All About Pocket Knives

I would like some help with this flea market find. I found it among a lot of more or less real cheap knives and read the Tidioute on the blades so I bought it. It is 3 1/4" closed, has double stops and is really tight and snaps hard.
All you can read on the main blade tang is Tidioute P with a CO above the Tidioute. The back of the tang is stamped Tidioute and the small blade is stamped Tidioute also. It appears to have had a shield at one time or another. I would like to know what kind of shirld it had, the pin is still there.
Also would like to know the company that made it, maybe Tidioute Cutlery Co.?? and the approximate time period it was made. I would guess early 1900's but don't know for sure.
I really like the knife and would like to get a shield for it but would like to replace it with the same type shield.
Any help or comments are appreciated.

Tom

I would guess that beings the shield was held on by one pin it probably had some type of federal or badge shield.
I bet Pa. Knife can rattle off a lot of knives that were made in tidioute.
All i can think of is Union knife & Razor co. Which i know used worm groved bone like yours has.
Baldwin was also made in Tidioute.

Thanks, Jarod, I am sure you are right. I have read David's "Pa Knives" Tidioute book and those companies all come to mind.
Since it appears that a lot of the tang stamp is worn off I thought maybe someone might identify the company by part of the stamp or by the pattern. I have a Union Razor knife that I know when was made but this one has me baffled, which is not all that hard to do. The shield area on the knife is indented to where it looks like a small oval might have been there.

Tom

from what i remember when i was at queen one year showing up with my tidioute grandaddy barlow, is that baldwin purchased the tidioute company, but when baldwin went under a guy whos name i cannot recall bought all the left over materials, and for years was assembling them out of his garage. this info is was told to me by david, aka paknives, it is also in his book.
but your knife could very well be a vintage tidioute. it is hard to tell by pics or even holding the knife since even if if this guy assembled that knife,[ i think his name is allen or somethoing like that], it is all done with authentic parts. hopefully as rig said, paknives will come along with some of his knowledge for you.
at one time, i believe, there were five knife companies in tidioute.

the mans name who made many out of parts around here was vern atkins,i cant see the tang stamp well enough but it could be a penn cutlery knife also made in tidioute

I read or heard, forgot which or where, that if all of the blades had Tidioute stamped on it it was original. Rigwelder, you make a good point on the shield since just the one pin is present. Maybe Pa Knives will weigh in soon.

Tom

Well now what do we have here!!!! Ummmmmmmm TIDIOUTE, my favorite. That stamping is from the original TIDIOUTE company that started in 1898 until 1905. I have since learned that even though the Brown Bros from Little Valley NY bought the company, that Tidioute name remained for several years after the purchase in 1902. It is in a STRAIGHT line and all blades are stamped. The bone handles are indicative of that period as well. Well worn but worthy of any vintage knife collection. It would have had a badge shield on it.

Second Tidioute Cutlery company's tang was in a curve, that was from 1909 then later Harry Baldwin bought the remains at sheriff sale, he came to have them make his ROYAL Manicure tools. Penn Cutlery bought the old Baldwin plant and died in the depression era. Vern's son Bill carried on the knife making tradition for many years from his little building out back. Used old parts and pieces to make them. His daughter Zeb died two years ago, A great source of information. I miss her.

david, a man with an edge.
i bought that book years ago, its hiding somewhere around here. damm memory

Thanks for all of the help. If anyone has a badge shield that might work on this knife I would like to buy it.
Thanks again,
Tom