All About Pocket Knives

Can anyone identify the tang stamp signature on a Pine Knot Pocket Knife? I have attached a photo of a recent purchase but it may be a little grainy. I know there is a signature under the bird logo but I can't make it out. I have seen some near mint examples but the lettering is still not legible. If anyone can identify the signature and maybe provide a little history it would be very much appreciated.

Jas W. Price

"Another of their trademarks was the Jas. W. Price “Pine Knot” which was in existence in the 1930s. Some state the Pine Knot was named for a town in Kentucky, while others say it was for being as tough a a pine knot. the story I have heard on the Jas W. Price name was that he owned a hardware store in Tennessee and had purchased inventory from Belknap. Times got rough and he went broke while still owing Belknap money. Being an honest man, he went to Louisville and offered to work off what he owed. Later, working his way up in the company, the marking Jas W. Price – Pine Knot was named for him."

Impressive! A very nice history. Thank you so much for the information KLJ77. It is greatly appreciated and I am grateful!

The only thing I can contribute is enhanced pictures of your tang stamp and images of tang stamps that have been posted on AAPK. The best I can tell is your knife appears to be authentic. Judge for yourself.

There is a good bit of conflicting information about that signature on Pine Knot knives. You see "Jas. W. Price" a lot and that is what is stated in the Official Price Guide to Collector's Knives by Price & Zalesky. Goins' Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings says it is Jon. W. Price (for John, though he mistakenly lists it as "JNO" in the text). Levine's Guide to Knives and Their Values (4th Ed.) says it is James W. Price (Jm. W. Price).

I tend to lean toward John because a John W. Price was the First V.P. of Belknap in 1913 (The Hardware Reporter, February 7, 1913, p. 93). I'm not sure how long he was with the company (although I know he was there is 1917 and Goins' says he started in the early 1900s) or whether or not he ascended to be President but if, as I suspect, he was with the company for many years then it makes sense that they might honor him with that signature.

As the OP states, the signature on original Pine Knot knives is hard to decipher. I don't own any but if someone here has one with a clear signature (say pre-1930s not one of the later reproductions) and would post a clear photo of the entire tang stamp that would be great. My cursory review of the many AAPK postings about Pine Knot did not turn up a clear photo of the signature. If I missed it please correct me and post the link.

Also, the Price name was used on other Belknap items, including firearms, and you see various references to John W. Price shotguns on the firearms forums.

Finally, if someone here has a subscription to the Knife Magazine digital archives maybe they could do a search. If Knife has done an article on Pine Knot it probably includes some good photos and I would tend to take their word on the matter.

Dennis
EDIT: Above I stated that Goins mistakenly listed JNO as an abbreviation for John. I was wrong, as the initials JNO or Jno are in fact used as old abbreviations for John. See this genealogy website: https://www.british-genealogy.com/forum ... 62140.html. Looking at the photo in the post below I think I see Jno, so that reinforces (at least in my mind) that it is a John W. Price signature on the old Pine Knot knives.

What do you guys make of this? I don't have a loupe.

What do you guys make of this?

I think I see Jno W. Price. See the edit I made to my post above that identifies Jno as an old abbreviation for John.

Dennis

I concur...the name is "JNO W. PRICE". After seeing Jerry's and Redrider's photos, it is obvious it is JNO.

Thanks to everyone for some great information. After reading all the threads it appears the name should be John abbreviated as Jno.

Recently, this pocket knife arrived in a group or lot of pocket knives that I bought. It now becomes my first example to be posted under this topic or thread (FOR REFERENCE). I did NOT buy the group or lot of pocket knives to obtain this particular pocket knife. I am NOT adding this pocket knife to my general, pocket knife accumulation. Instead, it is going in my "broken" knife box. It is a PINE KNOT, two blades (the main blade is broken), one tang stamp, 3 1/2" closed, two springs, long main blade pull (if it wasn't broken), pocket knife. The main broken blade, front tang stamp, is the curved or arched style and says, "PINE KNOT (over) (bird image) (over) Jno W Price (written)" It appears that this pocket knife once had a shield. It does NOT have a shield now. The main blade stub has a soft half stop, but a VERY GOOD opening and closing snap. The secondary blade also has a soft half stop, along with an ok opening and closing snap. Even with the broken main blade, this pocket knife is still in FAIR condition. I had to clean it a little. I took some pictures and here it is.
Caption(s), if any, are on the BOTTOM of the corresponding picture(s).
Click on a picture to ENLARGE.