All About Pocket Knives

Just looking at whittlers on eBay and saw this little Holley MFG. Co. whittler. Looked like a nice knife until I saw on one of the pen blades tang stamp that read HOLLEY LAKE VILLE. What puzzeled me about the stamp was that it looked different and recent. Ebay item number is 220190188136. Any thoughts on this knife?

No way is that blade original to that knife. Even if the tang stamps were the same, the difference in the condition of the metal would confirm its a replacement.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... %26fvi%3D1

This particular seller seems to have a lot of questionable knives. I bought one from him and had to return it because the description didn't match the condition. That was last year and I will not buy from him again.

I've learned more on AAPK on what to look for when reading a knife than any of my books. When I saw that stamp and the condition of the blades it really surprised me. Just a shame that people will resort to trying to make a buck any way possible.

does anyone else see a bad weld on the tang of the main blade?

Tang has some kind of damage but I can't see a bad weld. However I am far from being an expert. I can pass on some advice to any new collectors that may read this. Be leery of any old Case tested, Case xx, Remington or other old collectible knives on Ebay. The Case Tested knives are the most messed with knives in the world. Even if your best friend has one for sale be leery. He might have one that has been messed with and not know it. The guy selling the Holly knife is using Ebay to dump the stuff he can't sell at knife shows. I know for a fact he is a dealer that goes to most of the bigger shows. The crap I see going on on Ebay makes we almost want to get out of knife collecting alltogether

It's funny, the tang stamps have two entirely different typefaces. The one on the questionable secondary is sans serif.

It looks like the tang on the main blade has been hammered on, could this be an attempt to thin and extend the kick in order to make the blade sit up higher in the knife? I read somewhere that you could do this if the blade set too low in the frame. The kick certainly has an odd shape in any case.

Like other posters have said, this seller puts up a lot of ???? knives. Look over on BF at the BRL forum and you will see a ton of threads discussing this seller and his knives.

I recall in the 70's and 80's at knife shows seeing a lot of Holley stamped blades floating around with the "modern" type stamping. I have no idea where they came from.

Just a quick note to you guys who think that everybody who sells on Ebay is a crook. I have been selling knives for about a year now on ebay and I have 100% feedback. I keep that feedback rating by being as honest as I possibly can. During that year, I have sold 3 or 4 Case Tested knives. I have refrained from selling 1 or 2 others that I thought had the possibility of being less than 100% legitimate. When I sell a knife it is what I say it is. PERIOD. End of discussion. I have had one knife returned to me in the close to 400 knives I have sold. The buyer did not see a crack that I pictured and stated. I refunded his purchase price and his shipping costs both ways. I am about Sick and Tired of painting everyone who sells on Ebay with the CROOK brush!! Of the thousands of knives that sell on Ebay every day the percentage of fakes is probably less than the population of the average knife show fakes on any given show!! Shoot the offenders, not the herd Okay Sorry about my rant, I think I am over it now

justin hosier wrote:Just a quick note to you guys who think that everybody who sells on Ebay is a crook. I have been selling knives for about a year now on ebay and I have 100% feedback. I keep that feedback rating by being as honest as I possibly can. During that year, I have sold 3 or 4 Case Tested knives. I have refrained from selling 1 or 2 others that I thought had the possibility of being less than 100% legitimate. When I sell a knife it is what I say it is. PERIOD. End of discussion. I have had one knife returned to me in the close to 400 knives I have sold. The buyer did not see a crack that I pictured and stated. I refunded his purchase price and his shipping costs both ways. I am about Sick and Tired of painting everyone who sells on Ebay with the CROOK brush!! Of the thousands of knives that sell on Ebay every day the percentage of fakes is probably less than the population of the average knife show fakes on any given show!! Shoot the offenders, not the herd Okay Sorry about my rant, I think I am over it now

I agree and have been selling on Ebay too...100% positive feedback and I have only had one knife returned. I have a 100% no questions asked return policy since there is no way to 100% describe the look and feel of an older knife even with photos.

i don't believe all ebay sellers are crooks. i sell knives on ebay as do most of our members. do as you are supposed to and you'll never be the subject of this forum. rant away , i believe this forum serves our members.

I don't think that I implied that everybody that sells on eBay is a crook. I have had 600+ sales with a 100% feedback rating from 463 customers and have never had a knife returned. The purpose of the post was to help identify if the tang stamp was legit or not and definitely did not say that all eBay sellers are dishonest. If you're going to buy knives you better know what to look for. I was taken too many times early on by bad photos and inaccurate/deceiving listings. Most of the sellers on eBay that are reputable offer a "no questions asked return policy".

I don't think everyone who sells on Ebay is a crook either but check out the return policies and you will find that most sellers sell as is, or returns only if not as described, or re-stocking fee charged. The two sellers who posted here have good return policies and good feedback. I sell on Ebay also and I have a 100% feedback rating. I have returned a couple of knives because of something I missed in my description. I have a no questions asked return policy. If you get it and don't like it return it and get your money back. The very first red flag to me is a seller who won't stand behind what he sells. I have no problem buying from a dealer with good feedback and a good return policy but when you start buying older high end knives on ebay you will find fewer sellers willing to stand behind their product.

Quote from Justin "When I sell a knife it is what I say it is.PERIOD."
Damn. I wish I had half of his knife knowledge.

I have never seen a post on this forum that paints all sellers on E-bay as crooks; however there are a certain few sellers who constantly pop up with knives that are very questionable to outright fakes. Some of these sellers I have purchased from, but I was 100% sure of what I was buying before I bid. E-bay is a great outlet to buy and sell but there are risks that go along with it, unlike a show where you can hold the item and visually inspect it you only have a few photos and a description to go by, knowledge is the greatest tool when buying or selling on E-bay. Most posts here are not here just to bash someone they are to bring to light things that a novice or beginner may not notice and thus be cheated out of their hard earned cash. Even experienced collectors can miss stuff or be very knowledgeable in one area and lacking in another, that is where this forum helps everyone out except sellers that misrepresent their items in hopes of cheating people out of their money, face it, it does happen. We have well over 300 knives and razor purchased from E-bay and are very happy with what we have gotten and have returned none. Always read the knife, know what you are bidding on, our philosophy is if we are unsure of an item pass on it and buy something you are 100% sure of. There are too many makers, too many styles and too many handle materials to have them all, collect what you like and be sure of what you are buying. A lack of knowledge on the part of the buyer is how less than honest sellers rip people off, this forum it a tool to gain that knowledge.[/size]

Keep up the good work Jim and any others who may find something questionable! I'm 100% certain that if someone posted in the General forum that "They loved ice-cream!"......there would be at least one person that reads it that says "I HATE ICE-CREAM AND ANYONE WHO DOES". My point being here that you can't please all the people, all the time. There's just no way, it's impossible. This topic seems to generate about as much "feather ruffling" as the sad soul who mistakenly says they like RR knives on this site. To show I'm trying to be fair and neutral in this post, I'll get my head chopped off right here...I love RR knives and have quite a few. I have also sold a lot of these knives with a GUARANTEE. You heard me right. Everytime I sold one of these, I told the person buying it if something was wrong with the knife or if they found they didn't like it, I'd give them their money back. I didn't really have much to lose here because I was getting these at nearly nothing. Guess how many I had returned? One! It was a muskrat that had been assembled wrong and just wasn't right. I started to give him his money back and he said he really liked the knife and asked if I had another one. I happened to have the exact knife and he was very happy with it. OK, nuff said. Grab the axes boys, cause I said it! Now back to the post....what comes to my mind is the Muslim thing that's been going around. They have been directly or indirectly responsible for much of what has been going on in the terrorist's activity against primarily...us, the United States. Are all Muslim's bad? Is it "all" of them that are to blame? Well, I can only give you my opinion and that's a definite no. Now, do they need to be watched and checked out......YES!! It seems every time the guard is let down, they hit. So personally speaking, I don't blame them all, but until I know "who is who", you better believe I'll be watching. Its the same for ebay. My experience is some are bad, most are good sellers. So JUST because it might offend a good seller, everyone should keep quiet when they discover a bad one? I don't think so and don't think the MAJORITY on AAPK think so either, but again I'm speaking for myself here. So there will always be nay-sayers and those with chips but for the good of the whole, I think this is a good thing. Is it possible to question a good seller who is truly honest? Absolutely it's possible. That just happens, but without going back and looking at each and every post and if memory is serving me tonight, they all basically start the same way. "I seen this knife on the bay and something just didn't seem right. What do YOU guys think?".......then most of the time, there is a discussion. I have seen more than one post where a member(s) would reply that everything seemed to be OK and then another might say the same thing and in the end, it was agreed that most likely the knife in question was OK. So keep up the good work here on AAPK. I learned a very long time ago I needed tough skin to survive in this world without everyone I met hurting my feelings. Thanks for your time and apologies for my rambling.



Brad

rant on, cope. the knives we question are generally wrong in some way, either by deception or ignorance. some are good and we are'nt aware of some oddities, and sometimes a seller who is questionable is discussed. 100% feedback does not make an honest seller. if i was scamming, i would give $ at the first complaint. and sell it to some other guy down the road who won't see through it. these questionable sellers often have some good knives. but i won't support them.


if you as a seller have been mentioned unfavorably on our forum, tell us your side. we will listen.

Allow me to clarify my staement. I am far from knowledgable about all these knives. Bottom line is that I only put in my descriptions what I know to be FACTUAL. One of the descriptions that talks about a keen kutter manufactured case tested knife is a bit of a reach IMO. HONESTY is the only policy when dealing on Ebay (for me)! The other problem that sometimes arises and pinches the best of knife collectors is the fuzzy picture of the knife with a short description that could be read either way, so we happily bet our pitiful knife budget in the hope that we get an "easy one". if this is what happens to you keep your hackles down and take your chances or do what Kiferbros says and keep your money in your pocket. Unfortunately a few Jackasses screw up a really good thing for all of us sometimes!!

jljr1944 wrote:Tang has some kind of damage but I can't see a bad weld. However I am far from being an expert. I can pass on some advice to any new collectors that may read this. Be leery of any old Case tested, Case xx, Remington or other old collectible knives on Ebay. The Case Tested knives are the most messed with knives in the world. Even if your best friend has one for sale be leery. He might have one that has been messed with and not know it. The guy selling the Holly knife is using Ebay to dump the stuff he can't sell at knife shows. I know for a fact he is a dealer that goes to most of the bigger shows. The crap I see going on on Ebay makes we almost want to get out of knife collecting alltogether

I guess in hindsight this is what set me off. See the last sentence in this post. Nothing personal! I think that a constant faker needs to be exposed as such I have had one knife show up here and it checked out as legit, which made me a bit proud to have my knife scrutinized by what I consider to be the very best in the field and come through with flying colors. Any way I have to go cut wood so good luck and good knifing to all

this knife is bogus. all that matters. jmo.