All About Pocket Knives

Lousy images and lousy price. Great maker but I don't think so!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-REAL-WILLA ... 2314755001

It's possible it could be real but if so it is about double what the last one went for on e-Bay. When I see stuff like this I usually check to see what else they are selling to get an idea of what they are all about. The seller has some interesting knives for sale and the prices are all over the map. My impression is that they know very little(but not nothing)about knives.
There are several pearl knives that look to be worth going after and if I were still doing e-Bay I would be after that Edward K.Tryon combination knife/ax. Never knew they existed. JMHO

$25k and he still wants $17 shipping????? There sure some jacked up folks in this world.

I'm a little late in posting this but here is my take. It sure looks like an original Scagel knife to me. I have the book "Scagel Handmade" by James R. Lucie with really good photographs. Dr. Lucie sold his collection on Scagel knives about a year or two ago at Julia Auction co. in Maine. I have a good friend that works there and he sent me the catalog and later with prices realized. (Which I can't locate right now!) but they did bring a lot of money, but I think the one you listed off ebay may be a little on the high side. If my memory is right they brought between $4000 and $40000.I don't think ebay is the place to sell it though. If I can locate the prices, I'll post them later on this forum. Terry

I found my price list and catalog from James Julia auction March 12 &13 2012. The knife that is similar to the one posted brought 31,050 and it also has the Abercrombie and fitch stamp which makes it a little more rare. The knife on the right side of that page brought 28750 but has the V.L.&A Chicago stamp. Wm Scagels personal knife brought $41,300.

couldn't get the edit to work, the bottom photo on the right hand side is one of two bowie type knives he made and it brought $45,425. The hunter knife on the left page brought $20125. Hope this has some interest to AAPK members. thanks for looking, Terry

I know condition, condition, condition means a lot and the ebay knife is not in the greatest condition, so I would guess maximum value would be in the 3,000 to 4,000 dollar range, that's just a wild guess however. terry

Very interesting information; thank you for your careful posts. Rare pieces from famous people bring big money but my priorities are very different. I go for high aesthetics and condition first, then maybe rarity and famous will figure in there somewhere later. I have broken a thousand dollar bill a couple times, but not by much and I don't foresee ever going much higher than that. In January of 2007 I decided to never spend more than $100.

Hey Tongue, I rarely ever spend over $100 myself but do enjoy reading about the old masters. I just happen to have a slight connection with the auction house and do have an autographed copy of Dr. Lucie's book. Interesting stuff but i'm sure I'll never have a Scagel knife unless some farmer has one hid in his barn and it shows up on a estate sale. thanks for the comments, Terry

Up Date, just sold on ebay item number 3321 0678 9233 for $2425. An old original kitchen knife with wooden handles with Wm Scagel stamp. Pretty plain knife but they called it a "skinning knife" which is wasn't, just a kitchen carving knife. Go figure, wish I had a hand full of them! Terry

How about this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bill-Scagel-han ... 7675.l2557

This historic handmade Buffalo skinner knife by William Scagel is 9 3/4" overall with a 5 1/4" blade. I believe the scales are made from surplus aircraft windows that were from WW2 so that would date this knife as probably late 1940's. The handle looks like it has some surface rust under the scales. The blade is stamped "SCAGEL HANDMADE " along with his distinctive logo.

$2,260.55 sale price

terryl308 wrote:Hey Tongue, I rarely ever spend over $100 myself but do enjoy reading about the old masters. I just happen to have a slight connection with the auction house and do have an autographed copy of Dr. Lucie's book. Interesting stuff but i'm sure I'll never have a Scagel knife unless some farmer has one hid in his barn and it shows up on a estate sale. thanks for the comments, Terry

Terry, a book I recently purchased was a great read: THE KEEN EDGE OF PERFECTION, A HISTORY OF THE MORSETH KNIFE, by James R. Beall, a limited (1500) edition hardcover laid up and printed in Italy (some strange editing in there yep). Reading about Harry's original patented sheaths alone was worth the price of the book.
Meanwhile, Dimitri, I am going to pass on that buffalo skinner, but it was a close call. I am glad that you liked the English jacks.

tongueriver wrote:Meanwhile, Dimitri, I am going to pass on that buffalo skinner, but it was a close call. I am glad that you liked the English jacks.

Thanks again Cal, I really appreciate you sending them to me