All About Pocket Knives

The person who identifies this tang stamp gets my undying gratitude and respect.

They at least know what factory it came (Schrade) from but not for which customer.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showt ... p-Question

Looks more like an airplane than a steer head to me

Here's one that's close, Western Auto

Looking at the handles on the knife, I was convinced it was made by Ulster but then Schrade/Ulster/Imperial, what difference does it make. Put 'em in a sack and shake 'em and who's going to fall out?

To me, I don't think it's a steer head. Taking the 'W' into consideration, it looks more like a stylized 'T'. So 'WT' or 'TW', does that jog any brain cells?

If I remember correctly, that is a fox head (exagerated ears) over a crown. Again, I am out of town and do not have access to my book but I seem to recall that it is shown in LG4. Someone check it out.

Ray

For what its worth,
I thought it was a steer head too.
I can see the horn tips better on the actual stamp in the link provided.
Mark

Edit: Maybe it is just a T...

Eric -- (ea42) I'm stealing your stamp picture and posting it here. If you have an objection, please let me know and I'll get it taken down.

We have a knife with the similar stamp. Here is what ours looks like:

In checking out the close up of the stamp, I believe that on the fox head stamp the ears were pointed more upward than on this one.

Ray

I have always wondered about that stamp too. I have seen Craftsman knives that are almost exactly the same as the one Kathy posted, so I am guessing some other retailer used that logo, and Western Auto was a thought. That one has been my garage knife for a few years. It could have been stamped with ea42's stamp, which I am guessing came from the old Schrade stuff?

Here's an old 4" Ulster that look a lot like Kathys nicer knife. Say that 3 times fast...........
And thats not a bulls head........DUHH.....where's the snot!

I have no doubt that WT was made by Schrade.
The WT below is the same model as the stamp Eric posted.
It may have been stamped by Eric's stamp.

Here is a Schrade 863 shown so everyone can compare the WT & the Schrade 863.



Goins' lists a hardware company named Wimberly & Thomas Hardware Co. in Birmingham Alabama.
His dates for them is 1900-1944, so they are probably not the company for which this knife was made, unless Goins has his dates wrong.
He does list a diamond logo with 4 As (AAAA) and an arrow through them.

It seems to me likely that some company, perhaps a hardware company, ordered these as an SFO.
Perhaps looking at names with combinations of W & T (or T & W) will turn up something.

Dale -- Compare the pattern numbers.


Also looks like an Ulster #63 shown here for comparison. Of course it's hard to tell an Ulster 63 from a Schrade 863 without looking at the tang stamp.

Edit: I just noticed the "WT" pattern 36810 has Schrade's 863 in it backwards.

Shot in the dark time..... There was a chain of department stores that operated under the name
"W T Grant". They were in business until about the mid seventies or so. Could that stamp be related to them ?

Is it possible that it isn't WT but TW for Trust Worthy Hardware? They used to be a chain that was absorbed/allied by ACE if I'm not mistaken.

I was mistaken they were absorbed by United Hardware.

I always bought everything from either Tru-Value or Trust-Worthy when I could. Lowe's and Home Depot don't stock as much unusual and odd ball stuff or have old store rooms full of the vintage bits I need for repairs. They've wrecked the independent hardware store market.

Trustworthy it is...

I win. What's my prize?. I just couldn't find the sign from the right era. Thanks MTS::tu::

Excellent detective work! Mystery solved...

YEAH FOR IRON HOARDER!!!!

Iron Hoarder wrote: I win. What's my prize?. I just couldn't find the sign from the right era. Thanks MTS::tu::

Thank you Robert. That has been an open question for at least five years. And a special thanks to MTS6607 for coming up with the picture of the sigh and putting the cap on it.

Thanks guys. You're the best. And it only took 4-1/2 hours.

Good job IH, you should win a prize!
I have never heard of Trustworthy Hdwe. Are they mostly in Minnesota?

Bret888 wrote:Good job IH, you should win a prize!
I have never heard of Trustworthy Hdwe. Are they mostly in Minnesota?

Brett -- He did win a prize. My undying gratitude and respect. Exactly the prize that was promised in the original post.