All About Pocket Knives

hello everybody i am new to this fourm and i would like to say hello to everyone and i also have a question about indian head knives.i found one at smkw and was thinking about buying one.does anyone have any info on this company.it said they were made in germany. if anyone has any info on this please let me know.thanks for help

to the forum. sorry, i dont know the answer to your question,but someone else may know.

welcome to the sight. some indian heads are made in germany, some are chinese. just because they say solingen does not guarantee country of origin.

Buck Creek used to make some Indian Head Knives that had an Indian Head for the shield. They were made in Germany, Connection?
Tom

I dunno about the Chink knives, but the Solingen Indian Heads were pretty darn good knives.

I think (subject to correction), they were part of the cottage industry knives ?.?.? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they don't do that anymore, do they ?

At any rate, the Indian Heads were a good using knife, IMO.

JR

hey jr, hows it goin? the only reg. indian head knife i found at smokey mtn is priced at $57 iirc. looks like new manufacture. i could be wrong in my assumption. they also have some giant display $9.95 indian heads. have never held one. i figured if they were ger. from smkw they were made by olbertz.

thanks for the help everybody i am going to smkw soon and i think i am going to check it out it looked pretty good on their website but if it is made in china i will pass on it .i am wanting a knife to use and i like the german steel because its easy to keep sharp.i think i might go with eye or jim bowie.

A knife just came to my attention that is made in China. I can't remember the brand but it has Solingen Germany Stainless Steel on the tang. There is no country of origin, leaving you to believe it's a German knife. It's not, it's Chinese. BEWARE!

To my knowledge, the Indian Head trademark is still owned by Clarence Risner, and the knives are made in the Olbertz factory in Solingen Germany. The $57 price tag suggest to me that the knife you saw was of German/Olbertz manufacture, as that is about the right price.

I've got an Indian Head 4" stockman and it's one of the nicest production slipjoints I own. I paid about fifty bucks for it a few years ago, and I recommend the brand, assuming nothing has changed.

P.S. If the knife you are looking at is the one at this link, you are safe:

http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/eComm ... &SKU=IH100

You also mentioned Eye Brand and Jim Bowie brand. Conicidentally they are also both owned by C Risner and made in the Olbertz factory. I know the quality of Eye Brand is very comparable. I've heard the same of Jim Bowie but I've never owned one so I can't say.

longbeachbum wrote:To my knowledge, the Indian Head trademark is still owned by Clarence Risner, and the knives are made in the Olbertz factory in Solingen Germany. The $57 price tag suggest to me that the knife you saw was of German/Olbertz manufacture, as that is about the right price.

I've got an Indian Head 4" stockman and it's one of the nicest production slipjoints I own. I paid about fifty bucks for it a few years ago, and I recommend the brand, assuming nothing has changed.

P.S. If the knife you are looking at is the one at this link, you are safe:

http://www.eknifeworks.com/webapp/eComm ... &SKU=IH100

You also mentioned Eye Brand and Jim Bowie brand. Conicidentally they are also both owned by C Risner and made in the Olbertz factory. I know the quality of Eye Brand is very comparable. I've heard the same of Jim Bowie but I've never owned one so I can't say.

Correct you are LB,Bum! Clarence does own Indian Head & Jim Bowie tang stamps. Both knives are made in the same plant as Eye Brand (Clarence does not own Eye Brand) But he is a major importer of Eye Brand. All 3 brands have hammer forged high carbon steel, & are great users.Fit & finish are comparable on all 3 knives. No slouches!
These knives are made for using, easy to sharpen thin blade design & good carbon steel. You won't be disapointed!!

Dave

knowtracks wrote:Correct you are LB,Bum! Clarence does own Indian Head & Jim Bowie tang stamps. Both knives are made in the same plant as Eye Brand (Clarence does not own Eye Brand) But he is a major importer of Eye Brand.

Dave, good catch! As it turns out you are correct about the ownership of Eye Brand. I actually was able to locate an e-mail I received from C. Risner in January 2006 which verifies that he is the distributor, not the owner. Here is what he said:

"PETER SCHIEPER IS THE OWNER OF THE EYE BRAND TRADEMARK. HE IS
IN HIS EIGHTIES. SO WHEN HE WANTED TO RETIRE, HE HAD TO GO
BANKRUPT IN THE COURTS OF GERMANY IN ORDER TO TRANSFER THE
RETIREMENT FUNDS OF ALL THE PREVIOUS EMPLOYEES, AND TO
LIQUIDATE THE FACTORY ASSETS. THUS AFTER GOING THRU THE COURT AND ETC. I ALREADY HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH OLBERTZ AS I
OWN THE INDIAN HEAD TRADEMARK. THUS WHEN HE ASKED ME WHAT
CO. I TOOK OLBERTZ. NOT MANY GERMAN MFG. THERE NOW. SOME
LEADING BRANDS STILL HAVE FACTORIES, BUT THEY ARE MAKING
THEIR KNIVES IN SPAIN, ARGENTINA SOUTH AMERICA & CHINA. I ONLY
VOUCH FOR THE ''EYE BRAND" "INDIAN HEAD" AND JIM BOWIE. AS
GENUINE GERMAN MADE KNIVES."

thanks for the info lb that is the knife at smkw.i went to risner web site and he had queen and s@m knives for sell and also jim bowie but no eye or indian head.i think i will write him a email and see what he has.

Buck Creek Indian Head has the Indian Head for the shield. German made. I acquired this one in the mid-1970's.

-BluesK