All About Pocket Knives

Found this old Robey at a flea market today.Pre-Shuredge Beautiful condition except, some unfortunate soul snapped off the pen. $4 but still a shame. J.O'.

I agree totally John, that is a darn shame! Someone may have been using the pen blade to do something it wasn't intended for, like, maybe, trying to pry open a paint can. I think that HOK definitely deserves a new pen blade. Still, it was a steal for 4 bucks!

Beautiful handles, nice catch.

Lately at garage sales I see a nice knife but at a closer look a blade is
missing or broken.

Bob

Nice older Robeson knife. A shame, indeed, about the broken pen blade.

However, it isn’t pre-ShurEdge, as that dates from 1903.

I don’t think your knife is quite that old.

Robeson opened another factory at Mount Morris, New York to accommodate the extra work due to military contracts during WWI. Don’t remember when they shut it down, but it was well after the end of the war in 1918.

As far as I know and as reported by Tom Kalcevic in Knives Can Talk!, none of the knives made there were stamped with a ShurEdge stamp. Most were simply stamped, ROBESON / CUTLERY in two lines.

Not saying your knife came from the Mount Morris plant, but it’s possible.

Robeson produced lines of knives other than ShurEdge, but to me, there was no discernible difference in quality of manufacture.

Kalcevic dates the stamp on your knife 1918 to 1939.

His dates are not necessarily gospel, but I accept them, as he did extensive research and had access to company records and former employees and officers.

I think that particular bone and its jigging are from circa WWII, so at the later period in that 1918-1939 timeframe.

Any thoughts of converting it to a single blade for EDC, J.O'? It looks like something I would carry often.

Thanks RRme: When I wrote that I was thinking somebody's going to straighten me out on this. My guess was based on the half-moon stamp. I don't know much about Robeson dates. Luckily you are a better resource for that. I like the knife and may have someone put a blade in it.
Appreciate the info. J.O'.

Red: I generally leave them as found but if I were to do anything, I'd probably have the pen replaced. Or, more likely I'll put it on display in the cave and forget about it in a few days!! J.O'.

The arched stamp with “CO.” In the center is the older stamp, dating, again according to Kalcevic, 1900 to 1916.

Thanks, good info. J.O'.