soundmotor
super modified
Is '79 when you bought as I think the Kalinga goes back much earlier. I can recall seeing one in a case when I was much younger than in '79. There was nothing close to how it looked either and it left an impression.
The Knife Thread.....
- Thread starter soundmotor
- Start date
Is '79 when you bought as I think the Kalinga goes back much earlier. I can recall seeing one in a case when I was much younger than in '79. There was nothing close to how it looked either and it left an impression.
MaxxVolume
Lunatic Member
Yeah, I bought the first one (the user) a few years earlier, something told me "Buy another one, and pack it away for a rainy day". So I did....
I also had an Akonua, the slightly smaller & different version, which I later regretted selling.....
soundmotor
super modified
Yeah, I remember those days too. I was a lifelong fan & customer until first, their knives (Balance+ kitchen ones) then, their customer service dept. took a cr@p on us. Late 80s and gone from their fold after that. However....
I got my first MK1 in '77 (gray handle, no serrations, brown sheath). Great knife but was promptly stolen by a roommate. I do have a couple Guardian 1s though, the in-betweener size. It's like an improved Sykes-Fairbairn. One that I bought new in ~'83 and another I got last year a flea market for.....$1. It needs some TLC though and is a challenging resharpen.
Daunia 70
Lunatic Member
This locking knife was purchased S/H around 9 years back... never have seen another like it (and I've done every Google and Ebay image search there is).
There's no manufacturer's name or even stamps on it,but it's extremely well built (wood and 4 brass pins for each side of the handle). Any help would be much appreciated... I'm almost certain it can't be chinese made.
There's no manufacturer's name or even stamps on it,but it's extremely well built (wood and 4 brass pins for each side of the handle). Any help would be much appreciated... I'm almost certain it can't be chinese made.
Like that first Gerber. Keeping an eye on this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Early-1980s...725773?hash=item2364e7270d:g:73EAAOSwh-1W6DzV Probably cannot afford anything earlier, or even this one. I can see this thread being dangerous to my poor wallet...
soundmotor
super modified
I go in cycles on knives. A few years ago I was out of sync and passed on several. Likely in some other buying mode at the time. One was a Gerber MK2, no serrations, black w/ sheath. I'd guess it was an early 80s blade and it was mint and I do not have an MK2. Passed on an $80 ask. Another was an early Guardian like the one in the link. No box or papers but mint and included a same era Gerber folder, don't recall which but good. Both offered at $60 and I passed as well. But, that is part of the fun of it. They made more than one and eventually others will come along. But, as I have zero Gerbers w/ original boxes & papers I will admit to looking at those on ebay and thinking about clicking.
soundmotor
super modified
One thing that made the knife hobby a lot more enjoyable for me was joining the local knife club. Fortunately in New England there is an excellent one with regular shows. You get sellers showing up from NY, MA, VT, NH, ME, RI, & CT. Sometimes even further with mid-Atlantic ones showing up too -
http://www.ncca.info/membership.htm
The great thing about knife shows is what appears for sale and seldom does pricing resemble ebay circa ~2006 w/ 40+ bid auctions. I've made some amazing buys but the shows are great for general socializing, exactly like the audio clubs. If you are into making knives (something I will tackle this year), there are always multiple sellers with everything from raw materials like horn & steel blanks, hardware, knife kits, and tools. Check your area and you might be surprised at the level of participation for a knife club or even clubs.
http://www.ncca.info/membership.htm
The great thing about knife shows is what appears for sale and seldom does pricing resemble ebay circa ~2006 w/ 40+ bid auctions. I've made some amazing buys but the shows are great for general socializing, exactly like the audio clubs. If you are into making knives (something I will tackle this year), there are always multiple sellers with everything from raw materials like horn & steel blanks, hardware, knife kits, and tools. Check your area and you might be surprised at the level of participation for a knife club or even clubs.
bighitbomber
Active Member
Good morning! Cool thread, thought I would share a couple of my favorites.
The knife on top is a 5" German made Ruko Buffalo Skinner handed down from my Grandpa to my dad to me.
The second is a 6" Cold Steel that is my primary "everything out west" knife.
The knife on top is a 5" German made Ruko Buffalo Skinner handed down from my Grandpa to my dad to me.
The second is a 6" Cold Steel that is my primary "everything out west" knife.
soundmotor
super modified
This one is a really cheap craigslist buy, one of those times you can't believe what you are looking at. It's the one in the middle missing the pommel. It is an unmarked Case Stiletto, a rather scarce WW2 fighter. Stiletto is in caps as that was the actual model name from Case. Depending on whom you read, these were either privately purchased or was early WW2 combat issue. They were only in the system briefly, after aluminum was declared a strategic material hence the bakelite pommel but before the M3 fighter became standard. As best I can tell that gave them about a ~12 month period of use from late '42 into '43. Mine came w/ the M8A1 scabbard and it fits it like a glove. Supposedly they came with an M3 style leather sheath so perhaps the owner upgraded to the fiberglass one in the field?
They came with bakelite pommels like the Case MK2 below it and, those often broke off. The M3 combat knife replaced it and that problem was solved as it addresses all faults the Stiletto had. Mine is a restoration project. I have a really beat bakelite pommel Case knife for a donor and they all appear to use the same pommel. I have to get the old leather off this one to at least the midway point so another post can be welded in place of the broken one. The way they are held together is a gas. The post is crimped to rough it up, the pommel put in place, and then molten Babbitt metal is poured in, hooray!
They came with bakelite pommels like the Case MK2 below it and, those often broke off. The M3 combat knife replaced it and that problem was solved as it addresses all faults the Stiletto had. Mine is a restoration project. I have a really beat bakelite pommel Case knife for a donor and they all appear to use the same pommel. I have to get the old leather off this one to at least the midway point so another post can be welded in place of the broken one. The way they are held together is a gas. The post is crimped to rough it up, the pommel put in place, and then molten Babbitt metal is poured in, hooray!
Yep, most of my broad range of hobbies do the same. Ya sort of burn out, or worse yet, can't afford one hobby and maybe move on to a cheaper one. I sorta got in to the Bucklite's cause of their cheaper prices, but have to admit some of the really nice ones do seem to be climbing.
MaxxVolume
Lunatic Member
Here`s a nice old Schrade 130T, which accompanied me on many camping trips back in the `70s....
KingBubba
"Too Much Stuff"
I see that I am not alone in this world. I have this unquenchable thirst for steel. I have had it since my dad told me I couldn't have a knife when I was a kid. The weird thing was that I was able to make a bayonet collection from the army-navy store and I was also allowed a letter opener collection. No knives though. I still have the other collections.
I tend to prefer kitchen cutlery rather than pocket knives at this time. I have a large collection of Victorinox Swiss Army Knives. I have two Randall knives. I lived in Orlando area so their shop was just around the bend so to speak. One of my Randalls disappeared for a while and was found, after a couple of years, in the wet area at the bottom of my boat that had been covered with plywood to keep my feet dry. That knife has some great patina.
Recently I have been on a buying jag on Ebay. I look for knives that apparently other don't want. I stick in the $6 - $10 range. I have a considerable collection of great old Henckels in the Friodor era and some Gustav Emil Erns from the 80's and earlier, lots of Victorinox kitchen knives, some Ludwig Shiff's, quite a number of Chicago Cutlery stuff for next to nothing, and recently I have come across a large collection of Arthur Salm designed cutlery made by the sword makers guild in Austria in the sixties. Gorgeous stuff. I'll make some pics soon.
I have also been trying to find a few Henckels scissors that are in VG condition or better. I now have four pair and that will probably do for now.
You just have to love a nice piece of steel.
I tend to prefer kitchen cutlery rather than pocket knives at this time. I have a large collection of Victorinox Swiss Army Knives. I have two Randall knives. I lived in Orlando area so their shop was just around the bend so to speak. One of my Randalls disappeared for a while and was found, after a couple of years, in the wet area at the bottom of my boat that had been covered with plywood to keep my feet dry. That knife has some great patina.
Recently I have been on a buying jag on Ebay. I look for knives that apparently other don't want. I stick in the $6 - $10 range. I have a considerable collection of great old Henckels in the Friodor era and some Gustav Emil Erns from the 80's and earlier, lots of Victorinox kitchen knives, some Ludwig Shiff's, quite a number of Chicago Cutlery stuff for next to nothing, and recently I have come across a large collection of Arthur Salm designed cutlery made by the sword makers guild in Austria in the sixties. Gorgeous stuff. I'll make some pics soon.
I have also been trying to find a few Henckels scissors that are in VG condition or better. I now have four pair and that will probably do for now.
You just have to love a nice piece of steel.
soundmotor
super modified
Be sure that you do.....
Re: AN stores, I had much the same experience. I was always denied that which was in the glass case. I know this was in our childhood and that is now decades past. It still amazes me however at the sheer quantity of WW2 gear available in the 60s. I drew up in Fresno and there were several AN stores. The one I always wanted to visit had a giant Thompson in its front window. These were clasroom training models as I later discovered.
MaxxVolume
Lunatic Member
Here`s a Puma Skinner, circa 1976. Back then, they used their proprietary "Pumaster" steel, and all blades had a small dimple from the diamond impression which tested for proper Rockwell hardness. The stag grips on this knife feel incredible in the hand....German craftsmanship at it`s finest....
Filmboydoug
Nikko Freako
Very nice vintage knives all!
This is my newest Randall model 1-7.
This is my newest Randall model 1-7.
MaxxVolume
Lunatic Member
Very nice vintage knives all!
This is my newest Randall model 1-7.
NICE knife ! That`s a real, Honest-To-God fighting knife !! Somewhere in my archives, I have an ancient Randall catalog from the mid-`60s....while the prices seem ridiculously low by today`s standards, they probably represented about a week`s take-home pay for the average working stiff back then. There was a little blank box on the back, where they would write in the projected delivery time for a knife....I think it was 43 or 46 weeks at that time....
Very nice vintage knives all!
This is my newest Randall model 1-7.
Great knife ! I had one like this back in the 90's but a dam roommate swipped it
Dam near broke my heart since my father gave it to me.
soundmotor
super modified
I had one like this back in the 90's but a dam roommate swipped it
Had several episodes of roommate knife theft over the years. The worst was the one my brother-in-law gave me from his USAF days. Not a valuable or uncommon knife but he was killed shortly after I got it from him. It was like this one -
soundmotor
super modified
...and now, something completely different.
Went to an auction of war knives and swords. The majority of knives were WW2 and the swords from the Civil War. I got to the preview two hours early and could not get near the Civil War tables, it was 3 deep and nearly the same for the WW2 knives. It took forever but I was finally able to get up to each table and look at everything there which was a lot and there were some spectacular pieces. There were a few other tables with crossbows, martial arts weapons, and similar so I checked those out too, pretty much by myself.
On one there was a samurai sword rack with a katana & wakizashi with gloss black scabbards, red tassels, and chrome dragons. Basic tourist shop junk. However laying right behind them was a nickeled cavalry saber style scabbard and just peeking out of it the handle tang of what is clearly very old steel. I turned it over and I'd bet the color drained from my face. First 3 pics are how I saw it -
I put it down and walked away from the table, got my auction number and watched covertly until the auction started. No one went over to that table. I then waited through the 180 lots that preceded it and got nothing. One of the Civil War swords went to ~$22K, a Union artillery gladius from a unit that was wiped out. Many others were in the $3-5K and the WW2 knives proportionately high. I was shut out across the board. When they finally got the the table, there was no enthusiasm for anything there. The "samurai" set went for $60 and then this one came up. The auctioneer held it up but did not pull it from the scabbard (and I did not either, I had no idea what the blade condition was or if it was rusted out). Opening bid was $500 with no bids. Dropped to $250 with no bids. Dropped to $100 with no bids and then, dropped to $50, I put my card up expecting a fight and 10 seconds later "SOLD!". I'd already put my card down and it took the auctioneer several tries "Can I have your number?!!!" before I realized I'd won this -
What it is, is a 16th century Edo period katana. But not just any katana, it's a shobu zukuri (scalpel tip). Made only briefly and for one thing, to pierce Mongol armor! It gets better, the script is reversed and can only be read in a mirror. There were sword makers qualified to build swords for the emperor and some that were very special. Reverse script swordmaker was one of the special ones. The scabbard is from the Sino-Russian war late 1890s. The IJN/IJA did not require heirloom blades to be modified then to fit standard furniture as they did during WW2. Most that you find from WW2 have only partial signatures as the tang was shortened to fit the new type grip. This one only has one extra hole drilled and the original grip would have looked like this -
So, long story summary: I bought a rare 16th century samurai sword for $50 (+ fees) at auction. I believe the cheap Chinese samurai swords waved off all the serious buyers from looking at anything on those tables too closely. The funniest part was when I paid for the sword and pulled the blade from the scabbard. I had an immediate high offer from one guy and incredulity from the others. I declined and there was actual anger directed at the auctioneer for not displaying the sword properly, they should take the sword back, it wasn't fair to the consignor, etc. Heh, everyone of those chumps could have picked it up and checked it out but did not.
/yippee x infinity
Went to an auction of war knives and swords. The majority of knives were WW2 and the swords from the Civil War. I got to the preview two hours early and could not get near the Civil War tables, it was 3 deep and nearly the same for the WW2 knives. It took forever but I was finally able to get up to each table and look at everything there which was a lot and there were some spectacular pieces. There were a few other tables with crossbows, martial arts weapons, and similar so I checked those out too, pretty much by myself.
On one there was a samurai sword rack with a katana & wakizashi with gloss black scabbards, red tassels, and chrome dragons. Basic tourist shop junk. However laying right behind them was a nickeled cavalry saber style scabbard and just peeking out of it the handle tang of what is clearly very old steel. I turned it over and I'd bet the color drained from my face. First 3 pics are how I saw it -
I put it down and walked away from the table, got my auction number and watched covertly until the auction started. No one went over to that table. I then waited through the 180 lots that preceded it and got nothing. One of the Civil War swords went to ~$22K, a Union artillery gladius from a unit that was wiped out. Many others were in the $3-5K and the WW2 knives proportionately high. I was shut out across the board. When they finally got the the table, there was no enthusiasm for anything there. The "samurai" set went for $60 and then this one came up. The auctioneer held it up but did not pull it from the scabbard (and I did not either, I had no idea what the blade condition was or if it was rusted out). Opening bid was $500 with no bids. Dropped to $250 with no bids. Dropped to $100 with no bids and then, dropped to $50, I put my card up expecting a fight and 10 seconds later "SOLD!". I'd already put my card down and it took the auctioneer several tries "Can I have your number?!!!" before I realized I'd won this -
What it is, is a 16th century Edo period katana. But not just any katana, it's a shobu zukuri (scalpel tip). Made only briefly and for one thing, to pierce Mongol armor! It gets better, the script is reversed and can only be read in a mirror. There were sword makers qualified to build swords for the emperor and some that were very special. Reverse script swordmaker was one of the special ones. The scabbard is from the Sino-Russian war late 1890s. The IJN/IJA did not require heirloom blades to be modified then to fit standard furniture as they did during WW2. Most that you find from WW2 have only partial signatures as the tang was shortened to fit the new type grip. This one only has one extra hole drilled and the original grip would have looked like this -
So, long story summary: I bought a rare 16th century samurai sword for $50 (+ fees) at auction. I believe the cheap Chinese samurai swords waved off all the serious buyers from looking at anything on those tables too closely. The funniest part was when I paid for the sword and pulled the blade from the scabbard. I had an immediate high offer from one guy and incredulity from the others. I declined and there was actual anger directed at the auctioneer for not displaying the sword properly, they should take the sword back, it wasn't fair to the consignor, etc. Heh, everyone of those chumps could have picked it up and checked it out but did not.
/yippee x infinity
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