Identifying old GAK maybe SAK?

[Grathr]

I walked in to a Antiques/used items store close to where I live today, and asked him if he had any pocketknives. He found a couple of worthless rusted folding knives, and then he handed me this one. I bought it on the spot for $9.

Does anyone know who made this, and how old it is? It seems to be identical to the spartan/original officers knife, but on the blade it says made in Germany on one side and has a whale stamped in on the other side. Did the Germans also make this knife?
I put a Tinker(did not bother serching for the spartan) next to it in the pictures to show its size. They are pretty much identical in size and tools, except for the old can opener and awl. The scales are made of leather. I don't know if they are original. As you can se from the pictures it has lived a long hard life, but all the tools snap into place and back again like it had been made by Victorinox.

I appriciate any info you have on this knife.








The knife does not look this bad, I have increased the contrast to better show the stamps

[enki_ck]

It's a Richartz knife. You can read a bit about them here and there are a few threads on the forum too.

http://www.sakwiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Richartz

[basilio]

Found similar markings to yours


and here
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OLD-MADE-IN-GERMANY-SOLINGEN-WHALE-LOGO-POCKET-SAILORS-PICK-KNIFE-VERY-NICE-LQQK-/120921929055?pt=Collectible_Knives&hash=item1c2782355f

[fenofedd]

So are you planning to restore it somehow?

[Grathr]

Thank you guys.
From the info you gave me I think it is made by Richartz in Solingen Germany. It was probably made before 1961 according to another forum thread, due to the old can opener.
There is however very little information about Richartz older knifemodels. In its day it was probably a cheaper, and of poorer quality,  alternative to the swissmade knives.
Im going to send an email to Richartz and hear if they can help determine the age and model.
I am pretty sure it is not worth much money. The $9 I paid for it is probably its market value, unless it turnes out to be significantly older than I think.
If I get no new info from Richartz I will probably just clean it up, oil it and sharpen the blades. Ill keep it in my collection as memrobilia item.

[J Mackrel Jones]

I have several of these whale-emblem Richartz of different ages and they are decent quality.  Yours looks like carbon-steel - this and the ancient scales (maybe deliminating fiber rather than leather?) place it before 1930 at the latest.  Stainless steel became de rigeur in the 1920s, plastic scales in the 1940s and '50s.

[Neil]

I may not like the styling of some of their modern knives but I've always found the quality to be just as good as the Swiss made tools.  That's a nice find 

[Grathr]

I have several of these whale-emblem Richartz of different ages and they are decent quality.  Yours looks like carbon-steel - this and the ancient scales (maybe deliminating fiber rather than leather?) place it before 1930 at the latest.  Stainless steel became de rigeur in the 1920s, plastic scales in the 1940s and '50s.

Thank you!
That makes it quite a alot older than I tought! 

[Grathr]

I may not like the styling of some of their modern knives but I've always found the quality to be just as good as the Swiss made tools.  That's a nice find 

I don't like the styling of their modern tools either. It reminds me to much of some cheap knock off SAKs I have seen. The quality mut have been good for it to last this long with much use and abuse, and still function properly. 

[Neil]

Agreed but they do have a few pieces I'd really like to handle.  Unfortunately they are not stocked in many places.

[matty78943]

I have one of them in excellent condition