All About Pocket Knives

Stumbled upon this knife at a flea market. The only stamp on it is:

Patent No.
2,297,855
U.S.A.

In doing a patent search, here's a portion of what I found. Is it unusual that a knife would only have a patent # stamp and not the company name? In order to get a patent did the inventor need to provide a sample?


Patented Oct. 6, 1942 BOLSTERED HANDLED CUTLERY Albert Edward Allen, Yorkville, N. Y., assignor to Utica Cutler Company, Utica, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 9, 1940, Serial No. 360,472

17 Claims.

My present invention relates to bolstered handled cutlery, including pocket-knives, hunting knives, daggers, kitchen knives, fish knives and the like.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a new, improved, more economical and more durable pocket-knife or other bolstered handled article of cutlery which construction involves the making of face plates of cheaper and stronger material, but of material that is capable of being shaped, as by molding, to the precise shape and form for the face plates of the knife, and which material is of such character that the connecting and pivoting rivets can be projected through the premade holes in the extended ends and even, where required, through the intermediate portion of the face plates and riveted over against or into the face plates without breaking splitting or distorting the face plates.

Interesting. Can you provide a picture of the bolster from wither a top or bottom view? Is the bolater made as one piece with the liner? I'm curious because I have a picture handled Thornton knife that employs such a system.

Interesting.

Robeson made such knives and had a patent for the process way before 1940.

Wonder what he did differently to obtain a patent?

Charlie Noyes

I'll post some better pics and try to download the patent documents and post them as well. I'll get them posted tomorrow a.m.

On the OP Utica knife:

The patent is for the handle/bolster attachment.

The bolsters are thin metal and slide off the handles. Take the knife hold the body and the bolster will pull away, don`t worry it will slide right back on. I have several of these.

Basically an inexpensive way to assemble a knife with unskilled labor.

The Robeson is a different patent.

Here's a couple more pics. I do not believe the knife has much monetary value but it is an interesting piece of history.