Looking for Info on an Antique Shop Find

[JayPokeyPokey]

Hello Everyone,

I’m new to collecting traditional knives and new to this forum. Today I came across a Remington R4685. From what I’ve gathered, the acorn badge indicates this was produced in the 1930’s and that it was a cattleman knife. The handle seems to be made of celluloid. Is there anything else anyone might have something else to add regarding rarity, value, or anything else? I’m cataloging my entire collection (mainly modern folders) for insurance purposes. Thank you in advance and I look forward to learning about traditional knives from everyone here!

[Reverand]

It is not an especially rare knife, but only because they made them by the thousands. It was a beautiful knife in it's prime, however. There is enough blade wear to lower the value some, but the big concern to me is the black spots around the edges of the handles it looks like the. Celluloid handle scales might be outgassing, and someone polished the knife to hide it.
If the metal pins or bolsters begin turning dark with corrosion, I recommend popping those scales off and having it rehandled.

I could be wrong about the outgassing, but that is what it looks like to me. I always suspect any old knife that has been polished. Someone could be trying to hide any number of problems.

[Mumbleypeg]

A R4685 is listed as a 3-1/4 inch Junior Cattle Knife. The acorn shield on a Remington pocket knife indicates it has a punch blade. (They made many cattle knife patterns with other than acorn shields). The last digit on a Remington pattern indicates the handle material. 5 is the designator for celluloid (Remington marketing name for celluloid is “pyremite”).

Reverand maybe right. I don’t see any indication of outgassing in the pictures but Reverand has given good advice. Outgassing celluloid typically manifests as tarnish around the brass pins, liners, and bolsters. Then gets progressively worse from there and will eventually destroy the knife. Keep an eye on it and store it separately from other knives (and metal objects). You may be familiar with the peculiarities of celluloid but if not just do a keyword search here for “outgassing”.

Welcome to AAPK.

Ken

[JayPokeyPokey]

Thank you both for your responses! This is exactly the expertise I’m looking for. I’ll be taking a closer look at my knife when I get home today to really focus in on the areas you mentioned. It’s a shame that the celluloid is prone to this kind of destabilization because it really is beautiful. I’m still tickled to death to have it and I’ll do some more research in finding someone who may be able to assist with the rehandle if it is in fact degrading. Thank you both again!

[philco]

Hi JPP. Welcome to AAPK.

Below is a link to a thread here on AAPK that has numerous charts with tang stamps used by various knife companies over the years. You'll need to scroll down a little, but there is a chart for Remington knives. That should help you narrow down a time frame for when your knife was produced.

https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... hp?t=39799

[JayPokeyPokey]

Thank you! That post is filled with awesome resources. I feel pretty knowledgeable with modern folders, but this world of traditional pocket knives is absolutely humbling me.