All About Pocket Knives

Hi all, walking thru. a antique mall yesterday a dealer has a ESTWING fixed blade stacked leather grip and the brass butt cap is stamped as Estwing. Very nice condition. later the seller was walking with the keys and said that it was his. Said very rare and the sheath is a marriage, around 1930? Asking $75 for it. I did find a couple using my cell phone but no other information about them online. Maybe I should go back?

mrwatch wrote:Hi all, walking thru. a antique mall yesterday a dealer has a ESTWING fixed blade stacked leather grip and the brass butt cap is stamped as Estwing. Very nice condition. later the seller was walking with the keys and said that it was his. Said very rare and the sheath is a marriage, around 1930? Asking $75 for it. I did find a couple using my cell phone but no other information about them online. Maybe I should go back?

$75 seams a little steep to me. They are rare and don't seem to have sold a lot of knives but not a lot of people collect them or even know Estwing sold knives. I think I paid about $30 for mine.___Dave

Then you stole it Dave. For $30, I would have been on that like a duck on a bug. Because Estwing is here in town, I've been looking for one of those originals in decent condition that I can afford. They don't come up for sale very often on eBay. When they do, they're in demand. From what I've seen of the ones that do, $75 is not a steal but it's somewhat reasonable. Bob, it's one of those decisions you have to make for yourself (he said restating the obvious).

Was able to find one picture with Google.

I believe that you will find those Estwings were made 1938ish to 1941ish by Western States in Boulder, Colorado. ZZ should be along to say yea or nay on this one.

The older Estwing flat pommel, stacked leather hunting knives shown in jerrryd' post certainly resemble the Western L36 from the 1936-1940 catalog but without handling one or at the least very good pictures from multiple angles, I would hesitate to definitively claim they were made by Western due to a couple of "differences".

I have never held one of the Estwings like in jerryd' post but I have seen a few on feebay. The problem is, no seller ever seems to post a spinal/dorsal picture of the handle so I can see if they have the typical Western "full tang appearance".

I messaged a couple of sellers asking for those orientations, but they never complied.

The differences between jerry's knife and the 1936-1940 Westerm L36 are:

Guard differences - Estwing's half guard and Western's S-guard with quillons

Blade length - Western 5-1/2" 9-5/8" OAL Estwing - "appears" to be 5" and 9-1/8"

While the guard differences are relatively inconsequential, the length differences are more telling. Western did not have a knife with the blade shape/dimensions of the Estwing in the 1936 or the 1941 catalogs. While a "special" blade run "might" have been made, every other Western contract knife I have seen has been traceable back to an existing Western pattern.

The closest the above Estwing knife comes to a Western "blade" (re: BL/OAL) is the L58/258 models from the 1941 catalog, but the 58 model has a narrower blade height, more like a B&T that the L36. And the 1941 L36 transitioned over to the bird beak pommel that other Westerns had started using in 1931.

A final observation - every other type of Estwing hunting knife I have seen had single pommel pin construction rather than Western's double pin. Some of the Estwing hunters I have seen had lead plugs in the butt of the pommel, similar to the construction techniques of 1920s/30s construction used by Union Cutlery (aka Kabar) and others.

If I can ever get a seller to give me the pic angles I want and it looks remotely like a Western, I'll be on it like a chicken on a June bug, but just for fun and giggles? Nope, not gonna buy one.

Bottom line? Made by Western for Estwing?

Maybe.

I don't think they were Western products. The later ones (the posted one is pre-war) have aluminum pommels and were likely made by Kinfolks who along with Case used the lead plug pommel a lot post war. No Union Cut/KA-BARs to my knowledge had lead plug pommels until the late 1940s. Case did use the lead plug set up on their WW2 private purchase 7" blade "stilettos". I have one of these Estwings (like the posted one) someplace but I am away for a week so I can't even try to dig it out to inspect the flat pommel plate attachment. I have seen a couple like the posted one go for over a hundred bucks on the bay, but don't know what one would bring today.I would not price mine for less than 75 bucks at a knife show, those who like them seem to think they are scarce and are willing to pay for a nice one. By the way, I have seen papers that show that the Case "Indestructible" hatchet with the built in swing guard and sometimes seen with Catt or Kinfolks mark were designed for Case/Kinfolks by Estwing.

All I've seen with the flat pommel, the pommel plate was peened on but now that y'all bring it up, I can't remember if it was a single tang or a bifurcated tang. I will say this. They say Rockford, IL on the pommel plate and I've always been under the impression they were made by Estwing, right here in Rockford.

Learned something new today! I knew about Estwing hammers and pry bars but didn't know about their knives other than the "thing" we had passed around last year, an Estwing all steel utility/camp/hunting knife. Need to check those always present Western looking fixed blades a little closer. Might find a prize!
Treefarmer

Here is one I picked up awhile ago for $15. Not sure if the sheath is original(doesn't look like it). I didn't know they made knives either.

They made one with a leather washer handle, and flat steel pomel that matches the hatchets. I've been looking for one off and on for years but haven't been able to score one. Make a nice set for sure.

Isn't it possible Estwing made their own knives?

I'd like to think they made their own knives. They certainly could have, they make fine hammers and hatchets.

The ones that have the same pommel as the axes, certainly look to be estwing made. The ones with the birds head pommels look sort of generic, those could have been farmed out. They still have knives in their product line. They don't look like anybody else's, but they also don't match the axes.

This latest round is an embarrassment to a fine company.

edge213 wrote:Isn't it possible Estwing made their own knives?

That's where I would put my money

jerryd6818 wrote:This latest round is an embarrassment to a fine company.

?

Miller Bro's wrote:

jerryd6818 wrote:This latest round is an embarrassment to a fine company.

?

Go to Estwing's web site and peruse three of the ugliest fixed blades I've ever seen, short of multi-serration, over-jimped tactipuke mall ninja knives.

Miller Bro's wrote:

jerryd6818 wrote:This latest round is an embarrassment to a fine company.

?

I guess I didn't make myself clear (obvious now ) I meant that thing we were passing around sometime back.

I don't see any knives listed here,am I on the right site?
https://www.estwing.com/collections

I guess I didn't make myself clear (obvious now ) I meant that thing we were passing around sometime back.

Jerry do you have any pictures?

Dimitri, Jerry's out shoveling snow but here's what he was talking about.
Here's what was posted concerning the "new" Estwing fixed blade: viewtopic.php?f=39&t=49756&p=524724&hil ... ng#p524716
Several of us used the thing and commented.
Treefarmer

Miller Bro's wrote:I don't see any knives listed here,am I on the right site?
https://www.estwing.com/collections

Here's the link to their current knives and axes -

https://www.estwing.com/collections/axes-outdoor

I've got one and would be happy to photo it in any orientation for you guys. That's I have for pictures at the moment. My information shows that the knife was made inhouse by Estwing the hatchet handle knife and future knives were contracted my Camillus. I purchased mine for $45 with the original sheath that is pretty flimsy in need of a restitch.

Pile Driver the one in your hand with the brass butt plate is the on I looked at.

If it were in my area and in nice shape I'd go back and get it and at least attempt to talk them down to $60-65 but that's me. Did it have a sheath?

treefarmer wrote:Dimitri, Jerry's out shoveling snow but here's what he was talking about.
Here's what was posted concerning the "new" Estwing fixed blade: viewtopic.php?f=39&t=49756&p=524724&hil ... ng#p524716
Several of us used the thing and commented.
Treefarmer

Thanks Phil I see what Jerry was talking about now!