All About Pocket Knives

Made by ROBESON.....other than that a mystery.....BEAVER CUTLERY CO.

I saw an identical one marked Robeson sell on Ebay long ago.

For some reason, I have it in my mind that the "hook" tool is for use with chain? maybe automotive? Not a hoof pick as one might first assume.

Anyone have any thoughts on the brand or on the purpose?

Steve

KA, it seems like a short-lived contract company, as far as the brand goes. The punch w. pat. no. suggests pre-WWI. I couldn't find the tool blade listed in any of my books. Did you run it by BRL??

goins- 1920-1930.

looks like a hoof pick to me. the square hole...was'nt it an adjustment wrench on early autos..or lights, prestolite? richie/stewart, fourth ed. describe it as a gas tank tool.

Probably not automotive, but horse carriage. The knife and punch for fixing leather tack, a Presto-lite gas lamp key, and a hoof pick.

I was gonna stay out of this one, but I have to agree with arathol.

I don't have a lot of experience with pocket knives, but I've had a little experience with hoof picks. Presto-lite key for the lamps ( plumbers still use Presto ) A harness jack for making holes, and a screw driver for the Chicago screws used to repair tack.

Looks like it'd make a great teamster's knife, from the pat. date 1905 to about 1920.

Fran

I know I'm late to this discussion. Maybe no one will ever read this, but:
The knife in question was almost surely made by Robeson. The patent date on the punch was assigned to Robeson by its inventor, a Robeson employee whose name escapes me at the moment.
The hard rubber handle material with its "jigging" was used extensively by Robeson.
I cannot speak to the Beaver Cutlery marking.
I have heard these knives referred to as "Carriage" knives and that they were designed to be carried by a coachman or footman. The horse-hook/Prest-O-Lite blade is as some of you have already described.
The Robeson punch was for harness repair.
The short flat blade was explained to me thusly; some enclosed carriages had no external door handle, to prevent them being opened by unauthorized persons. They had a round slotted mechanism, flush with the surface of the door, that the short flat blade fit into like a screwdriver and then turned.
They had a spear master blade.
I do not own one of these knives. I've only held one. It was handled in hard rubber like this one, but was a piece of junk.
I know of a mint example that turned up at an NKCA knife show in Springfield MO, and changed hands three times in the course of the day, the final sell price being $950.00.
One or more similar examples have sold on Ebay over the years, always outside my ability to win.
I know of a mint, brown bone handled version that belongs to a fellow Robeson collector. It is properly numbered for bone handles.
I cannot, at the moment, provide the pattern number Robeson assigned to this pattern knife, but it did have one.
Whoever owns the Beaver/ Robeson knife has a dandy.
Charlie Noyes

See Charles,
We all knew that your knowledge would come in handy!
Thanks for the insight!

Dale

What a cool old piece, made even more interesting and special by the information gained here on this thread.

Phil

Nope! Too late Charlie!! No-one's going to read about the connection to Robeson, or the interesting jigged handles (I've got one with that stuff which I will post later), or the James E. Cooper punch! Let alone the coach key
Nope! Too late !
Thanks for the insights!!

COOPER!!
That's right. James Cooper. He was a prolific inventive genius for Robeson, and as far as I know, gave or sold them every idea he ever had.
There is some indication that he ventured out on his own eventually.
Any punch marked "PTD. APR 5, 1905" (I hope that's right!) is from Robeson in the early 1900's to early 20's.
Charlie Noyes

I wasn't aware that posting a reply to an old thread automatically moved it back up to the top of the list.
Duh.

No problem Charlie.
Now those of us who have been wondering & probably forgot about that old post now have the answer.
That is the away it works.
It's a good thing!

Dale