Traditional Muzzleloading Association
Craftsmanship => Hawks and Knives => Topic started by: Bigsmoke on December 28, 2012, 12:46:31 PM
-
I was going through some things the other day and thought I would share a few of my knives with you.
(http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii161/bigsmoke72/IMG_4997.jpg)
The knife on the far left is my grandfather's hunting knife. No idea how many deer he has skinned with that nor how many fish he has cleaned.
The next one in is a knife I won at a shoot in Idaho. It has one of those laminated blades.
The next one is a small Bowie. Made by Dave Martinou from Canada. Numbered #1. Thought that was pretty neet!
The last one is an obsidian blade knife that I also won at a shoot in Idaho.
John
-
Nice eye candy John, thanks for sharing!
-
John, good to see you're also still allowed to play with sharp pointy thingies......
I have owned a few obsidian knives over the years, used to get 'em from "Bolling's Runnin Indian" in Deming New Mexico, which was one the biggest "tourist traps" on Interstate 10.
I got 'em mostly to give-away to other folks as show pieces because I learned early on they had no value.
At the time, they were sold for little of nothing and that reflected their real value....must have been made of "slate" instead of real obsidian.
Now, on the other hand, I have seen many beautiful, and very useful, obsidian knives that came from the Navajo Nation in Gallup New Mexico. When I was there last year I picked up a nice one, but since we were flying back I decided to leave it with my son....either way, the TSA or my youngest son, I doubt I'll ever see it again.
Uncle Russ...
-
TSA or youngest son - depends on which end you want to give first, I guess. :rotf
-
Good lookn knives there John. Thanks for the looksee.
-
That first one looks like a Marbles Woodcraft...
-
sse, the only markings I see on it is BokeR and then under the oke is USA.
Does that make it a Marbles Woodcraft? I don't know. My guess is that it would date from the 1920's, possibly earlier. I know my grandfather wasn't the type of fellow to buy something just for the sake of having something new. He was probably actively hunting from about 1895 to 1950, at the latest. I don't recall him taking off after that.
-
John, much like sse, when I first saw that knife I thought it was almost certain to be a "Marbles", but with the markings you described there is no doubt but what you a true Boker.
A very desirable collectors piece!
I suspect an old Buckskinner such as yourself already knows whats to follow, but again maybe not.
I recall as very young man in back the 1940's that if you didn't own a Boker or a Marbles, you didn't own much of a knife, things haven't changed all the much insofar as store-bought knives... IMHO.
Boker was the leading competitor against Marbles during their heyday. Today some "real" collectors feel it was nothing more than a very clever marketing scheme, and the Marbles knife was indeed nothing more than a differently shaped, and differently stamped, Boker.
Still yet, both are one of the more sought after knives of today, and that trend is not likely to stop.
One of Boker's better known folding knives was the "Hawk Bill" a single bladed working knife designed for a number of chores from the Farrier to those laying Linoleum Tile. It can still be found in tool boxes throughout the country.
I believe, actually I know, that Boker and Tree-Brand are one of the same, and that is where many of the so-called experts become confused. However, I admit that is only my opinion and everyone is free to believe what they like about the much older Marbles and Bokers..
I also think Tree-Brand are a bit less expensive and are of a lot lower quality that those stamped BokeR...Here is a link to history of Boker knives....you can actually see where the Tree-Brand actually started in Mew York, when Boker couldn't meet supply & demand.
http://www.boker.de/us/history.html (http://www.boker.de/us/history.html)
Also, Boker is very famous for its Straight Razors dating from 1869 on to their demise.
I own a couple Boker Straight Razors, one with Abalone handles, and one with Tortoise Shell, both made before the 1900's. I used one of them as a Patch Knife for years, until I was informed of its value...it hasn't served that purpose for some time now but it is still in my bag.....
That's a wonderful knife you have, and its background only adds to the pleasure of owning it.
Here is a little history I picked up while researching my Razors from Boker.
"Since the beginning of the Boker manufacturing plant in 1869, high quality straight razors were produced in Solingen, Germany. At that time, we were already focused on the usage of nothing less than the best in materials, and it was of the utmost importance to maintain the highest production standards available. With that background, the success came quickly, and this gave Boker straight razors an impeccable international reputation. After World War II, the manufacturing of straight razors gradually came to a stop. Today, an original Boker catalog from 1906 is the oldest document in our archives about the razor blade product line of that time.
More than 100 years later, a new lineup is being manufactured in Solingen, reviving the old tradition. Through 170 individual production steps, the new and exclusive Boker straight razors are created. A guarantor for the highest quality is the successful "finger nail test". Only the edge of a perfectly ground blade can be visibly bent on your thumbnail and returns immediately to its original shape when released. Cheap blades are too thick to do this, and for that reason they are refered to as "axes" by the experts."
Uncle Russ....
-
Nice bunch of knives there friend. Russ...thanks for that bit of history too.
-
Russ,
Thanks for the history lesson on Boker knives. Very interesting. I really know nothing about them. As you said, the personal history and the product history put together make for a lot of value to me.
I think I need to open up another box of sharp, pointy things to see what else I have laying around. I know I have a couple of dozen or more straight razors in a sack somewhere. I doubt if any are Bokers, though. They need to find a new home one of these days soon. Anybody interested in them? If so, I will post a photo and a list of what they are.
Thanks for the info.
John
-
Whatchu talkin 'bout Willis, I'm interested, I always interested in a straight razor.
Post yer "pichures", love lookin at them pichures.,
Uncle Russ...
-
All the knife stuff is very fascinating...I would imagine the Boker version would be very collectible, especially with the sheath, not being in production, etc...The U.S. made Marbles knives are, too. That knife is a real shoe-in for a Marbles, but even the older Marbles knives did have the name clearly stamped on them.