All About Pocket Knives

I have had a few folks commenting on other forum posts that they would like to see more of Dad's knives, so to begin with I'll use this post to do share some old photos of Jay Bigler knives. These are mostly old photographs of knives. Hope you all will enjoy seeing them.I will have very little information about, but once in a while I will know a little about them, and I'll post that with those pictures. I have no specific info on two beautiful knives. However, I noticed that the top knife has a Damascus blade.

A bit of trivia... we (my family) live about 30 miles from the world-famous bladesmith Daryl Meier. Dad visited his shop a couple of times. Dad was in awe of the artistry of Mr. Meier's work and the whole process of the making of that steel. Daryl sold him some "cast offs" (my term... I don't know what else to call them). They were still certainly beautiful. For Christmas one year, my mom went up there and bought a length of steel (about 12 inches) from Mr. Meier of the "good" stuff. But, again, Dad never cataloged such things for his knives, so I have no idea what blades were made of Meier patterned steel.

Those certainly are beautiful!

Here's an old photo of nine of Dad's pocket knives, plus a small fixed-blade knife. He initially made the fixed-blades before beginning to branch out into the folders in 2001 or so. I can see the "J BIGLER" semicircle on several of them, so these are likely not early creations.

I agree with Reverand. Mr. Jay Bigler made some great-looking knives!

This is one of the knives that I discovered back in April of this year.

These are more recent photos. A family friend bought this knife as a Christmas present for her husband.

Beautiful knives M.J.! I particularly like the small Vendetta with black covers and shiny chrome bolster that's sitting beside a tan pouch, as well as the "April discovery" which I'm finding very attractive.

Awesome knives, thanks for posting.

This finishes up the old photos that I have found of Dad's pocket knives. I'll begin posting pics of the knives that I have sold mostly through another website or on occasion through the facebook group that I set up, "The Jay Bigler Knife Collection", to showcase his work.

This pocket knife was purchased by a longtime friend -- we were friends even before kindergarten. She wanted it because it was small, lightweight and something that she could carry in her purse. Her dad, as did my dad, always carried a pocket knife.

I thought I was done with the old photos, but I found these two knives on a picture with some fixed-blade knives.

Those are really nice looking knives.

Agreed!

Something a little unusual for Dad to make...

This aluminum-handled knife has stayed in the family. My cousin (my dad's brother's youngest daughter) bought it as a gift for her son.

If I remember correctly, this one has stayed in the family, too. Another cousin... (I have lots of cousins. )

When I find a knife with condition issues, like this one with a bit of corrosion on the edge of the blade, I don't attempt to "fix" it because I feel like the new owner will have much more knowledge about dealing with it than I. This one, of course, did find a new home.

MaryJayn Bigler wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 5:42 pm When I find a knife with condition issues, like this one with a bit of corrosion on the edge of the blade, I don't attempt to "fix" it because I feel like the new owner will have much more knowledge about dealing with it than I. This one, of course, did find a new home.

....."of course".....!

Dad used lots of different materials for his knife handles, but he had a fondness for burled woods.

Very, very nice burled wood on that one!

Dad did the "scrimshaw" for this knife. I even found a piece of brass that he had practiced on with different designs. I can't decide whether it a leaf or a feather. (Dad also took some handles to an artist in western Kentucky that did some scrimshaw designs for him. I do not know the artist's name, but he did sign his pieces with a stylized "glyph".) But this knife is all Dad's design on the handle.

Those last 2 are beautiful knives M.J.! All your Dad's work is gorgeous, but those 2 really do it for me!

Thanks, guys, for all the nice comments about Dad's knives!

This knife is one that I gave mention to previously. Dad made the knife, but not the scrimshaw artwork.

MaryJayn Bigler wrote: ↑Fri Aug 19, 2022 4:22 pm Thanks, guys, for all the nice comments about Dad's knives!

This knife is one that I gave mention to previously. Dad made the knife, but not the scrimshaw artwork.

The difference in the color in the two photos is that I used a flash in the bottom photo.

I found many finished knives on Dad's work table in the house. I think that he was planning on giving them a little TLC.