My two youngest daughters decided they wanted to carve a couple of pumpkins. Pictured are their knives of choice: Henckels and Cut Co.
Case Brothers Knife History- An extremely rare find
Had an opportunity to buy a knife recently. Well, I didn’t really get a knife, only a part of it. A blade actually. But at least it was the masterblade.
It looks like an elephant toenail blade, or does it?
Case Brothers Standard Style Ebony 2250 Toenail 3 7/8"
A friend sent a pic of this blade telling me it was a toenail blade, in case I was interested. It was a Case Brothers Cutlery Co. of Little Valley, NY (c.1900- 1915)- one of my all-time favorites.
When I opened the picture attached to his email, I thought- that isn’t a toenail blade. I expected to see the typical CB toenail blade – short, fat and with a long pull like the one pictured here.
While it was a spear point type blade, and it did resemble an old toenail blade, it clearly wasn’t for the typical CB toenail. “Wait a minute, could it be…..?” flashed in my head. Case Brothers was one of the very few firms to make toenails in two different styles. The most common was the “standard style” – the ’50 pattern (2250, 5250, 6250, 7250 & 8250), but they also made a longer version called the ’51 pattern.
Everybody and their brother(s) made the standard style toenail back in the early 1900s, but the longer variety was another matter.
Case Brothers Ebony 2251 4 1/2"
You should have seen me dart to where I keep my Case Brothers toenails. Grabbed my ’51 patterns and ran back. Couldn’t get them open quickly enough and when I did- it was a match– the same swedge, the single pull and even the TESTED XX matched one of mine.
Case Brothers 2251 pictured in 1904 Catalog
Do you know how rare it is to find an old blade that is full? I’m talking about the fullest of full. And yet, this blade represented so much more than simply a full toenail blade to me.
OK, call me nuts if you want, but I value this baby right up there with the best of the best I have. It has it all- my favorite brand, a significant artifact from cutlery history, a toenail masterblade and the rarest of the two varieties at that. It also represents the fullest ’51 pattern masterblade I have ever seen.
The Case Brothers Ebony 2251 Pattern Toenails
In case you are wondering….
BREAKING KNIFE NEWS: It is now a done deal
BREAKING NEWS FROM AKTI:
It’s Law! The President signed the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill (H.R. 2892) for FY 2010 late yesterday (Oct. 28, 2009) that includes a permanent “fix” so that any folding knife with a bias toward closure cannot be declared a switchblade by U.S. Customs.
H Boker Factory Collection
To complement the recent feature article on Boker knives and the firm’s history in Knife World Magazine, here is the rare H. Boker Factory Collection displayed at Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville, TN owned by Kevin Pipes.
Even if you aren’t a fan of the Boker brand, if you like older knives, and pristine mint condition knives- with fantastic etches, then you’ll appreciate this collection.
New Hampshire State Legislator Introduces Pro-Knife Bill
In today’s anti-knife world, it is a rare treat to see someone in politics promoting knife rights. In New Hampshire, State Representative Jennifer Coffey has introduced a bill to actually legalize “stilettos, switch knives, daggers and dirk-knives” for all law-abiding citizens there, according to KnifeRights.
This bill focuses the law on the criminal use of the knives, while removing the probation against them. Rep Coffey is a very pro-second amendment supporter of the rights to bear arms and outlines her position at SecondAmendmentSisters.org.
“Knife rights and gun rights both come under the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Second Amendment refers to ‘arms,’ not guns.”
New Hampshire State Representative Jennifer Coffey
It will be interesting to watch this bill’s progress and CNJ will keep you updated.
Meet Knife World’s Editor Mark Zalesky
Mark Zalesky
Knife people are nice people, that’s what I have found. Knives are fun, yes, they are, but the people we are associated with while playing knives make it all the more fun.
Mark Zalesky, editor of Knife World, is one of these fun people. Extremely quick wit, great sense of humor, vast knowledge of knife history, love for the hobby. Sometimes a bit hard-headed, but a great guy and someone I count as a friend- knives or not. I love his editorials- Irons in the Fire. He can get fired up there every now and then too.
Recently, David Anthony, author of Tidioute- A Town With An Edge, interviewed Mark and agreed to share it with Cutlery News Journal for us to enjoy. If you know Mark you can actually hear his voice in his quotes, if you don’t, then you will by the time the interview wraps- up.
Mark's early favorites- MSA Safety Hunter
Rather than attempt to rewrite it and re-publish its images (some great knife shots included), I elected to post it as an attachment- PDF format. I hope you enjoy getting to know Mark. He’s a great guy and a Cutlery Hall of Famer, if there is such an organization. If not, he should be the first inductee.
Thanks David for providing this sit down with Mark, as well as your passion for our hobby!
Keep your eyes wide open for knife auctions or you’ll miss out
Bruce Voyles Knife Auction
As a fourth generation auctioneer, knife collector and general auctionholic, I love auctions. Auctions are in my blood. I watch them with keen interest- the psychology of the auction method is fascinating.
When it comes to knife auctions- Katy bar the door- I’ll start a new collection purely on impulse (just don’t ask about the last auction I attended and my “new” folding hunter collection). Anyway, here’s my recommendation to you who are in the hunt or just like to go see what you can pick up-
Keep your eyes wide-open for knife auctions or you may miss out
Today, we are seeing knife auctions pop-up unexpectedly- both in places and by auctioneers we wouldn’t normally watch. These auctioneers are bucking the old business axiom “Specialize in good times and generalize in bad.” While you may consider the U.S. economy today to be “bad times,” that’s not the point. Today is good times for the auction industry. Folks are electing to “re-allocate their assets”- some by choice, others by force. But either way, auction opportunities abound for today’s auction industry.
Knife buyers must keep their peripheral vision clear in order not to miss opportunities because not all knife auctions are running through the traditional channels.
Here’s what I mean-
The KC Auction Company has a large one-owner collection of a wide assortment of collector knives up for auction beginning at 10:00 am this Saturday, October 24th in Kansas City, MO. Bidding will be both live and online. Check out the inventory of over 300 knives, including 35 Randalls. All knives (lots) are selling absolute- with no minimum bids.
Also, Ben Bray Real Estate & Auction Company has a 425 lot auction of knives and guns conducted on-site in Lafayette, TN on Saturday, November 7th.
I’m all for auctions, both as an auctioneer and a buyer, but the bottom-line is we must diligently watch- cause some will be in places we didn’t expect.
How many knives will a trillion dollars buy?
How many knives will one trillion dollars buy? I didn’t have a calculator with enough digits, so thought this would help put it in perspective.
BREAKING NEWS: Customs attempt to redefine a switchblade is now dead
Word just in via instant message from KnifeRights– “Senate passed Homeland Appropriations Bill with our amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act intact!”
Historic victory for the Sports Knife Industry and Knife Enthusiasts!
Here at the details as provided by KnifeRights’ Doug Ritter-
Knife Rights News Slice eBLAST – October 20, 2009
WE STOPPED CUSTOMS Pocket Knife Grab! The Senate has passed the conference report for the fiscal year 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill with our amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act intact. The bill will now be sent to the President for signature. There is no indication that he will veto the bill. (more…)
Police in Scotland get new weapon in their fight to stop knife carrying
When you want folks to stop carrying knives what do you do, get a portable knife scanner, of course.
Yes, as reported in The Press and Journal and Herald Scotland, Scotland is providing every (police) force there one of these knife scanners. It seems of the 257,000 searches it conducted from April 08 to March 09 where 1,663 weapons (mostly knives) were confiscated, the Violence Reduction Unit’s ongoing anti-violence campaign just isn’t getting the job done. Now suspected knife carrying citizens will be scanned. In addition, Scottish courts have recently been given powers to impose four year sentences for knife carrying.
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said the Scottish Gov. allows officers to scan people suspecting of carrying knives in public places. He further added,
“The message has to be clear: carry a knife and go to jail.”
Both newsources indicate the scanner can be set up in one minute, which leads me to believe it is not a handheld device and, instead, is probably similar to the one pictured as used in London, called the Gatescan Knife Arch, designed as a mobile 
walkthrough metal detector used to identify people carrying knives.
Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images Europe & Scanna.com
Cutlery News Journal 