KA-BAR OLEAN, NY Stamp Question
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:03 pm
Hello All,
I'm a new member; please pardon my long-winded post.
I came across a nice, vintage-looking, bone stag handled, jack knife in a local Army-Navy surplus store. The knife seemed out of place among the plastic handled, "Made In China" lock-backs and other assorted junk. It bore the KA-BAR and Olean NY markings on the tang of the main blade.
Here's my question:
Are there recently-made, non-vintage Ka-Bar pocket knives marked Olean, NY? Or, is a two blade folder, thus marked, worth getting excited about?
After a couple visits and bouts of indecision, I finally went back and bought the knife. It was marked $50 and the woman who owns the store said she was having a going-out-of-business sale, so she said I could have it for $25! (Even if it were a non-collectible, I figured I could live with that).
I had looked at it a time or two in the past year or so, but the $50 price tag seemed high considering I didn't need another "carry" knife. After she rang up the sale, she recalled an "old man" had brought the knife in some time before.
THAT sounded promising...
I brought it home and checked my knife guide book. Page 415 of "The Official Price Guide, Collector Knives, Tenth Edition" by C. Houston Price says:
The "Union Razor Company...by 1921 was in full operation at the Olean facilty" and then, "Union was soon making an extensive line of pocketknives bearing such stampings as 'Olcut,' 'Keenwell,' and another trademark that was popular on their large folding patterns, 'KA-BAR'."
Now, here's where the story picks up steam. The guide continues in the next paragraph on page 415,
"In 1951 the corporate name was changed to KA-BAR Cutlery Company, Inc., and the tang stamping was changed from KA-BAR to Kabar." (Mine is stamped KA-BAR).
Of further interest, and possibly even more significant, on page 416 it says,
"Although a few early knives were made with iron liners, most Ka-bars will be found with brass liners..." (Mine has, what appear to be, "iron" liners).
Am I jumping to the wrong conclusion? Would this not describe an early KA-BAR jack knife?
Thanks for your responses.
-Tip
I'm a new member; please pardon my long-winded post.
I came across a nice, vintage-looking, bone stag handled, jack knife in a local Army-Navy surplus store. The knife seemed out of place among the plastic handled, "Made In China" lock-backs and other assorted junk. It bore the KA-BAR and Olean NY markings on the tang of the main blade.
Here's my question:
Are there recently-made, non-vintage Ka-Bar pocket knives marked Olean, NY? Or, is a two blade folder, thus marked, worth getting excited about?
After a couple visits and bouts of indecision, I finally went back and bought the knife. It was marked $50 and the woman who owns the store said she was having a going-out-of-business sale, so she said I could have it for $25! (Even if it were a non-collectible, I figured I could live with that).
I had looked at it a time or two in the past year or so, but the $50 price tag seemed high considering I didn't need another "carry" knife. After she rang up the sale, she recalled an "old man" had brought the knife in some time before.
THAT sounded promising...
I brought it home and checked my knife guide book. Page 415 of "The Official Price Guide, Collector Knives, Tenth Edition" by C. Houston Price says:
The "Union Razor Company...by 1921 was in full operation at the Olean facilty" and then, "Union was soon making an extensive line of pocketknives bearing such stampings as 'Olcut,' 'Keenwell,' and another trademark that was popular on their large folding patterns, 'KA-BAR'."
Now, here's where the story picks up steam. The guide continues in the next paragraph on page 415,
"In 1951 the corporate name was changed to KA-BAR Cutlery Company, Inc., and the tang stamping was changed from KA-BAR to Kabar." (Mine is stamped KA-BAR).
Of further interest, and possibly even more significant, on page 416 it says,
"Although a few early knives were made with iron liners, most Ka-bars will be found with brass liners..." (Mine has, what appear to be, "iron" liners).
Am I jumping to the wrong conclusion? Would this not describe an early KA-BAR jack knife?
Thanks for your responses.
-Tip
