All About Pocket Knives

I have a Hunter's "Pal" folding knife from the U.K.&R. Co. in Germany (no town given). The blade is 7 1/2” long unfolded and 7/8" wide.
The lettering is 1/8” high and in all caps. My guess is that the knife dates from the 1920's.

On the ricassa appear the word "Pal and below it No. What followed on both lines is lost.

(It is possible that I have misread the first letter in the company name.)

My guess is that the knife was originally carried ín a sheath as 4" of blade protrudes unprotected.

Would greatly appreciate any information or comments. And of course, a guesstimate as to value.

Interesting old “folding Bowie” type knife. UK&R was Utica Knife & Razor which was a jobber - they did not manufacture their own cutlery but contracted it to be made by others, mostly German and Czech companies, occasionally by a U.S. firm. Sorry I have no idea of value. Might find some comps for similar knives by an advanced search on eBay for sold listings of “folding Bowie knife”.

Ken

You are pretty close on the date, UK&R was in business from 1924-1935 when the owners formed PAL Cutlery Co. Yes, it once had a sheath. Bowie guys don't like the "folding bowie" term which is used on large folding knives of the mid 1800s where the blade does not extend beyond the handle. The proper name for these knives is "d'Estaign knife" after the guy who supposedly invented the style. Many modern collectors of these call them "expandable blade" knives. There is collector interest in them, most of the 20th century ones seem to have been made in Germany, some in England. More modern ones come from India and Pakistan. The early 1800s ones were mostly made in England and command BIG money (thousands of dollars), the earlier 20th century ones often go in the $200-$500 range, those with genuine stag handles being the most sought after. Lack of original sheath will hurt the price some, maybe 20-25%. Cool old knife for sure.

Very cool knife. But I’ve point of correction in case you go to do more research. It’s spelled “d’Estaing” knife.

Thanks, Col. Usually my spelling and grammar are pretty good but when I type or rather hunt and peck with one finger from each hand my fingers sometimes get dyslexic. He would have found it on google anyways, I just typed in my mistake and it went right to the proper spelling and links. The early-mid 1800s examples of these knives are often spectacular and rarely seen. I am lucky to know a couple of guys who do have a couple of the early ones each and they are magnificent in hand. Case actually made one in bone and stag in the 1930s, also a rare model for Case with the bone version being rarer than the stag version.

Gunsil wrote: ↑Mon Aug 24, 2020 2:43 am Thanks, Col. Usually my spelling and grammar are pretty good but when I type or rather hunt and peck with one finger from each hand my fingers sometimes get dyslexic. He would have found it on google anyways, I just typed in my mistake and it went right to the proper spelling and links. The early-mid 1800s examples of these knives are often spectacular and rarely seen. I am lucky to know a couple of guys who do have a couple of the early ones each and they are magnificent in hand. Case actually made one in bone and stag in the 1930s, also a rare model for Case with the bone version being rarer than the stag version.

Usually auto correct messes me up. That and typing with these big fingers. The right key doesn’t always get hit!

Wow! So much information and so fast! Am so grateful for all of your comments and information.