one has a clip main blade, the other is one of a 15 piece short run that has a spear main blade. I have also noted that in addition to the main blade having an etch, the main blade is in "front" when the knife is viewed from the shield side.

Same knife otherwise; both referred to by GEC as a Moose:
~ Edge

Those are great, Edge. I've been thinking of a big jack or moose for Christmas.

Thanks, biglmbass.

I got interested in the 54 pattern early in my "GEC discovery phase", and was very lucky to find these.

I actually carry the Moose with the Spear main from time to time ... I know it's a short run knife, but that one just speaks to me ...

The GEC 54 Big jack would make a real nice carry knife ...

~ Edge