All About Pocket Knives

Looking for answer if these two Jack Knife Ben Chicago Knifes are the real deal. Both are similar to the Case 94 Pattern. The one with blades on same side is 4 1/8" and the one with blades on both sides is 4 1/4". Both look to have been cleaned to N.M. Any Help would be greatly appreciated. Got these for a sweet price and looking for value as well. HELP

I'm looking at these with my phone so the picture is small.With that being said the stamps don't look good.The letters are too rounded to be old stamps.Also the stag on the top one doesn't fit well to the bolsters.This evening I will look at with a bigger screen.

Jack Knife Ben is not my bailiwick, but I'm thinking you should have asked about these knives before you bought them.

Charlie Noyes

Yeah, I should have asked before buying but they were in a lot of 15 that had 4 knives I really wanted so not out all that much. After I got through admiring my "needed" knives, I started looking through the rest. I figured they were counterfeit because they look real nice. I'm not familiar with this brand but usually if something looks to good, then it probably ain't.

Larry

rugerdaisy wrote:I'm not familiar with this brand but usually if something looks to good, then it probably ain't.

Exactly what I was thinking when I looked at your pictures.

Ken

We have a JKB collector here that will probably chime in soon.

Sorry, but those knives are not real.

Your first knife looks to be a reworked Camillus 23 pattern cigar jack. You see a lot of these Camillus 23 knives reworked/restamped. Not sure what the second knife was to start with.

Wayne

Just wondering for future events, how does one tell immediately these are fake? What gives it away?

Here is a short line Camillus 23.

rugerdaisy wrote:Just wondering for future events, how does one tell immediately these are fake? What gives it away?

For starters get yourself a copy of "Counterfeiting Antique Cutlery" by Gerald Witcher.I believe it is still available from Knife World.

I am not bragging but if you happen to find one, send me a picture and I can probably tell you if it a good one.

rugerdaisy wrote:Just wondering for future events, how does one tell immediately these are fake? What gives it away?

Most people that can tell do it from experience. There is no substitute for owning and handling authentic knives in first hand experience. Reading about and looking at a lot of knives is a close second.

Wayne

Mumbleypeg wrote:

rugerdaisy wrote:I'm not familiar with this brand but usually if something looks to good, then it probably ain't.

Exactly what I was thinking when I looked at your pictures.

Ken

As Wayne said there's no substitute for experience looking at and handling knives and studying good pictures, old catalogs, etc of the brand you're interested in. But also note that your instincts were accurate. Don't ignore them! If it's an old knife (especially pre-1970s) but it looks new and shiny, in my book it's suspicious. Back then most folks bought a knife to use as a tool, put it in their pocket and started using it. So mint or near mint examples do exist but are a small number relative to how many knives were produced. As collectors of vintage knives we are all looking for those rare examples but mostly we don't find them. Pay attention when your excrement detector goes off, then proceed from there with caution. Sadly even then some of us still get burned sometimes For me it usually happens when I ignore my instincts.

Ken