All About Pocket Knives

Does anyone have a example of this knife or a catalog description for a 642523?
One of the blades looks like a castration blade that I have seen pictured elsewhere but I can not find this Knifes model number listed on any Robeson lists. The tang stamp Robeson/ShurEdge/Rochester. N.Y. seems to date the knife to 1922-1939. All 4 blades have identical tang stamps. The can opener/screw driver blade has been heavily ground so I am not sure if it has not been redesigned. I also can not tell if the small spoon shaped blade is original.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Very unique old knife. Several desirable features. The Presto lite key is always interesting. Lovely bones.

That is very cool, thanks for posting.

Thank you Doglegg and 1967redrider

I looked in a few reference books for this pattern, but couldn't find it. However, in Price and Zalesky's 15 Edition they have a 646440 listed as a Carriage Knife w/ Hoof Pick (jigged bone, 4 blades, iron liners and bolsters). It also has the highest collector value of all Robeson knives. I think this knife would be similar.

I have only seen one other knife like that and it belonged to a now deceased couple that lived in Kansas or Nebraska, I forget which.

I used to see them at the Springfield, Missouri NKCA knife shows and if they were in front of you, you weren’t going to buy any Robesons. You had to leap frog around them and get ahead. They were both retired GS-12 government employees and had deep pockets.

I have no idea what has happened to their collections. There was a “His & Hers” aspect to their collecting.

The knife they had was featured in the first Jim Sargent book to include a Robeson section. Jim declared it an early “Automobilist’s Knife”. At one time I knew the purpose of each blade, but that information has slipped away.

These knives are extremely rare, more so than the “Carriage Knives”. Therefore, I put a high dollar value on them. I think that knife, in a well described and pictured Ebay auction would bring 500 to 750 dollars. If I had that kind of money, I would pay it for that knife and it isn’t even mint.

Charlie Noyes

If I remember correctly, the blade with the hook was to set the spark gap on plugs and a wire stripper, the blade that looks like a snuff spoon was a scraper for some purpose, the multipurpose blade has a screw-driver, can-opener, Presto-Lite Key, a small hex wrench, etc and a knife blade.

Charlie

And I’m not sure I see anything wrong with the can-opener blade.

Charlie

1967redrider and Charlie,
Thank you very much for your research and incite about this knife

Charlie, what you said about the hooked blade makes more since than what I was guessing.
The blade has no evidence of any cutting edge. The can/cap lifter blade has a cutting edge on the cap lifter side which I would think is odd for a blade used as a wrench. After going back to look at your Robeson Tang stamp dating the knife dates to 1911-1921. Overall the knife is in very good condition and very solid with hard snap.
I found the knife at a Lancaster County PA antique mall, and it was the only knife in the store.

Thank you again for the information.

..amazing find!!!!...... ............