The Knife Thread.....

Back from Europe, our bags did not make our plane.

:(

We'll see what actually is still in there after Customs goes through them. Just got confirmation that they are now in the hands of airline so at least they aren't lost. Managed to hit a flea market in Strasbourg. The old rule that you never find specifically what you are looking for at a flea market held true. Virtually no vintage knives. However I did get a superb Anton Wingen "Othello" straight razor in the original box and a cigar cutter with stag handle. Later I bought a pair of Opinel Slims at a shop, one for me and one as a gift. I'd not seen them in the US and the Slims have bubinga handles and mirror polished blades. They were ~$22 each. Online pic showing the Slim, the bubinga is the far left one. Here's hoping they arrive -

Slim_.jpg~original

I actually have one of these somewhere. Not sure if mine has a swing guard or not but the hand shape is the same. I think it is Japanese made.




Nice finds,especially on that Anton straight razor (one of my German WW2 dress bayonets is made by Anton of Soligen). And cheers for the info on my Leopard lock knives. Funny thing is,the old bloke I had 'em off years ago said they were UK made (probably going by the other Leopard UK knife manufacturer). But I've always had my doubts as they're just so well made,especially the complicated lock/guard mechanism... It's just great to hear they're Japanese!
 
A few vintage pen knives and a UK scout knife I've dug out from the garage therefore need a clean. All are either German,UK or U.S. manufactured... no new chinese crap here ;)




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Still getting back to operating temp after the trip and finally unpacked w/ pics. The Opinels are really cool. These are Slim No. 8s w/ black nickel ring locks and high-polish stainless steel blades. The handles are bubinga with really nice grain & color. My son loved his -

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The cigar cutter has a great piece of stag. There is no country of origin but most I've found similar ascribe to German origin. Could be France too as there seems to be little difference between styles on the French/German border. The maker mark is a wing in shield -

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Lastly is the Anton Wingen throat cutter w/ original French language box. I've not cleaned it up yet but it will turn out excellent, I usually sell off straights as fast as I get them to fund other buys but will hang onto this one as I collect Wingen and the Othello image is very cool -

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I hate to do it but if there was ever a thread that deserved this, it's this one -

:needpics:

PS: I'll try to work up courage to photo & UL one, a F-S Type III that has the baddest (as in best) ever "parkerizing" ("parkerization"?) which is, some 70 years on, still 100% intact, and shows no eviedence of ever having been sharpened. All of the other F-S's are un-darkened, faded (ie, brightening) blue, have been sharpened (boo), or were poorly (read: "field") parkerized. But this particular Type III w/ original & fully-intact blackened blade is stunning. A Sheffield-manufactured example, IIRC. have also the original (crappy) commando-style sheath, which I upgraded w/ a dagger sheath copped from a circa 1930s German (black leather, what else?) wehrmacht example.
 
Got out yesterday morning to a flea and it was rough. From the high 80s on Saturday to high 50s on Sunday, not to mention wind and blowing mist. Cold, damp, & nasty. I almost did not go, glad I did. Not many people showed up to buy but a lot of sellers. One guy had a table full of these types of knives, "commemorative" editions -

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I usually zip right past anything resembling those but stopped to look a little closer and right in the thick of the others were these, 4 bullfighter lockbacks. I've collected these for a long time and the lockback variant is scarce vs. the standard slipjoint versions. These all have the factory edge and are in excellent condition. Only one (light blue) has a crack in the scales on the reverse side. Cracks are pretty common in these. I've never seen one in light blue, did not know that color even existed.

These knives were not meant to last. The steel is soft, the rivets marginal, and the acrylic brittle. They were (I think) mainly meant to fulfill a 14YO JDs idea of what a cool knife was. These were sold in Mexico as tourist knives but also through magazine box ads in the US. The owners then went on to throw them at trees, sharpen them on metal shop grinders, or pry the liners apart so they could be flipped open. Needless to say, clean condition ones are rare now. I got all 4 for $20, yippee -

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Pix of the Gerber MKIIs and verious knucks would be more engaging, but might result in a knock @ the door: "why, hello, Monsieur gendarme". :(

Understood. You could upload to a US pic host (imgur.com) or if you like send them over to me and I will post them with no attribution.
 
Did a little polishing on this blade tonight, still a while left, but it's shiny enough for now. I don't polish my other knives, but for a chopper the smooth surface trumps coated blades or.even satin finishes when it comes to sinking into wood.
It's mainly a wood chopping knife for bonfires/fireplace.
 
Always been interested in historic knives but could never tell the authenticity.


Well,the best advice I can give is to look for real aging on a knife and also the proper/genuine old markings which are usually stamped on the blade (but not always). It's true,you have to be very careful nowadays as there are a lot of fakes about which are of course mostly made in china. Always do your homework before a purchase.
Even my above genuine BW OFW 1969 fighting/combat knife you can buy brand new for around £30,but it wouldn't have the same stamps/markings therefore wouldn't be an old military issue and wouldn't be of the same high quality.
 
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Hey
Here's my new knife. It's been out of stock for like 2 months.
Svord Von Tempsky ranger knife. Made in New Zealand.
It's the smaller of the 2 Von Tempsky knives. Eric
 

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