All About Pocket Knives

My dad carried this knife around with him when he was a kid, he was a Boy Scout and member of Order of The Arrow. Was wondering if the stampings on the sheath were authentic, or perhaps placed on the sheath for decoration. My dad cannot remember when he got the knife...also, there are no markings on the knife whatsoever unless they have worn off.

The stampings on the sheath from top to bottom are
1) Indian Head dress
2) Boy Scout Emblem
3) Snake
Thanks

Hi Don,

My first guess would be a Cattaragaus, but I don't have anything to document that. They etched the blades of most of their fixed blades, so it could easily have worn off, over the years. They used the Indian logo, as well.

Someone else may have a better reference, tho'.

Take Care,
JR

Thanks for the input JR, most appreciated.

Interesting that he carried a fixed blade knife as a boy scout…

I have really no idea who made it, but it looks kind of “Marbleish” to me…

Looks a lot like the PAL-36 WWII knives made by Remington. You can check out values on ebay, depending on condition. Yours looks like it has a double fuller but I think the PAL-36 has a single. Not sure.

Thanks Froggyedge and Edgewise,

He thinks he acquired it around the mid 1950's, and yes, he said he carried it alot, he added the leather string so he could tie the sheath to his leg. I'll have to look up some of those PAL-36's. Thanks again for all your help.

Here's my PAL-36, bought by me at the local scout shop in the early 1960s. The sheath was bare.

Thanks Edgewise, I do see some similarities. I checked out a couple that were on Ebay and saw one with a sheath very similar to my dad's. It had a palm tree stamping on it, but seemed as though it could have been from the same company. I will have to see if he can remember some more about it. Thanks for your help!

Froggyedge wrote:Interesting that he carried a fixed blade knife as a boy scout…

Actually, fixed blade knives were quite common amongst boy scouts many years ago, as common as the pocket knives were.

Sadly, they are frowned upon or outright prohibited in today's troops.

Glenn

glennbad wrote:

Froggyedge wrote:Interesting that he carried a fixed blade knife as a boy scout…

Actually, fixed blade knives were quite common amongst boy scouts many years ago, as common as the pocket knives were.
Sadly, they are frowned upon or outright prohibited in today's troops.

In Scandinavia a scout knife really means a quite small fixed blade knife, but when I hear “American scout knife” I immediately think of a pocket knife, that's why I wrote “interesting”.
Because of the double guard these knives are considered to be a safe and good choice for a kid's first knife whether or not the kid is actually a scout.

My very first fixed blade was a Swedish boy scout knife. I loved that knife!

Nice Froggyedge You should wear them all. (although, might be kinda' hard to sit down)

I fell instantly and profoundly in love with my first fixed blade knife, the red handled Boy Scout knife, when it was given to me by my father. I used it much and I used it hard and I remember a growing anxiety: What if I loose it, break it or “use it up”? How can I ever live without one? I needed to get a spare one! When I got some money I did not buy candy but saved them for a second Boy Scout knife. It was to be one with a blue handle. But in the local hardware store they also had one with a green handle… More money to be saved and I eventually got the green one too. Knifeaholism can strike at an early age.
I kept using the red one and kept both the blue one and the green one as spares.

When my oldest son was old enough to get his own knife, I gave him the choice between the blue one and the green one. He chose the green handled. It was lost a couple of years later during a weekend’s stay in a cabin in the forest.
The blue one became the first fixed blade knife for my youngest son and he still has it.

glennbad wrote: Actually, fixed blade knives were quite common amongst boy scouts many years ago, as common as the pocket knives were.

Sadly, they are frowned upon or outright prohibited in today's troops.

http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/def ... S&C4=&LV=3

You're right. Some thirty models from Barlow via high tech to Vic SwissTool, but not one single fixed blade knife...

But why..?

Froggyedge wrote: http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/def ... S&C4=&LV=3

You're right. Some thirty models from Barlow via high tech to Vic SwissTool, but not one single fixed blade knife...

But why..?

I think some of that is attributable to today's sheeple society. It's just not very acceptable in most places to be walking around with a FB knife on your belt. With the TSA arresting you for having nail clippers at the airport, what would people say if you had a nice Marbles FB hanging on your hip?

And while I can't speak for the scouts, I think they looked at it from the standpoint that any job too big for a folder can be handled by an axe or camp saw. It may also that the scouts were bowing to a little pressure from the PC crowd.

I like to recount this from when my son was in Cub Scouts a few years back...We attended resident camp, and a specific rule stated that no knives were allowed at camp. WTH??? Now keep in mind, they sell knives at the camp store. Some of the kids already had their whittlin chip card, and had brought pocketknives with them. Some kids earned their card while at camp that week, but they couldn't carry and use a knife? As a leader there, I decided that they could use their knives, but only at their campsite, and shouldn't carry them otherwise. The kids were happy, used their knives safely, and had a great time.

Sadly, it's that type of mentality that makes it tough for Scouting to stay vital and useful.

Glenn

glennbad wrote:...I like to recount this from when my son was in Cub Scouts a few years back...We attended resident camp, and a specific rule stated that no knives were allowed at camp. WTH??? Now keep in mind, they sell knives at the camp store. Some of the kids already had their whittlin chip card, and had brought pocketknives with them. Some kids earned their card while at camp that week, but they couldn't carry and use a knife? As a leader there, I decided that they could use their knives, but only at their campsite, and shouldn't carry them otherwise. The kids were happy, used their knives safely, and had a great time.

Sadly, it's that type of mentality that makes it tough for Scouting to stay vital and useful.Glenn

Yes, it's really a sad thing when not even Boy Scouts are trusted to carry and use a knife!

Who's next? Carpenters and chefs..? Hunters..?

I know my father in law had a fixed blade Boy Scout knife that I sold because the overall condition wasn't all that great, still it brought a good price. It had a pretty battered sheath with a boy scout emblem and the knife was badly scratched from sharpening. It would have been from the mid to late 1930's and the knife was a stacked leather Remington RH 52. I believe it was a scout knife since he was a neat freak - everything that belonged together....was together, neatly put away. I also sold a Cattarugus hatchet from the same time frame and the amount surprised me.

The RH 52 and Cattarugus hatchet were in a pile of junk my mother in law said take what you want - it's going to the dumps. Well, I pulled a few grand out of that pile. Lots of good stuff! Anyhow, I believe it was a boy scout knife, could be wrong.

glennbad wrote: I like to recount this from when my son was in Cub Scouts a few years back...We attended resident camp, and a specific rule stated that no knives were allowed at camp. As a leader there, I decided that they could use their knives, but only at their campsite, and shouldn't carry them otherwise. The kids were happy, used their knives safely, and had a great time.

No knives at camp? That's kind of like a "no swimming" rule at the pool, isn't it?

There is a common knowledge among many, many Scouters that fixed blade knives are now prohibited in the BSA. There are all sorts of reasons given, i.e., that in a fall, the knife could go through the sheath and cause an injury.

A lot of this common knowledge, though, is little more than skewed retelling of the actual guidelines. There is no prohibition on fixed blade knives, or any other knife, in Scouting (at least, not on the National level). The only time sheath knives are even mentioned is in one of the mainstays of the program, the Guide To Safe Scouting. Unfortunately too many Scouters take the time to quote it, but not the time to read it.

Here's what the G2SS has to say about sheath knives: Avoid large sheath knives. They are heavy and awkward to carry, and unnecessary for most camp chores except for cleaning fish.

Pretty simple guideline, that.

The most recent issue of Boys Life magazine, about ten pages from the front, has a short article recommending a 4" fixed blade knife as the most useful and practical knife a Scout can carry in the outdoors. The article recommends two different knives, and has photos.

If it's in Boys Life. it must be true!

Local councils, camps, and units may have their own rules or guidelines. Our troop prohibits knives with blades longer than 4". (That makes it easier to eliminate the Chinese made flea market fantasy weapons that boys sometimes get for $10 and want to bring to the next troop meeting. )

In any case, BSA National has no prohibition on any knife in our program.

(It would be great if those who quote BSA rules would look them up before quoting them.)

If you go on Ebay and do a search for Boy Scout Knife, you'll usually pull up a bunch of fixed Boy Scout knives as well as the folders. Most of the fixed blades are Westen brand, but occasionally there will be something different. The Western knives usually have the Boy Scout emblem stamped on the base of the blade.

It is sad we live in a society that is afraid to let a boy be a BOY! When he's not allowed to do so, it's hard for him to grow up to be a MAN! If people know you carry a knife or a gun they tend to think you are some kind of a kook. At least until they see a need for either one. There's a term for folks like that.......VICTIM!!!

philco wrote: It is sad we live in a society that is afraid to let a boy be a BOY! When he's not allowed to do so, it's hard for him to grow up to be a MAN!

We have an old saying in Scouting, "A boy is the only thing God can use to make a man.". (Attributed to Lord Robert S.S. Baden-Powell).

We teach our Scouts how to properly use a knife, how to be careful and keep themselves (and others) safe, how to sharpen a knife, and when we think they are up to snuff, they are rewarded with a Totin' Chip inscribed with their name. They can now carry a knife to all Scouting events and meetings, but they can't carry them to school, or on the bus, or have one in their pocket in any government building, etc.

Even here in the rural South, where we are sometimes the last bastion of common sense (the rest of the time we're the last frontier of same), I can get a funny look when I pull out a three blade whittler in Wal-Mart to cut the tag off of some item I just purchased.