All About Pocket Knives

Does anybody like the old smooth-wood handled hawkbills, pruners, maize- headers, besides me?

NICE selection

although I am not an avid collector of this pattern, I find that your obvious love for this is wonderful. In this hobby it is typical that bigger is usually better "or more valuable" but that has not been true for this pattern sytle. NOT sure why? I guess it would be due to the lesser handle materials used? Knife world just had an article a few months back that dealth with some similar style knives that were just beautiful. Thanks for sharing your photo. I really enjoyed it.

Very, very nice.....

Thanks for sharing the picture!

Bill

I'd be interested to know what the traditional purpose for this style of knife was. I'm just guessing it is specially designed for a particular purpose. I have one (chinese Sheffield I got at Home Depot) and I use it for woodworking mainly, where I need to make strong cuts on the draw or remove lots of material on the push. I also use it for scoring wood and other soft materials.

Anybody know anything about the history? It's a great style, from both a practical standpoint and an aesthetic one.

These knives have been used for a little bit of everything. I know electricians that use them. I have seem people use them to cut carpet, sheet rock, linoleum and shingles.
I think the original use for them was for pruning knives.
If you know what milo(or maize) is, at one time, the heads hung down on it and these knives were used to harvest it, by hand. Somebody came along, though and figured out how to get the heads to grow UP, to where it could be harvested more easily, by mechanical means.
I think that MOST cutlery companies manufactured at least one model at one time, or another.
Some of the makers represented in the above picture are:
American Shear & Knife (2)
Case Bros. Little Valley (3)
Case Bros. Springville (1)
W.R. Case & Son (1)
W.R. Case & Sons (3)
Case Tested XX (1)
Case XX (1)
Case 7 dot (1)
Cattaraugus(2)
Empire (1)
Friedmann & Lauterjung (2)
Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett (6)
Holley (2)
Miller Bros. (2)
New York Knife Co. (2)
Remington (13)
Russell (3)
Southington Cutlery (2)
Waterville Mfg. (1)
Waterville Cutlery (1)
Winchester (2)
and many more...

Don't know why I like them, but I do...

CCBill...

Please contact me, I think that I have something that you might be interested in. THANKS

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If anybody is interested in buying a ready-made hawkbill collection, email me. I'm thinking about selling mine,, or might even do some trading. They all have to go, together..CCBill...
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wow that is an outstanding collection there