When a knife is not a knife but a............

[Ray S]

.....tie clasp or a money clip or an ornamental pin.
Sitting at my "Fred Flintstone" computer on a Sunday morning digesting breakfast and enjoying my first cup of coffee before I go out to the flea market across the road to see what treasures await me today and I decided to post up some pictures of my accumulation of,"knifiana" for want of a better term.
   Some time in the past when one went to work(or school)the requisite mode of dress was a sport jacket and necktie and possibly a vest.Sadly that day is forever lost to history as far as I can determine. When wearing a tie and jacket one of the down sides was if you removed your jacket to work(as many people did)the tie had a nasty habit of getting in the way;especially if you bent over. Many people remedied that by stuffing the end of it inside their shirt.This sometimes worked for awhile but eventually it came out and the problem remained.It also didn't look very professional.
   The solution was to attach the tie to the shirt by some method.One of the solutions was a device called the,"tie tack" which was just that:a button shaped device with a pin on the back side that pierced the tie and was held on by a clip.Attached to the button was a small chain with a T bar on the end that slipped through a shirt button hole and held the tie against the shirt.It worked but it damaged the tie;especially if it was an expensive one made of silk.
   A better solution was the "tie clasp". The first ones were probably just large hair pins borrowed from the wife that slipped around the tie and had one side slid onto the edge of the shirt.Worked very nicely and didn't damage the tie.
Then some unknown genius decided to make a fancy one and attached an ornament of some type;possibly a fraternal organization button and the rest is history.
   Some of the ones pictured are of swords or knives that when attached appear to pierce the tie itself.This is accomplished by making them in two pieces and having them hinged on the back to open up to admit the tie.When closed the edges of the blade look like they are going through the tie.Some of these are also adjustable so ties of various widths can be used.
   The pins are something else again.These are mostly decorative pieces designed to be worn on a lapel or pocket and are mostly pin backs like the tie tacks are.Some of them can actually be removed from their sheaths although they are not sharp.
   Anyway that is the story of them and I will now post some pictures.As I can only post 4 pictures at a time this will take several posts so please be patient and enjoy the show.I also put in a pair of earrings that have tiny folding knives on them.
#1 is what looks like a kitchen or steak knife tie clasp.
#2 is a hunting knife that is adjustable in width.The ends lift up to put the tie in and then clamp down
#3 is a miniature Spyderco knife with a tie clasp on the back.
#4 shows the back side.

[Ray S]

Page two is a pair of Colonial vest pocket knives that have had the rear handle removed and a spring clip installed to act as a tie clasp;or a money clip if you like.These were probably so-called,"skeleton" knives that were sold to jewelry manufacturers such as Ssmurf without handles and those were then installed by the jewelers.

[Ray S]

Page three.A group of sword tie clasps. The first three clamp on and simulate the tie being pierced by the blade. That last one has a wire spring clip that just clamps over the tie and then is slid onto the edge of the shirt.

[Ray S]

Page four shows a couple of Persian jambiya shaped pins that are able to be removed from their sheaths. The second one looks to be made of silver filigree and has a mark on the blade that looks like a silver stamp but it is not in English

[Ray S]

Page five:
#1 is a jambiya pin with a shield covering it.The knife is not removeable
#2 & #3 is a keris shaped pin that I believe is made of silver(there is no hallmark)and very delicate.
#4 is a pin of a Russian khindjal with a fancy brass sheath and blade and ivory handle.

[Ray S]

Page six:
#1 & #2 are of a Colonial knife that could be either a tie clasp or a money clip.
#3 is a miniature knife with a pin back likely made for a Sears Roebuck salesman.
#4 is a tiny silver dagger my son found at a flea market and bought for me.

[Ray S]

Page seven:
#1 #2 and #3 are small pins that look like knives by Parker Cutlery.The biggest one is less than one inch long.
#4 are pins of a Puma model 6393 Skinner and a Randall Bowie.Not sure who made them.

[Ray S]

Page last:
The first pin is unmarked and about 1/2 inch long.
The second pic is a kitchen knife that is about 3/4ths of an inch long.
Hope you enjoyed the show and please feel free to post pics of any that you might have.

[kottskrapa]

Cool collection and thanks for sharing

[It's not failure if you learn something from it]

[SteveC]

Thanks for the history lesson and interesting knives as always !   

[Poncho65]

Thanks for the history lesson and interesting knives as always !   

 

[enki_ck]

Wow, that is a very interesting and educational collection and post. Must be a great coversation starter too. Do you have them displayed in some way?

[Ray S]

Wow, that is a very interesting and educational collection and post. Must be a great conversation starter too. Do you have them displayed in some way?

Sadly they are not displayed but stashed away in one of my many storage boxes.None of the people I have for friends locally have any interest in knives;those folks are scattered across the country.

[Chako]

Good stuff. I have a collection of tie clasps and pins that I used to wear when I had to wear ties...but nothing like your more interesting collection.

[ReamerPunch]

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together! Those are wonderful!

[pfrsantos]

Thanks for the history lesson and interesting knives as always !   

+1

 

[Yadda]

Fantastic! You're collection never fails to amaze me.  Kudos Ray!

[David]

Fantastic! You're collection never fails to amaze me.  Kudos Ray!