All About Pocket Knives

Here's a real nice barehead jack that is at least 110 years old.
Possibly 136 years old.

Trenton Cutlery Co.
Goins says they existed from 1880 to 1906.

Very strong springs and half stops x 2. Ebony covers. 3 7/16".

Cool knife Joe. Not much info on this company. A true survivor. Barry

Rare one. First knife from that maker I've seen, and looks like in great shape!

Ken

Great looking example, and certainly a rare stamp.

Nice find Joe.

Thanks for your nice comments guys.
I've never seen this stamp before and pursued it on ebay after looking at Goins book.
I paid $48 plus shipping cost. I'm happy with that.

Joe I think I saw that one on the bay. Looks like about half of what he had it listed at. Pretty good wheelin there fella.

He had a reserve on it I think. I never knew what that was. It sold for 48. The bid below that was 40 and I bid 50 something.
I don't know how these things pan out.

Maybe that had been relisted then because when I first saw it he had a starting bid of $99 on it.

Wow, I never saw that starting bid. Glad he had a change of heart.

Ebay can be "challenging" at times, but this is a good example of when it is good.
Here I have a very unusual stamp. The knife is in great condition, very slight wobble on secondary blade.
Well over one hundred years old. It shows up on a screen in front of you and you do the Dosey Doe, and BINGO,
it's at my back door in a few days. It's great! That is if you like this sort of thing.

One beauty of an old knife Joe ... Ahhh - good old Trenton NJ - anybody ever drive through that area and see the sign - "Trenton Makes The World Takes"... classic old sign post this cutlery put up in 1935...

Thanks, Lee.
I'd love to see a picture of that sign. Don't know that I want to go there and see it.

Great find, Joe!
Dan

Hey Joe - not sure you want to drive down there either to see it ... It was no doubt based on Ternton's role in industry including steel, rubber etc etc... so here's the photo to save you a trip

Thank you, Dan.

That's quite a sign, Lee. Thanks for the photo.

There isn't much manufacturing left in Trenton, NJ but there are two similar products made there that are pretty darn tasty:

Taylor's Pork Roll and

Case's Pork roll

It's damn close to being as good as bacon. A slice or two of either one, a Kaiser roll, cheese and a fat slice of tomato. U R good to go.

There is some debate locally down there about who was first, best, etc. Either one is good to my taste.

The other semi famous item made in Trenton not too long ago was a malt liquor named Champale (sp?). Certain folks liked it. I wouldn't recommend it but I understand the company is gone anyway.

Hey Steve

Before moving to CT long ago I was a Jersey boy at one time (in fact lived down the Joisey Shore - I know Pork Roll - nothing like pork roll, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches

Long ago when I moved my friends bought me this tee-shirt which I still wear on occasion and get the question - "What is Pork Roll?"... ... In fact a few folks have been known to bring me big rolls of the Taylor Pork Roll in the canvas sacks...

Front of Tee
Back of Tee
Folks - if you haven't had it you should ...

Hey Joe - see what you started with that Trenton Cutlery Knife

I'm glad we know how you guys roll ...............

Long blade

These guys don't know what they're missin'. If you find yourself in your travels between Philly and Trenton and nearby environs, two things you should try, Philly cheese steaks and a pork roll sammich. We love our processed meats!

Oh yeah and Yuengleng beer.

Great knife Joe and a tasty thread. For some reason,every time I see your avatar ,I think it's a bunch of chairs side by side. Probably some psychoanalytical reasoning involved, especially since I'm not distinguishing the blades on the left..

Thank you, Lyle.
The avatar is three muskrats on their springs with blades vertical.
Blades and reflection silhouetted by back light.

Yea Joe, I figured it out a quite while back . But only after months,maybe years, of just looking and not understanding what I saw. There are several avatars I looked at and didn't see for quite a while.