All About Pocket Knives

So, I just got in a large ebay lot. About 30 pounds of knife blades, springs, liners, covers, etc. The seller said he had got the lot from a friend in Germany, and the story was that it came from a factory that had closed in the 40's. All of the parts make up about 4-6 different patterns...lobsters and gents knives. The largest pattern is no more than around 3".

All of the ground blades have no tang stamps on them. What is interesting is that among the piles of blades, I found a few identically ground blades that had tang stamps on them...John Primble, Remington, even Napanoch. See the attached pics of the blades.

So my question is this...assuming the possibility that one factory was making all of these blades for Remington, John Primbe, and maybe even Napanoch, who would that have been?

For reference, here are most of the patterns...

Interesting question Glenn. I find it hard to believe that a Germany based company was doing this for so many different American companies back in the day but I suppose it is possible. Parker had a lot of business in Germany and some of the things he came up with were a bit on the spurious side. For whatever reason his name came to my mind when I saw this post. Many times the stories concerning origin of knives can get a bit cloudy in translation so I would think it possible that the story you were given may have gotten a little jumbled in the years that it developed.

I don't remember what company in Germany made the old German "factory finds" that Parker had but Olbertz makes the Bulldog knives for Parker.

btrwtr wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2026 12:59 pm Interesting question Glenn. I find it hard to believe that a Germany based company was doing this for so many different American companies back in the day but I suppose it is possible. Parker had a lot of business in Germany and some of the things he came up with were a bit on the spurious side. For whatever reason his name came to my mind when I saw this post. Many times the stories concerning origin of knives can get a bit cloudy in translation so I would think it possible that the story you were given may have gotten a little jumbled in the years that it developed.

I don't remember what company in Germany made the old German "factory finds" that Parker had but Olbertz makes the Bulldog knives for Parker.

Thanks for your thoughts on this. While I don't have the patience for researching cutlery history, I do enjoy it, and realize that quite a bit of it has been lost through the years due to wars, disasters, and the simple passage of time.

Is it possible that the factory was American and not German? The seller bought them from an acquaintance in Germany, but I suppose that doesn't have to mean that the parts actually came from a German factory. Do the pattern blanks offer any possible clues as to which factory was making them?

glennbad wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2026 2:07 pm

btrwtr wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2026 12:59 pm Interesting question Glenn. I find it hard to believe that a Germany based company was doing this for so many different American companies back in the day but I suppose it is possible. Parker had a lot of business in Germany and some of the things he came up with were a bit on the spurious side. For whatever reason his name came to my mind when I saw this post. Many times the stories concerning origin of knives can get a bit cloudy in translation so I would think it possible that the story you were given may have gotten a little jumbled in the years that it developed.

I don't remember what company in Germany made the old German "factory finds" that Parker had but Olbertz makes the Bulldog knives for Parker.

Thanks for your thoughts on this. While I don't have the patience for researching cutlery history, I do enjoy it, and realize that quite a bit of it has been lost through the years due to wars, disasters, and the simple passage of time.

Is it possible that the factory was American and not German? The seller bought them from an acquaintance in Germany, but I suppose that doesn't have to mean that the parts actually came from a German factory. Do the pattern blanks offer any possible clues as to which factory was making them?

I see the one blade is stamped John Primble India Steel Works, wonder what that means?

There's tons of blades floating around. Ebay is full of them.Many came from Cattaraugus. When you see large choils on blades it is likely Catt blades.Those are probably not heat treated yet.I would guess they are American made.

I can't see that steel being made in the USA , then shipped to Germany. Stories , as someone said , get convoluted

OLDE CUTLER wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2026 3:38 pm I see the one blade is stamped John Primble India Steel Works, wonder what that means?

Boker did make knives for John Primble. Could they be US Boker made blades shipped to Germany after the US Boker, factory closed?

I have not heard of the US Boker factory making knives for these other US companies, but a lot of things go on behind the scenes.