All About Pocket Knives

Recently received a group of knives. I like to identify them and use this site for the extensive knowledge base.
One of the knives is a small ULSTER KNIFE CO (3 3/8" closed).
It has a long thin blade and an unusual "tool" on the other end.
I would appreciate help with identifying the tool. It is shorter than the blade and when looked at from the edge the body is tapered from the hinge to the tip. It appears that the tip was originally rounded and a small piece has been broken off.
This knife also has "DUPONT" in an oval stamped on one bolster.
From what I have been able to find in forums this knife would appear to be from the time when DUPONT first started to make materials for knife scales.
I have never seen either the special tool or the DUPONT marking.

Any help with identifying the knife will be appreciated.

For what it is worth:-

my daily carry is a small ZIPPO folder. On days when I need more I carry an early PAT. PEND Leatherman Wave. 0599 date from the first year of production of the Wave.

As a kid my grandfather introduced me to pocket knives. He was a rancher/farmer who always carried a pocket knife and used it daily. For years (until I lost it) I carried a Schrade Oldtimer 340T. He told me that I was more likely to get hurt trying to cut things with a dull knife and to keep my knives sharp. It has held true over the years. I keep my all my knives razor sharp. It is amazing what the ZIPPO will cut. I also like vintage watches and the ZIPPO works perfectly for opening difficult watch cases.

I can't say I've seen a blade like that before. It has the look of a physican's knife spatula blade that has been broken off, and reprofiled. But the knife pattern is not a doctor's knife, so hard to say what is going on there.

Paint can opener.

Ken

M Dunn wrote: ↑Sun Nov 23, 2025 10:04 pm Recently received a group of knives. I like to identify them and use this site for the extensive knowledge base.
One of the knives is a small ULSTER KNIFE CO (3 3/8" closed).
It has a long thin blade and an unusual "tool" on the other end.
I would appreciate help with identifying the tool. It is shorter than the blade and when looked at from the edge the body is tapered from the hinge to the tip.
This knife also has "DUPONT" in an oval stamped on one bolster.
From what I have been able to find in forums this knife would appear to be from the time when DUPONT first started to make materials for knife scales.
I have never seen either the special tool or the DUPONT marking.

Any help with identifying the knife will be appreciated.

DuPont was also a major player/ manufacturer of paint and painting tools and supplies . That would be an area to research also I would think . For a majority of the 1900 s many knife and tool companies made paint can openers, palette knives and other related items . My youngest brother is DuPont certified painter and will see if he’s aware of something that would be of help . Researching is a great part of our knife thing and can be very rewarding itself .
Thanks for sharing your pics and thoughts . Enjoy your knives .

Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Sun Nov 23, 2025 10:14 pm Paint can opener.

Ken

Was typing a reply when you posted Ken . I think you are correct .

Thank you both, I learned something new as well.

It looks to me like what's left of a pill sorter. It's not a typical "doctors pattern", it might just be a pocket knife with a pill sorter.

Here's another one (Ulster/Dupont) with less of the blade broken off, although still broken. I don't think a paint can opener would need to be that long.

I also added a pic of a doctors knife with a similar looking pill sorter.

It was a Palette knife before the blade was broken off.

Thanks Dimitri. I was thinking pallete knife also, but the location of the nail nick threw me off of that. Figured if the blade was long like a pallete blade the nick would be farther out. That plus knowing DuPont sold paint was when I went to the paint can opener.

I’ll take your word for it though.

Ken