All About Pocket Knives

The tang of the knife is where the blade stamp normally resides. But other than just looking at the stamp what can the tang tell us?

Number one one my list is that the tang one area of the knife that is more difficult to clean than the rest of the knife. Blades can be aggressively cleaned to remove all pits and scratches. Sometime to the point that the knife is nice and shiny but ends up looking nothing like an excellent example of the knife should look. The tang is different in that such deep "cleaning" will compromise the blade stamp. Often the blades have had all the pits and corrosion removed but the tang of the knife will still show pits and/or compromise of the tang stamp.

I can't tell you how many times I've been shown a knife that is presented as "mint", near mint, or uncleaned" only to look at the tang and see obvious signs that the knife has been cleaned to the point that it should grade no better than low excellent at very best.

Take a look at these shiny knife blades and then look at the tangs. The tangs tell a different story than the seller tells. I realize that many collectors are all too aware of this but I am posting this because I also realize that this is something that is also often overlooked by newer collectors.

Note that the last knife shown is a re-handled knife that originally had 2 blades. There are other issues with these knives but the purpose of the post is to show it is rather easy to spot a knife that has been aggressively cleaned by looking at the blade tang.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CASE-TESTED-XX- ... 19f710fd0b

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CASE-TESTED-XX- ... 19f71101b5

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CASE-TESTED-XX- ... 1c495b15a9

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CASE-TESTED-XX- ... 19f710d272

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CASE-TESTED-XX- ... 1c495bee5a

Great examples and a great piece of knife education. With so many things to look for when buying a antique or vintage knife, this is a great evaluation step and simple reminder to look at things that are often the most obvious but easily overlooked because of its simplicity. Thanks again, awesome!

This is a great post, btrwtr.
This kind of thing has finally come to my attention, but it's good to see it here for others to see. And I know I could use more education here.
Is that last stamp, "CASE'S", a valid Case stamp?

FRJ wrote:This is a great post, btrwtr.
This kind of thing has finally come to my attention, but it's good to see it here for others to see. And I know I could use more education here.
Is that last stamp, "CASE'S", a valid Case stamp?

Stamp is good but knife was originally a 2 blade fish knife most likely with celluloid handles and chrome plated blades. The second blade would have been a scaler with a hook disgourger. Here is a picture of what it might have once looked like.