All About Pocket Knives

Robeson/USA/Cutlery 3 3/8" Nice bone, steel bolsters, brass liners. No pattern on this knife.

Harold

That is just a very nice looking one. I'm guessing Charlie will be along with more info.

Great knife! Makes me jealous. Lol.

Oh, that's nice !

Very nice.

It's circa WWII and probably made on defense contract for the U.S. military.

Sometimes they are marked with a Robeson tang stamp and sometimes they are simply marked "U.S.A.", which I take to mean U.S. Army.

The bone and pattern are almost diagnostic.

Here's one with just the U.S.A. stamp. Note the bone color and jigging pattern.

I'm not sure I've ever seen such a knife with a pattern number and if that is true, then the WWII military connection holds and there might not have ever been a non-issue example of this pattern marketed to the public.

However, having said that, I doubt Robeson would have done anything other than offer for sale any that they still had in their possession at war's end.

Charlie

Charlie, if it were steel bolsters and steel liners, wouldn't that be an indication it was of war time manufacture? So is it? Steel and steel that is. Harold said his is steel and brass so would that be pre-war?

Thanks for the info Charlie. I also have one with the USA stamp it is a little nicer than the OP.
Mr. B I sure did.

Harold

I do not recall if mine has brass liners. I'd have to look.

I don't fully understand the availability, shortage of or general use of brass, iron, steel and nickel-silver during the war years.

I can surmise one thing; There was, most likely, no moratorium placed on the use in manufacturing of brass, iron, steel, or nickel-silver in December, 1941, that was then immediately lifted in September, 1945.

I suspect the use of any of those materials waxed and waned during WWII, and the months and possibly years following.

I don't use the presence or absence of any of those as an absolute in determining the age of a pocket knife from any manufacturer.

Maybe someone more learned than I am can speak to that with authority, but I don't think I have the knowledge to do so.

Charlie

Charlie, the one I have stamped USA looks to have steel liners

Harold

Found the following and thought it very informative if correct. -- https://pilotsmanyourplanes.com/Page_90.html


"Dating pocket knives from WWII can be a daunting task. Most manufacturers made very little adjustments from their commercially produced models. The best clue would be the use of all steel construction. In 1942 the War Production Board (WPB) placed brass on the critical materials list. Brass was a common material in all pocket knife manufacture so all steel is a good start. Brass being on the critical materials list did not mean that knife manufacturers could not use brass just that they were no longer able to secure the material. Many companies still had stocks of brass parts which they quickly used up. This opens the door for minor variations in regards to materials used such as the use of steel liners and spring spacers but with brass handle pins or brass liners but with steel spacer etc. Brass began to be used again in knife production by the end of 1944 so this will make it difficult to determine early or late war production. Can openers can also be helpful; every knife manufacturer had their own style of opener. In 1944, Imperial introduced the eagle beak safety can opener and by the end of the year other companies began using this design, but not consistently until the post war years, therefore the eagle claw or beak openers are a good indicator of late to post-war production. The first generation safety can openers for Imperial will be stamp PAT PEND. The patent was assigned in December 1945, after which they were stamped with the patent number. In 1943, Camillus introduced their design of a safety can opener in a two piece construction as seen on the Navy 41-J-4. All previous can openers required an upward stroke which was said to open up hands better than cans; the new “safety” openers used a downward stroke. Tang markings can be useful as well and will help you to place an era on a knife. Camillus used a 4 line stamping in the pre-war and inter-war years then in 1944 introduced a 3 line marking. This 3 line marking carried through to the post-war years and by the late forty’s they made a slight adjustment by adding a short under line below CAMILLUS. The Kingston MADE IN USA is a bit easier as these knives were only produced during the war. In the immediate post war era, starting in 1946, Kingston was associated with Schrade-Walden (located in Walden, NY) and began using the brand name Kingston. Imperial Prov. RI stamping was used from 1936 to 1952. Pre 1936, the full spelling of Providence was used and in the post war era, a crown was added over Imperial on their Kamp King line of knife."

I have this one with Robeson stamp. Steel bolsters and liners.

I have one stamped USA and also etched Girl Scouts

Well, that one is definitely interesting.
Charlie Noyes

Lot of info and intrigue in this thread.

Nice knives fellas.

My USA one

Harold

This forum and thread is all about Robeson knives.

I find the knives posted by ScoutKnives and Stockman interesting, I'm curious as to whether they think they were made by Robeson or are they just posting other interesting EZ opener jacks from the same period.

Pretty sure the Kingston was made by somebody else and the "Girl Scout" etched jack is most likely not a Robeson.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not objecting to the knives being posted in this discussion. I just desire clarification of their supposed origins.



Charlie

Kingston is Ulster/Imperial.
It was also my understanding(and I may be wrong) that most bone handled knives stamped only USA were Ulster or Kingston, basically the same.

I have always thought of my knife as a Robeson and for that the reason for posting in this thread .
The bone handle jigging for me says Robeson BUT that Kingson etched knife is definatly different .

RobesonsRme.com wrote:This forum and thread is all about Robeson knives.

I find the knives posted by ScoutKnives and Stockman interesting, I'm curious as to whether they think they were made by Robeson or are they just posting other interesting EZ opener jacks from the same period.

Pretty sure the Kingston was made by somebody else and the "Girl Scout" etched jack is most likely not a Robeson.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not objecting to the knives being posted in this discussion. I just desire clarification of their supposed origins.



Charlie

SO now I'm real confused lol , is the knife Charlie posted a picture of a Robeson or imperial / Ulster then ? It's marked USA

I think it is a fair guess that the steel liners and bolsters can be WWII vintage. The Official Scout organizations were hard pressed for knives during war years and I have seen some very unusual WWII era Scouts that were far from typical. The Cardinal fixed blades are good examples of the more common. Nice knives from the OP on in this thread.

Wayne

I have always thought the Kingston etched knife was a Robeson. I got the OP knife and compared it to
the Kingston. They are really close the handle pins on the ends are closer to the bolsters on the Kingston.
Blades are very close except the Kingston is full and the Robeson shows wear. Nail nicks very much
alike and same location. Bone jig some different. Length same bolsters very close to the same. I did not
take measurement just eyeballed the knives.
Harold

Kingston Cutlery Co. was founded during WW2 with an association between Ulster and Imperial. 1945-1947. The Kingston trademark was used by D.Divine and Ulster 1915-1958. This info is taken from Goins. I've never seen any reference to a relationship between Robeson and Kingston or Ulster. But I bet Charlie would know.

I think I would assume a Knife etched "KINGSTON" was made by Ulster/Imperial, as that brand has always been associated with them.

I suppose it's possible Robeson may have helped them out with their production.

The knife I posted with the "U.S.A." stamp is Robeson. I care not what a book says about that stamp only being associated with one company. Remember, I said the "U.S.A." on the knife stood for United States Army, not United States of America.

I spotted that knife in a group photo on Ebay and bought the lot just to get that knife. I don't know everything, but I generally know a Robeson knife when I see one.

There is no documentation from The Girl Scouts of America that Robeson ever had a contract to produce knives for them. Never-the-less, there are several two blade, Rogers bone handled pen knives with bails, a Trefoil shield and "Girl Scouts" etched on the master. Most scout collectors think they are genuine. Bernard Levine has pronounced all of them "fakes".

I used to have one of those, quite possibly the best one in existence and I firmly believe Robeson made the knife.

The EZ open jack posted by ScoutKnives, I have never seen before. He knows his scout knives. If he thinks that genuine, I cannot argue the point. The knife may have been made by Robeson, but it's not shouting that to me the way some knives do. I don't understand why the knife is only stamped, "U.S.A.", instead of a standard Robeson tang stamp, unless it was among left over, unshipped military contract knives at the end of WWII and the GS bought was available at the time.

Without documentation, we can only surmise.

I learned a long time ago not to discount anything when it comes to American pocket cutlery.

Fascinating discussion.

Charlie Noyes