All About Pocket Knives

A question posed in another forum prompted me to start this thread. I had previously started a thread concerning unmarked knives but those were either knives that were theater made or unmarked for some other reason. The ones pictured here have obvious defects. Most of these were never meant to see the light of day as that would have likely marred the reputations of the companies that made them. That they escaped was probably due to a worker removing them in their lunch box;their rationale being that they were going to be destroyed anyway and they could use a knife that wasn't quite perfect. Maybe some were inclined to sell them and make a few dollars on the side but I would prefer that they were for personal use.
Different companies used different methods to mark these knives;the most common way was to grind the company name off the tang.Others chose to re-stamp the tang or blade with a series of X's.
I am only posting three knives for now but will dig out and post a whole bunch of Western knives I bought at a flea market years ago.These were mostly unfinished pieces of fixed blades but there are parts of folders included as well;mostly back springs.So without further ado I present you my rejects.
First one is a Camillus #86.The obvious defect is the back springs that apparently weren't thick enough to clean up after finish grinding.Note the pivot pins have a waffle pattern on the ends prior to finish grinding.The tang stamp was ground away.
Next is a Case 9 dot 640045 scout utility pattern. Case went all out in denoting this a reject:Not only is the tang stamp ground away,the bail was cut off and the bolsters stamped with a punch deep enough to preclude smoothing them out.also the shield was removed.I believe one of the reasons for it's rejection was that two of the blades are almost impossible to open because of the way the tangs were ground.That and the back springs were out of spec.
The last one is kind of a paradox:A small two blade pen knife that is badly assembled and poorly fit. The tang stamp is ground off. The ironic thing is it came in a little leather purse and the handle is stamped:" Compliments of the Colonial Knife Company"! Talk about bad public relations.
Anyway there they are. Please feel free to post any you may have and if there is a story behind them. I am using two posts to show all the views of each knife.

Page two. I added another knife that may or may not be a reject. Made by Schrade Cutlery Co. it has a date etched onto one handle that says "1919" and the other side only partly readable(something that may say Liberty).The pivot pins are strangely protruding and only one would do so if there had been a bail attached. Apparently a lot of knives carried a Liberty theme after WWI ended and this was probably one of them.

I have a few of them.

A couple Camillus knives and a Schrade, some old some new.

The tangs were either ground or XX out.

Very interesting thread, I have a couple imperial schrade seconds nothing too exciting but I'll get some photos later.

Well I dug out the suitcase that contained all of the Western reject pieces and re-shot them. I didn't realize I had this many pieces! I'm glad I did as there are a bunch of back springs that look to be scout/utility springs and I have three that need them. I hope I can modify them to fit. Interestingly enough there are several pieces in there that the only discernible problem I can see is a weak stamp. I think I may have a couple of projects coming up in my spare(?)time.
Anyway this will take three posts to complete all of the pictures so hang in there.

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Last page

Amazing show, as always, Ray! My only one, a Schrade Heritage second.
Dan

What kind of value does a reject have compared to the same knife that passed inspection?
Bruce

Berryb wrote:What kind of value does a reject have compared to the same knife that passed inspection?
Bruce

Probably none if it can't function as a knife.If it can it would likely be minimal.More of a curiosity than anything else. When I bought the Westerns I thought I could probably salvage a few to make into users. The W49 blanks can likely be made into decent knives as can a few others. I've had them for about 30 years and haven't done anything yet.

Here's a H. Boker & Co's Improved Cutlery Texas Jack/Moose with the tang ground off. The knife is perfect mechanically. All I can figure is it became a second due to the way the bone handle was finished directly above the shield.

thegreedygulo wrote:Here's a H. Boker & Co's Improved Cutlery Texas Jack/Moose with the tang ground off. The knife is perfect mechanically. All I can figure is it became a second due to the way the bone handle was finished directly above the shield.

You are probably right.A much better looking knife than any of the one's I posted. Nice knife.

Here is the Case Shark Tooth I mentioned in an earlier post. Note the extra "X's" near the tang. I think the last picture tells the story as to why it was classified as a second.

hardman wrote:Here is the Case Shark Tooth I mentioned in an earlier post. Note the extra "X's" near the tang. I think the last picture tells the story as to why it was classified as a second.

Sorry but I must be going blind;I don't see the extra X's you're referring to. As for the last picture;if you're referring to the gap between the back spring and the liners I have a 6 dot 5197 that has the same gap.

knife7knut wrote:

thegreedygulo wrote:Here's a H. Boker & Co's Improved Cutlery Texas Jack/Moose with the tang ground off. The knife is perfect mechanically. All I can figure is it became a second due to the way the bone handle was finished directly above the shield.

You are probably right.A much better looking knife than any of the one's I posted. Nice knife.

Thanks Knife7knut. That's a good looking bunch you posted as well.

knife7knut wrote:

hardman wrote:Here is the Case Shark Tooth I mentioned in an earlier post. Note the extra "X's" near the tang. I think the last picture tells the story as to why it was classified as a second.

Sorry but I must be going blind;I don't see the extra X's you're referring to. As for the last picture;if you're referring to the gap between the back spring and the liners I have a 6 dot 5197 that has the same gap.

Sorry for my "sorry" photography. The stamped "X" is there in two places, but my poor photography does not show them very well. One is to the upper left of the tang stamp on the mark side, and there is another to the lower left of that same stamp. Maybe I can dig it out tomorrow and try for a better pic.

Knife7knut, that gap between back spring and the liner is the closest thing to a flaw I can find in that knife, so I just figured that was it. But I hear you, I have seen it in other knives before.

hello everyone,
after searching this knife it brought me here.
what do you all think this is?

Are there any other markings on it like on the guard, the other side of the blade or on the sheath?

jim dirt wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 2:22 pm hello everyone,
after searching this knife it brought me here.
what do you all think this is?

Welcome to AAPK. From what I can see it looks like a Western Bowie or some version thereof with an original sheath. Here’s a link to more info about that knife. viewtopic.php?f=81&t=54880

viewtopic.php?f=81&t=64931

It helps when we have a full view of the knife, both sides, not just a partial picture. Also clear in-focus pictures of all markings, and measurements like the blade length and full length of the knife.

Ken

jim dirt wrote: ↑Sat Sep 25, 2021 2:22 pm hello everyone,
after searching this knife it brought me here.
what do you all think this is?

Nice big ole' Bowie Jim! And, toAAPK!

here ya go!

Based on the additional pictures I see nothing to change my prior assessment that it is a Western Bowie. Why it’s stamped as a ‘second” I can’t tell. A couple of things I see is the knufe appears to have been stored in the sheath,which should NEVER be done. That’s likely the cause of the rust and verdigris (those green spots) which is caused when brass interacts with chemicals used to tan and preserve the leather sheath. The sheath also captures and retains moisture from the air, which in turn causes rust.

You can clean the rust and verdigris from the blade using some of the tips found here viewtopic.php?f=37&t=54157 Go slow and do not be aggressive. Whatever metal and original finish you remove cannot be put back!

Ken

Thanks Mumbleypeg,
Thats good information.
I wonder if it's a reject could it because
it wasn't stamped ?