All About Pocket Knives

I'm a newby here. I have a decent collection of Case knives. I'm thinking of branching out to other brands. What are the better brands to collect? By better I mean most universally collected, and recognized as a historically well-made knife.

In my opinion & if it were me & I could afford it, my choice would be GEC.

The idea is getting enjoyment out of your efforts. %0 collectors will have 5o ideas. If going for investment or fututre profits you may go 1 diection, but if thats your driver, there are better ways to invest. I opt for Queen made which allows for about 40 different names. I just like em and they were made just down the road a piece. I do believe the most satisfaction is a cpollection rather than an assortment. I do snag a few others which catch my eye. A friend has bunches of knives and he loves em, I would be hard pressed to pick 10 Id take.
Have fun at it, thats the clincher.

I recommend that you simply collect what you like for a while. Try a few different manufacturers.Then you will start to get a feel for what you enjoy holding, using and are proud to own.
Personally, I enjoy some brands more than others and gravitate to them, but I don’t shy away from something that just appeals to me. Variety is fun too.
Froe

A lot depends on whether your interests are limited to current (or recent) production knives, or knives from other eras. The time period from late 1800’s to WWII is generally referred to as the Golden Age of American cutlery. A time during which there were literally hundreds of cutleries in operation, many making and selling under their own brands, but also making private label knives for hardware distributors. During that time quality was a given - it was the ticket into the game and if you didn’t have it you didn’t stay in business long.

It’s a fascinating, wide collector focus having too many different options to list in a post, but this forum is filled with posts, pictures, and information about those companies and their knives. There are many sources for finding such knives, including but certainly not limited to the AAPK stores here. Like you I started out collecting Case, then branched into other brands.

Probably as good an answer to your question as any can be found here https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/knife_forum/ in the index to AAPK content. Scrolling down through the Forum home page content will show you the more popular brands (the number of posts contained in each subject subforum gives some indication of the popularity).

Ken

Simple answer (not), what makes you happy? Some people go by style and feel. Other people go by usefulness. Some, aesthetics is more important.
For myself, nostalgia in a very narrow focus. When I was a kid in the 1989’s, my Dad was a police officer. He confiscated a Ka-bar dog head hunter. He ga e me 5hat knife, I loved it and used it till it broke on me. I swore I would get another, it took me a long time. When I did finally get it, I started collecting specifically Ka-bar one only Ka-bar, now I have expanded to Union Cut Co, Olcut, Keenwell, and Brown Bros. All predecessors to Ka-bar and the same family of knives.
It is your life experiences that will lead you, that is what makes those knives valuable…..TO YOU!

Helpful responses...BUT other than GEC, and K-Bar I didn't get specific brand names. As in the original post, what I enjoy collecting is historically collected and we'll made knives. So perhaps give me your personal top 3, and thanks.

If your talking vintage and of coarse condition is everything , my preferences are Remington , New York knife and Ulster all pre WWII .
These are very popular brands and hold great value when found in excellent or better condition . I would say these 3 brands 95% of the time had a blade etch unlike Case which rarely were etched pre WWII and much harder to counterfeit .
Hope this helps .

Mike

Yes, Mike, helps greatly.

Robeson made top quality folding knives and a wide variety of patterns.
kj

If I’m forced to kiss and tell, then Challenge, Eye Brand (Schlieper) and Kershaw have always been among my favorites.
Froe

If I must, Ka-bar (including Union Cut Co., Olean,Keenwell, etc) ,Imperial, and Case.

Thanks a lot for the recommendations. I'll check these out and see what stands out to me.

Schrade, Robeson and New York Knife

Keen Kutter/Winchester, Camillus, Schrade. In addition to Case.

Pre-Fiskars Gerbers, USA made Bucks, and I'm really surprised no one listed Western.

And then there was heard a voice calling out in the wilderness.................Canal Street.

I find some of the well known German brands are fun to collect and seem to have universal recognition. Boker, Henckels, Hen & Rooster.

I first had small flip knives I collected, then there came mission get all Camillus Beckers when I found BK77 Extreme by pure luck , then there came all other limited or not in manufacturing types too.
And now my last and stupidest one, collecting OTFs. My wallet loves me.

Many terrific brands have been covered here already. I’m a German Eye/Carl Schlieper fan, although I’m open to anything else of N American, German, or English origin (personal preference).

I would research the names listed in this thread and let your own personal interests lead the way. Some brands (or eras) will be easier to find than others, and the prices usually reflect that too. Speaking of prices, I would suggest comparing the price trends of knives you’re interested in if at all possible. Prices can vary drastically, but you may be able to weed out the extortioners and get the feel for a “reasonable” current market value.

They say “knowledge is power”, which is totally true in this hobby, as we’re often confronted with opportunistic situations. You don’t want to miss out on a great find at a great price, nor do you want to overpay or get burned off a counterfeit or lame reproduction.

Good luck! A lot of the members here are awesome and provide great information.