All About Pocket Knives

Never gave much thought to what I have but as I have aged, i have become more nostalgic for days of yesteryear. I am interested in the past of these items. The Gerber Sportsman III (I think) I bought new in a jewelry store in a mall in Greenville SC around 1976 or so as I recall. Dropped the most money for a knife that I can remember on that thing. So I know its orgins. The others are Cases xx, a Hammer made USA shell handle I think. Boy was that thing a rust bucket when I got it and the Cases from my late neighbor about 15 years ago. And then a Schrade /Waldron and a Pal Cutlery with a broken 3 rd blade, also from him.

So kind of stupid of me to ask "what do I have". I should say, what Era are they from as to years of mfg? And any other interesting attributes? Bone is well worn and the blades of two of the Cases seemed to have been sharpened almost to a flat plane. One is a two blade and the other a 3 blade.

Thanks for indulging me.

Texf6s

Welcome to AAPK. For most knives an approximate age can be determined based on the tang stamps on the knife. Collectors have studied and developed "tang stamp charts" which provide educated guesses as to when the particular stamp was in use. Some companies rarely changed their stamps though so on those it's difficult to narrow the age down to less than decades

There are charts available here to help you. For Case knives click on "Research" in the header at the top of this page, then scroll down and open "Age Identification of W.R. Case knives". Compare the stamp on your knife with the info shown there.

For other brands see the tang stamp charts "sticky" post in the Knife Related Q&A
forum here.
https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... =4&t=39799
You can find the charts for a particular brand by simply typing the brand name in the "search this thread" box when the thread opens, and clicking on the little magnifying glass icon beside the box.

Ken

to AAPK, Texf6s!
Ken has given you great advice to find out what you have. Feel free to ask specific questions about any of the knives, somebody usually knows the answer. Looks like you have mastered the picture posting already, that is quite important when asking about a specific piece.
As I see it, you have some knives that make me drool, especially the big Case folding hunter!
All of your knives fall into a category we casually call HOKs, (honest old knife/knives), good old USA made knives.
Treefarmer

Thank you Mumbleypeg and Treefarmer for your responses. The Case Hunter I bought at a church fundraising auction many years ago to support the effort. Being a big knife and a Case, it intrigued me but beyond that I don't know if it's desirable or not. Just had not seen or known of a Case knife in that category before. Were they popular and are they scarce?

I'll look to the pathways that Ken provided as I become more familiar with this site. Honest old knives they are. Can you tell from the pictures if the two small case knives with the thin long blade were made to that basic profile or was it a result of over zealous honing? Seems that I read that maybe that blade profile was referred to as a toothpick although these two had definitely seen the stone frequently. Were they referred to as muskrat?

Best,
Texf6s

I don't know about the other knives but the Schrade, if it has the word Walden on the tang of the clip blade, and the pattern number 825, was mfg between 1962 and 1970.

Texf6s wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 1:06 am Thank you Mumbleypeg and Treefarmer for your responses. The Case Hunter I bought at a church fundraising auction many years ago to support the effort. Being a big knife and a Case, it intrigued me but beyond that I don't know if it's desirable or not. Just had not seen or known of a Case knife in that category before. Were they popular and are they scarce?

I'll look to the pathways that Ken provided as I become more familiar with this site. Honest old knives they are. Can you tell from the pictures if the two small case knives with the thin long blade were made to that basic profile or was it a result of over zealous honing? Seems that I read that maybe that blade profile was referred to as a toothpick although these two had definitely seen the stone frequently. Were they referred to as muskrat?

Best,
Texf6s

That CASE folding hunter is right up my alley! I love the pattern personally. Is it desirable? Yes to many. Is it in high dollar collector grade condition? No. It's what we call around here a HOK, an Honest Old Knife. It has some wear and use, but it looks to be in good shape. It's the kind of knife that I, and several others here, have a real hard time passing up.

tongueriver wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 1:23 am I don't know about the other knives but the Schrade, if it has the word Walden on the tang of the clip blade, and the pattern number 825, was mfg between 1962 and 1970.

Thanks tongueriver! It has those things and that's exactly what I was hoping for in posting this. So 1962 through 1970, beautiful.

Best regards,
Texf6s

Colonel26 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 1:38 am

Texf6s wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 1:06 am Thank you Mumbleypeg and Treefarmer for your responses. The Case Hunter I bought at a church fundraising auction many years ago to support the effort. Being a big knife and a Case, it intrigued me but beyond that I don't know if it's desirable or not. Just had not seen or known of a Case knife in that category before. Were they popular and are they scarce?

I'll look to the pathways that Ken provided as I become more familiar with this site. Honest old knives they are. Can you tell from the pictures if the two small case knives with the thin long blade were made to that basic profile or was it a result of over zealous honing? Seems that I read that maybe that blade profile was referred to as a toothpick although these two had definitely seen the stone frequently. Were they referred to as muskrat?

Best,
Texf6s

That CASE folding hunter is right up my alley! I love the pattern personally. Is it desirable? Yes to many. Is it in high dollar collector grade condition? No. It's what we call around here a HOK, an Honest Old Knife. It has some wear and use, but it looks to be in good shape. It's the kind of knife that I, and several others here, have a real hard time passing up.

Thank you Colonel26. Yes an honest old knife with a strong spring. Do you know the range of years that this pattern was produced? Perhaps they still are for all I know. Having a bit of a challenge in finding the research pathway in the menus that Ken shared above. I'm sure I'll stumble on it eventually; I keep seeing "squirrel threads", though, that take me off the path lol.

Welcome to AAPK! Nice knives you have there. Here is a Case tang stamp chart you may find useful. Also an Imperial chart that includes the Hammer Brand stamps.

Texf6s wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 2:53 am Having a bit of a challenge in finding the research pathway in the menus that Ken shared above. I'm sure I'll stumble on it eventually; I keep seeing "squirrel threads", though, that take me off the path lol.

Sorry, I thought you’d be able to find “Research” in the header up there ^^. Here’s a link to it for your convenience. https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... t/research
When you get there it looks like this:


The Case tang stamps (age identification) are here

https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... tification

Also while in the Research section, under Case Factory Pattern Number Reference Guide you’ll find this.
You’ll also find info on your other Case patterns in that section.

Ken

Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 3:12 am

Texf6s wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 2:53 am Having a bit of a challenge in finding the research pathway in the menus that Ken shared above. I'm sure I'll stumble on it eventually; I keep seeing "squirrel threads", though, that take me off the path lol.

Sorry, I thought you’d be able to find “Research” in the header up there ^^. Here’s a link to it for your convenience. https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... t/research
When you get there it looks like this:

D8FC4C20-4280-46DD-883B-2A89D73022D0.jpeg

The Case tang stamps (age identification) are here

https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/ca ... tification

Also while in the Research section, under Case Factory Pattern Number Reference Guide you’ll find this.

309E8062-4856-4839-83C4-D01F48D8BB43.png

You’ll also find info on your other Case patterns in that section.

Ken

Found it with your links. Many thanks for that reach back. Already getting an education. Hard to determine the pattern 27 from the 47 from the 87 for those two little knives that are the same with the exception of 2 blades and 3.

Thanks again Krn and forum members.

Carefully measure the closed length of each knife - you’ll find differences in their sizes. Between about 1920 to around WWII and later Case made over 200 different pocket knife patterns. Many differ only by as little as 1/4 inch in length. For much of that time they did not stamp knives with pattern numbers. Makes it fun to figure out what you have.

At the time there were no knife collectors to worry about such things. Customers just bought what they liked, put the knives in their pockets and used them.

Ken

Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 4:02 am Carefully measure the closed length of each knife - you’ll find differences in their sizes. Between about 1920 to around WWII and later Case made over 200 different pocket knife patterns. Many differ only by as little as 1/4 inch in length. For much of that time they did not stamp knives with pattern numbers. Makes it fun to figure out what you have.

At the time there were no knife collectors to worry about such things. Customers just bought what they liked, put the knives in their pockets and used them.

Ken

Will do and thank you one and all. The shell handle hammer brand with USA puts it in the same general period of the mid forties into the early 50's. Coincides with my late friend and neighbor who would have been buying or gifted such things as a young boy as he was born in the mid to latter 1930's. Time to hit the hay and call it a day.

Texff6s

Texf6s wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 2:53 am

Colonel26 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 1:38 am

Texf6s wrote: ↑Fri Feb 10, 2023 1:06 am Thank you Mumbleypeg and Treefarmer for your responses. The Case Hunter I bought at a church fundraising auction many years ago to support the effort. Being a big knife and a Case, it intrigued me but beyond that I don't know if it's desirable or not. Just had not seen or known of a Case knife in that category before. Were they popular and are they scarce?

I'll look to the pathways that Ken provided as I become more familiar with this site. Honest old knives they are. Can you tell from the pictures if the two small case knives with the thin long blade were made to that basic profile or was it a result of over zealous honing? Seems that I read that maybe that blade profile was referred to as a toothpick although these two had definitely seen the stone frequently. Were they referred to as muskrat?

Best,
Texf6s

That CASE folding hunter is right up my alley! I love the pattern personally. Is it desirable? Yes to many. Is it in high dollar collector grade condition? No. It's what we call around here a HOK, an Honest Old Knife. It has some wear and use, but it looks to be in good shape. It's the kind of knife that I, and several others here, have a real hard time passing up.

Thank you Colonel26. Yes an honest old knife with a strong spring. Do you know the range of years that this pattern was produced? Perhaps they still are for all I know. Having a bit of a challenge in finding the research pathway in the menus that Ken shared above. I'm sure I'll stumble on it eventually; I keep seeing "squirrel threads", though, that take me off the path lol.

I'm not sure if they still make the single blade version or not. All of mine are two bladed. But if I found one like yours for sale, I'd get sucked right in I'm sure, lol. But then again, I do have the sickness.