All About Pocket Knives

I was approached by a couple of gentlemen asking about the knives they were carrying. The first was a remington (circle Remington USA) tang stamped R15. My knife collector guide listed it as a "leg knife" (hadn't heard that term before) with a pyremite handle material (looks like delrin to me). What's a "leg knife" and is this as rare and valuable as the book said? Second was a stag handled 4 inch trapper with nickel silver hip bolster (but no bolster at the end), in a felt pouch in an LL Bean Box with an LL BEAN tang stamp on the clip blade. No numbers or identifying marks. Any one know who Bean contracted to make their house brand knives?

First off...

The Remington...if it is an authentic one...wouldn't be Delrin, as Delrin wasn't used on knives until the 60tys...twenty years after Remington made the last of their knives. It may've been a reproduction...or it may've been a real one. Hard to tell without pictures.
L. L. Bean, as a retailer, had several knife companies make knives on contract for them. So that one is tough to call by description only.

Sorry, not much help. Maybe someone else can add something more definite.

Anyway, stick around and enjoy the place.

Bill

Not much help because I didn't give you much information. Yeah, it looked like the delrin handles you see on many contemporary Schrade pocket knives, light creamy next to the bolster and imitation jigging in a dk brown. It was a 3 blade stockman frame, about 4 inches, with a large round shield and frankly looked to new to have an R15 number but that was the only reference in the book to R15. Is the fixed blade pic w/ your reply a "leg knife" if so why does it have a Remington "jack knife" number? The bottom line is that I was after the information for my own curiosity. I sell/trade my hobbie at a local gun show and people approach me with copious questions that I like to have an answer for once in a while. Thanks for your time....and interest. DE White.

Hmmm...

The only fixed blade in MY reply is my avatar knife by John Greco (sort of an individual identifier). Not related to either question. Sorry for any confusion.

I did find this old thread about leg knives (shaped like a female leg) with some information from Knife Expert Bernard Levine...

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/archi ... 21942.html

Hope it helps.

Bill

Sorry, Bill. Being new here I didn't know about the avatar........actually I haven't the foggiest what that means.....anyway I'll check that link.....thanks again. DE White.

The R15 you are referring to is a modern reproduction. Its value is only a few dollars.

That's kinda the conclusion that I'd reached. I see a lot of Remington, Mossy Oak etc cutlery in clam pacs in box stores. This must be what his was. Mfg should be required to tang stamp. Oh well. Thanks for your time. DE White.

I have a couple of older L.L.Bean knives with yellow celluloid scales that were supposedly made by KA-BAR.The scales are actually quite a bit lighter than the picture shows.

Thanks for the Bean pic. I spoke w/Bean cust serv and they required a pic of the one I was shown....I'll need to carry a dig cam to get them. The one I was shown was a deeply grooved stag piece of stick, split and used for scaling on a trapper w/ mirror polished blades and a nickle silver bolster at the hip joint end only. It was a beautiful knife, almost too deeply grooved to carry or use but a beautiful display piece. DE White.

greyeagle wrote:Thanks for the Bean pic. I spoke w/Bean cust serv and they required a pic of the one I was shown....I'll need to carry a dig cam to get them. The one I was shown was a deeply grooved stag piece of stick, split and used for scaling on a trapper w/ mirror polished blades and a nickle silver bolster at the hip joint end only. It was a beautiful knife, almost too deeply grooved to carry or use but a beautiful display piece. DE White.

Don't know if she can help or not but I have an old friend who works at L.L.Bean.She doesn't know a lot about knives but if anyone can direct you to who would it would be her.LMK

So far I've "spoken" with an Ellen and a Willie @ Bean.