The design of the knife was very imposing. Due to labor issues, Kinfolks was closed in 1957, with another cousin, Emerson Case, continuing production of the brand under Robeson Cutlery in Perry, New York, until 1965. They show only very minor age/handling related wear, surface scratches, etc. Today, they have become a favorite of collectors, so much that we are interested in dating them to know whether we have the real deal or a fake. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Robeson continued to make knives until 1965, the year that Emerson Case . Included are four vintage catalogs to aid collectors in the identification and dating of Kinfolks knives, as well as biographies of Kinfolks founders: Russ Case, Tint Champlin, and Dean Case. I know my knives - maybe not as well as my mother - but enough to write helpful guides for you. The crossguard consists of two equal length arms that extend to the left and right and are terminated with circular ends. of Economic Development, Planning & Tourism. Gladstone, Mich USA with sheath. In any case, buyers must have questioned the length of the handle too, as, over the years, Marbles steadily increased its length. $6.30 shipping. March 26, 2014 in EDGED WEAPONS. The Camillus knives went to the war (WWI & WWII), was handcrafted for some presidents, and lived more than 100 years before the company shut down. Some shady knife enthusiasts might want to get the knife from you at a steal price or in a swap deal for something else. Add that to some shady collectors taking advantage of this fact to fabricate the fakes of these knives, and we have another challenge on our hands. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. His background is in fixed-blade hunting and bushcraft knives, but has jumped into the world of vintage slipjoint collecting with both feet since coming to work at Knife Magazine. Unfortunately for Marbles, they were quickly underbid by Camillus Cutlery on future purchases. Knife collectors and dealers should still have those catalogs if you can find them. Slowly at first, but with increasing momentum, the folding hunter once again became the favorite field knife of most hunters, and the Marbles patterns were considered old fashioned. By 1992, Buck had produced 11,000,000 Model 110s and was adding more at the rate of 400,000 a year. If you have one of such knives, follow the guide above to narrow down the date or era as much as you can. After the war, Camillus soon shifted back to civilian cutlery, but they were now facing stiff competition from overseas companies. Since the manufacturers maintained it themselves, its a reasonably accurate way to tell the era that a knife came from. This is a book for anyone who would like to spend some time with a family who pursued the "American Dream". All that can contribute to making it harder to know when these knives came from. For this topic I thought I would zero in on the 5" hunting knives that are known to have been procured by the USAAF. When WWI and WWII came along, Adolph shifted the focus of the company to cater to U.S. soldiers and the Allied Forces. Marble tended to know his customers well, and if he thought a double guard would sell better than a single, then that was the way it was going to be. Kinfolk Collectible Vintage Fixed Blade Knives. SKIP. Of all the knives that I have ever tried to date, the Kinfolks remain one of the most beautiful. Awarded many contracts during the period from 1939 to 1945, Kinfolks produced a significant number of knives in several different patterns which helped our men in the field and in the air with a quality tool when needed. Your email address will not be published. Some say it was the millions of knives produced by other companies for the war effort that doomed Marbles in the long run. Did Camillus Make Other Brands Knives on Contract? This American heritage contributes to the high-value craftsmanship and quality control that ships with these knives. $9.90 shipping. One of the biggest challenges with dating any kind of knife at all is the change of ownership that might have occurred along the line. Also, for the rst time, the I know that Case was plating some of their knives as early as the 1930's and marketing them as corrosion resistant. All of these make the recipe for a truly great knife that deserves our attention. The middle knife has the chrome plating on the blade that Case was known to do. This article appears in the July 2021 issue of KNIFE Magazine. Picked up this Kinfolks the other day with its original sheath, tang reads Kinfolks Incorporated, anyone have a date range for this knife. Read Next: Five Best Hunting Knives Ever Made. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. These fakes are even made with materials that age fast, tricking you into thinking that the knife has indeed seen a lot of years. Steven Dick While some other companies have taken over the design and started to make modern versions, there is simply nothing like the older units that first came out under the original Klaas company. Dustin- Nice collection!! Also, for the first time, the personal memories of multiple branches of this American cutlery dynasty are included, as well as a foreword by Brad Lockwood. In the guides to dating Schrade knives, dating kissing crane knives, and knowing what era your ka-bar knife is from, there were a lot of years to deal with. The blade has a 4 " false edge, and a pair of very narrow, 3 5/8" long fullers, near the spine on each side of the . There are many flavors to be had and with me it is edged implements more directly associated with aeronautical. I have covered some of them here for you: Those guides expose you to some insider tips and strategies to get the exact date of these knives, narrow down their era or simply confirm if you have the original thing. It is not a particularly rare blade (but in very good to excellent condition); there are several like this for sale on ebay most times I look (which is about 3-4 times a week). Looking for a particular book or back issue? If you are vastly interested in the story of how three cousins came together to found a knife company that we still know today, check the book out on Amazon today. I am immediately ordering even more books to pass on. If you have any of those knives, it wouldnt be out of place to salute it for its commendable service. Your email address will not be published. Next is the Camillus family. WOW! Still, Read More Knife Dating 1 bid. Great Knife Collection. This was a straight-backed, sheath knife with a slight . I appreciate you writing this post and the rest of the site is very good. Re: Kinfolks identification Post by Leo7504 Thu Oct 27, 2022 1:15 am I obtained access to that Kinfolks book and the 1939 Catalog describes a Model 925 with a 5 in blood groove blade,heavy back and keen edge, double non-slip guard and extra long indestructible handle, length overall to 9 1/2 inches. Top is pre-war procured knife blade tang stamped Kinfolks INC. followed by the two war time procured knives illustrating the use of alternate materials first switching to a plastic guard with aluminum pommel then plastic guard and plastic pommel tang stamped Kinfolks USA. Thanks for showing, once again learned something. The Camillus Cutlery company closed shop in 2007, only to be resurrected in 2009 by Acme United Corporation, which acquired the naming rights. I have no idea how it ended up in the hands of an aircraft mechanic on an aircraft carrier. Around 1915, Marble made what some consider his greatest contribution to outdoor cutlery, the Woodcraft sheath knife. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. I know of examples of the fullered Camillus 5" knife missing the thin brass spacers too. They, along with many other companies, also suffered when men in the company joined the war effort by enlisting even when they were deferred with required jobs at a cutlery as a specialized skill. The consensus is that the Kinfolks knife company was established around 1924 from when they made these really fine knives till the 1950s. Marbles halted most knife production in 1976, and the trademark was later sold to a company overseas. by JohnR Tue Nov 08, 2016 11:59 pm, Post After decades of feuding and parting ways to start yet another Case-related cutlery, Kinfolks saw three cousins come together to help one another. Kinfolk's knives were made by the Kinfolk company from about 1924 until the early 1950's. They are very hard to date the exact time they were produced. Enjoy! Copyright 2004-2023 allaboutpocketknives.com, Collecting Case Knives: Identification and Price Guide, "If there are no Dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where. Really nice knife, and to each his own, but I would not date that knife. Sign up for a new account in our community. Of course, they were sharp and most of them are older than us, but that doesnt mean we lost interest. The Camillus Cutlery company also produced: Their production capacity was expanded during the second world war when they had to manufacture a lot of high-quality knives to meet the needs of the soldiers shipping off to war. In any case, Marbles Woodcraft and Ideals are still easy to find on eBay. One of the most interesting things about this company is that they were founded in Little Valley, New York. The two with fullers or blood grooves are the known AAF procured types. Thanks for showing, peaked my interest. And a final rant about the place we all love to hate. It is not known when these knives went out of production, but they made it as far as 1993. Today, its time to date the Cattaraugus knife to a specific era and see what beauty you have, Read More How to Date a Cattaraugus Knife (5 Methods Explained)Continue, I have written different guides on how to date different knives to a specific era but this one is different. Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2023, I like it I use it to verify the age of my knives, Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2022. Check out local knife forums where you have experienced knife collectors, enthusiasts, and users too. Imperial Knife Company: 917,894 Kinfolks, Inc: 119,702 Pal Blade Company: 268,000 Utica Cutlery Company: 515,000. It looks like WhatsApp is not installed on your phone. 4 bids. It is knives like these that make some people on the outside question why Case knives are so expensive when they are just a great value for their money. thorin6, Camillus was also notorious for sometimes mixing up the tang stamps. This may be evolution, but where will this hobby go? Without new collectors, this hobby will slowly atrophy until there are just a few of us left (until we age out). dustin, here are 3 similar Case knives. I can never really be sure where or when a blade gets it's cover unless I open the box from the factory that the knife came in. As stated, I presume mine is a rebuild but find your comment interesting. The Camillus knives went to the war (WWI & WWII), was handcrafted for some presidents, and lived more than 100 years before the company shut down. Required fields are marked *. Picked this up at a nearby antique festival in NC. The table below shows you different tang stamp designs and when they were circulated.Tang StampDescriptionYear/ Era3-line arch stamp1902-19154-line straight stamp with yearFeatures year of manufacture3-line straight stamp1916 the 1930s4-line straight stampThe 1930s mid-19453-line; non-italic fonts; short underline1946 19503-line; non-italic, full underline; no dots (USA., not U.S.A.)1960 the 1970s3-line stamp; full underline; dotted U.S.A.; italicsThe 1970s 1980s3-line stamp; dotted U.S.A.; mixed caps1989 2007Camillus Knife Tang Stamps and their Eras. Sorry, you have Javascript Disabled! Maybe you want to buy a knife and you want to be sure its worth the price too? One strange side note to its history is that it was once the official sheath knife of the American Boy Scouts, from 1933 to 1940. They also sometimes referred to the blade or overall knife material which is equally helpful in narrowing down the years. Fortunately for us, Camillus changed their stamps enough to map each one to different periods. This site is maintained by the Cattaraugus County Historical Advisory Committee and the Dept. FREE shipping. At the end of the war, the decision to ramp up capacity paid off as Camillus could now make its knives and still churn others out under contract. The M3 trench knife or M3 fighting knife was an American military combat knife first issued in March 1943. While none are stamped Marbles, the knife remains in wide use even today. In 1958, Robeson purchased Kinfolks Inc of Little Valley, New York, which just happened to be Emerson Cases former employer. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. One of the most common models today has the 568 TC USA marking on its blade. Kinfolks Founded by Dean Case, Russ Case and Tint Champlin Little Valley, New York 1925-1957 Literally founded by kin - cousins Dean and Russ Case, and Tint Champlin - the venture was to help W.R. Case & Sons and Cattaraugus Cutlery meet production demands for fixed-blade knives. Just look at it and you would see the same thing. The knife you have is the third pattern manufactured under amendment 5679 L36A eliminating the aluminum pommel replacing it with a Resinox plastic type and eliminating the spacers to reduce cost making this model a late war expedited lower costing knife. I paid a reasonable price on this knife given it's condition. While they may not be sparkly new, they still have a lot of hunting seasons still left in them. H. Clay Aalders is a lifelong edged tool user. Today, you and I are going to go through a journey that should, hopefully, help us estimate the founding date of your Kinfolks knife or what era it came from at the least. Show me your knife, and I'll tell you who you are. The Expert. I've pretty much assumed that it is likely not a War production piece, but whether it's pre or post war I have no idea as Case used the chrome plating for a long time. Ending Jan 29 at 8:05AM PST 1d 10h. Still factory sharp! Did your Camillus knife go to the war? Although a part of the Case knives family, Kinfolks knives didnt have a long run in the market. There were six manufacturers: Kinfolks, Queen, Williams, Case, Ka-bar, and PAL. A German himself, and having spent enough time in the U.S.A. to know the market landscape, this business venture was not difficult for him.
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