HOBO Owners

[spudley112]

Anyone else own a Hobo knife? I remember back in the 80's, my grandmother bought me a cheap little Hobo knife (which I mistakenly thought was the same thing as a Swiss Army Knife). I thought it was so cool to have all the eating utensils on one handy knife...well, until I decided I needed the knife and fork at the same time to cut a piece of meat.

Enter one of my newest editions...the AG Russell interpretation of the classic Hobo. Sans spoon, this little knife is a steak eater's dream. What I love about this is the fact that the fork and knife sections separate so that the old Hobo knife shortcoming can be addressed. The fork, in the closed position, holds the two halves together quite nicely, but by simply opening the fork, and applying a little forward pressure on the handle, it now becomes two distinct utensils. If you look at the bottom photo, you will see that the fork locking mechanism.

And just for our very own Happy Gilmore, AG Russell added a cap lifter!

[VICMAN]

Enter one of my newest editions...the AG Russell interpretation of the classic Hobo.

Good looking Hobo spudley!

[Rapidray]

That is nice! 

[Ray S]

That Russell is really a nice piece! Hobo knives(I refer to them as picnic sets)are a fascinating segment of knife collecting(accumulation)and are one of my favorites.I have accumulated quite a few over the years and if I may would like to share them here.Some are just a knife and fork while others include other implements and come in a case inside a small drinking cup.Some are modern while others go back almost one hundred years.I will try and describe them as I go along.
#1is a Colonial four blade that does not disassemble which makes it kind of difficult to use.
#2 is a knife/fork combination that slides together marked "Inoxidable Frances Industria Argentina"
#3 is a set marked "D.R.G.M."consisting of two handles;a knife,fork,spoon,can opener,and corkscrew in a leather case.
#4 is an unmarked set consisting of a knife and fork inside a drinking glass housed in a leather case.

[Ray S]

Page two:
#1 is a souvenir knife/fork/spoon set from the Motor Vessel Bluenose;a Canadian ship.They must have been on display in a window partially open as the handles are partly discolored.
#2 Another unmarked knife/fork/spoon combo with horn handles inside a felt pouch
#3 A fixed blade knife/fork/spoon combo inside a felt pouch dated 1920.
#4 A knife/fork/spoon combo with bone handles marked Germany inside a hard case with an aluminum drinking cup.

[Ray S]

Page three:
#1 A combination tool that has a knife,fork,spoon,can opener/cap lifter,corer,and potato peeler.It does not dis-assemble.
#2 A folding knife and fork inside a purse made by J.A.Henckels.
#3 An unmarked knife and fork that the blades store inside the handles and reverse to eat with.
#4 A pair of knife/fork combinations;one with ivory handles and the other with pearl by Edward Wusthof.

[Rapidray]

Nice sets. 

[Ray S]

Page four:
#1An unmarked knife/fork combo with plastic handles.
#2 A knife/fork combo with an illegible mark.The fork is at a right angle to the handle and it does not come apart.
#3 A Hubertus hobo knife with wood handles.
#4 A Japanese hobo knife.

[Ray S]

Page last:
#1A Camillus "Red Cross" knife(non dis-assembling)issued to troops during World War one.
#2 A Union Cutlery Co. "Dogshead" hobo set dating to around 1920.
#3 A newer Richartz hobo knife.
#4 A Geo.Schrade Boy Scout knife/fork/spoon set pre-WWII

[Ray S]

OOPS! On page four the second picture is incorrect.It should be this one. Sorry for the error.

[nate j]

I've always thought Hobo knives were neat, and I've been tempted to pick up a Case or A.G. Russell version for a while now.  For practical use, though, a basic set of camp utensils is both a lot cheaper and much easier to clean.

[Rapidray]

Wow...that a great collection! Thanks for sharing with us. 

[cody6268]

The AG Russell looks really good. I have two; the Hobo I used in Scouts, and the Mitsoboshi my Dad had when he was a Scout. I'll get a photo of the latter tomorrow. It's about the size of a 111mm SAK, has fork and spoon, and is wider than a SwissChamp not counting either the fork or spoon; it's got everything a Vic Huntsman has and more.

This is a duplicate. The original is in my mess kit, which is actually stored with some of my other gear at a friend's house.  My original came from Magic Mart; which lasted for over a 100 years. They were typically located in areas of Southwest Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, and Western North Carolina that didn't really have larger chains such as Kmart or Walmart. Last year, they went out of business; which I never got. The store I always went to did quite well. On any given day, they got more people than the Kmart did before it closed two years prior.  Wanted a knife to stay in the pack with their price tag, this was what I chose.

[magentus]

Oooo, there's some lush examples here!

I have an un-named but pretty good quality one stashed in my Swedish Trangia kit - It's seen quite a lot of use (particularly the spoon and fork).