MIss MIss, comis is telling on me!
:kirky:
1 - The first question as to what “(brand/pattern/cover etc)” can not be answered by anyone but you.There are GEC collectors, Camillus collectors, Schrade/Old Timer etc, they will snatch up one or more of any pattern they can find. There are pattern collectors who may snatch up only barlows or only barlows from one maker like GEC.Historical collectors who look for knives from discontinued makers like Camillus, Cutco etc. Learning the history of traditionals is a big part of collecting traditionals. Collectors of advertising knives etc, any who you get the point. You have to learn where your interest lies and go from there.Do you want to acquire mint samples or good usable samples. It will take a bit of trial and error but in time your collection will focus. 2- The second question “What brands would you trust to buy used/mint?” Simple answer is none, all makers can and do or have put out lemons. Never buy a knife if the seller doesn't post good to excellent pictures. Always assume if the pics are bad the seller is hiding something. Pics from both sides, top and bottom, open and closed, it's okay to ask the seller for pictures.3 - It's okay to buy GEC from the evil bay but know the original price and set limits on your bid and never excede your preset bid limit.Usually it's cheaper to buy GEC as soon as they come out. Theres a https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/lets-talk-gec.1081593/ andhttps://www.bladeforums.com/threads/what-makes-a-good-traditional-barlow.1009441/” thread on bladeforums and you can go to GEC's site to see the production schedules for the year. Blade forums and allaboutpocketknives are two good places to look for traditionals on the secondary market. Both sites have a traditional for sale section.4 - At the risk of making some people mad and if I do I'm sorry. Rough Riders are not and never will be collectable. The collectable traditional market does not include Chinese knives at this time.Case has a lot of fans and collectors but Case's market has always been to the casual user. Even when I started carrying in the late 60's I was told to avoid Case and stainless because of the steel used. Today eighty percent of Case's market is candy colored and limited editions sold to people who are not usually classified as knife nuts, mostly impluse buys and gifts. Having said that they do have their following and collectors club. For brands, I would follow Steve's advise and look for Camillus, Imperial, PAL, Remington, Case, Western, Schrade, Cutco, Queen and several other companies that have come and gone over the years.Brands from europe as well but as a collector avoid the brands or lines, made or partially made in China.GEC become collectable almost from the get go and shows no signs of slowing.5 – From a pure collectors stand point always keep the original box, it adds to the value.Carbon can rust but long term storage is not all that hard and there are many opinions most are good.I Will oil the pivots with 3in1 oil, and use a soaked q-tip to get into the springs and brass liners.Along with a product called Howards feed-N-Wax to keep the wood and bone moist.Any good carnuba or synthtic auto wax will keep the blades pristine and protected. Keep them in a dry area and you'll have very little maintenance to do from then on.
Study and learn all you can about tang stamps.
1) True. At the moment, I think I like knives that either are rich in culture/cutlery history, or has great quality/craftsmanship. 2) That's golden. 3) Thank you for the links, looks like good reading material. I see there are some resident dealers on AAPK, can they all be trusted? The registration program seems easy, but I assume there are good forum members to save guard potential fakes?(mean no disrespect, just asking)4) Thanks to that again, always appreciate a honest viewpoint.5) Howards feed-N-Wax/carnuba, these are new to me, gonna look them up and experiment. It'd be great to find something that is good for rust preventing, but not harmful to the covers.
It's a good bet if the resident dealers were not trust worthy, they would not last long there.Howards Feed-N-Wax is a liquid wax and moisturizer that has worked well on wood and bone for me. It may not be available across the pond but you could find something like it.Carnuba wax is just old style car wax.
May date myself here, but when I was growing up there were only 2 kinds of knives. Hardware store knives, which were usually Barlow's, on a countertop display easel, and "Buck" knives, which fell into the category of any folding lockback that the truckers carried.It was only much later that I discovered pocket knives, in all their beauty and variety. I learned to prefer stainless over carbon. The humidity and sweat brought on by SC Summers took a heavy toll on some of my first.I've returned to some carbon bladed Knives, as I've attained the age where I'm not able to go out and sweat like I did.I was then, and still for the most part an accumulator. I get what I like. Whittlers make up the bulk of my knives. You'll have to decide whether you want to be a collector, with a safe full of mint in box knives or a user, with a knife roll full of choices for your EDC rotation. Most folks are somewhere in between. Dean51 made a good point about RoughRyders, not being collectable. They're not, however they are, in my opinion, the best value in user knives out there. I can put one of their whittlers down side by side with a CASE Whittier and they're almost identical. Which ever way you fall, the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy your knives.
Hey, I only collect 2-4 knife brands (only NIB).Spyderco (older models)Kershaw (hunter series/1050/1055 etc.)and maybe:Al Mar Böker Solingen They combine interesting facts for collectors. A huge collection-community, a timeless design (if you buy the right models), history of knife making, great quality and the chance of a good invest. It’s important to know the market...
I got some after Dean told me about it. I've used it on wood and can testify it's good stuff! I might suggest getting some Quick Release. It is amazing and I'm not over exaggerating. I got some after a old Utica EO which was a nail breaker to open. Had to use a knife opener to open it. Which can be dangerous. Quick Steel over at AAPK told me about QR and I got some. Put some on the joints and let it soak for several days. Now I can open it normally. I use it all the time.
The answers to the O.P.'s questions would likely fill a fair sized book and still not cover everything. As an,"indiscriminate accumulator of all things edgy" for more than 60 years, may I throw in a few snippets of information? When I first started accumulating knives my focus was on ones that opened by pushing a button on the side.This was before the U.S. government decided that they were way too dangerous for the average voter to own and banned them from." interstate commerce"( a nebulous term if I ever heard one). Most of the ones I found were of the inexpensive variety that quickly stopped functioning as intended. I learned how to make temporary repairs to keep them functioning. I would occasionally come across one of the better constructed versions made in Italy and if the price was right it would enter my accumulation;never to leave again. Many years went by and I started picking up other types of knives. I would collect ones that had stag handles(still my favorite for a working knife)and then proceeded to mother of pearl(each one unique and beautiful but very fragile) and then ivory and so on until I was collecting virtually anything with an edge. There was a time when pocket knives were becoming harder to find and I discovered fancy handled straight razors which became an obsession for a time. Letter openers with knife blades concealed in the handle came along and with them regular letter openers.Even kitchen cutlery(carving sets;steak knives;even old butcher knives)caught my fancy and became a part of my accumulation. Today I have slowed down a lot in my acquisitions but now I have people who come up to me at flea markets and yard sales(they call me the Knife Guy)with pieces for sale or information on where I can get them. I apparently have spread my addiction to others! So what is the point of all this? Well here are some ideas for the budding collector/accumulator: 0) First and foremost;if you are getting into collecting with the idea that it is a good investment for your retirement days,I would suggest pursuing other avenues such as the stock market.Very few people(at least the people I know who are into knives)have been able to achieve that goal. 1) I would start by acquiring a few good books on knife collecting. Bernard Levine's books are always good even if the prices are somewhat dated.Everyone wants the 4th edition which I suppose is the best of his although earlier editions have almost the same information at a tenth of the price or less. Goins Encyclopaedia of Cutlery Markings is always a good buy even though earlier versions have somewhat incomplete info on certain markings. Geoffrey Tweedale's book on English cutlers(I'm still looking for that one)is another invaluable source of information.Also any of the modern knife magazines and periodicals is good information.I would recommend getting ANYTHING that has information on knives and manufacturers.Old catalogs and brochures are good when they are available. You can never have TOO MUCH information! I probably have several hundred books and magazines and papers on knives and it is far from complete.Attending knife shows or joining knife related forums(AAPK is a good site and in the dozen or so years I have been on there I could count on the fingers of one hand the phonies that were on there). 2)Decide whether you are going to collect by brand or pattern or handle material or if you are into custom knives,by maker. 3)Naturally it is always nice to find mint examples of a knife(especially if you are collecting vintage knives)but that is not always possible.Sometimes the knife is so rare and valuable(not necessarily the same)you may never find a mint example. Then the question becomes:Is it worth buying a not so great example just to have one? Only you can answer that. 4)Decide whether your knives will be strictly users or so-called,"safe queens". If you buy a valuable knife,don't use it to practice(dare I say "hone")your sharpening skills if the intent is to never use it. That is what we have inexpensive knives for! If they are to be users buy a knife that properly fits the use to which it will be put.A Western W-49 bowie isn't exactly an every day carry knife. If they are collectors only buy what YOU like and not what others might like. Of course if you are buying knives just to re-sell you might want to re-think that last line. 5)Learn how to store and properly care for your purchases. Knife rolls are nice for transporting knives to and from shows but I dislike storing knives in them.The elastic is prone to damage plastic handled knives. My choice for storage are wooden cabinets(I have an old typographer's cabinet lined with felt)and machinists' tool boxes properly cleaned and re-lined with new felt. I also use dessicant bags in all the drawers and change them every few months to prevent moisture damage. They can also be renewed by baking them in an oven for about 30 minutes at the lowest temperature setting. Also never have your displays in direct sunlight. A good and inexpensive storage unit for pocket knives up to about 4 inches is an old cassette tape storage box.These show up at yard sales all the time for a dollar or two.I usually cut small strips of felt to line each slot and add a dessicant bag or two. 6)Well I have just about exhausted my take on this collecting thing. Good luck on your accumulating!
I wasn't aware that SAK's used celluloid as handle material.In regard to celluloid I usually am careful to do two things: DO NOT oil the pivot pins;use a lubricant that doesn't migrate too much.Lithium grease is a good substitute if used sparingly. Lubricant is especially harmful to picture handle knives as it tends to creep under the covers and damage the fragile pictures. I also will not expose it to over heating and store them separate from all other knives. Inspecting them frequently for signs of out-gassing is also a good idea. I check mine once a month and change dessicant bags frequently.You also want to check to make sure they are not out-gassing UNDER the handles as I have had several that showed virtually no sign of deterioration but were eating the brass liners away. Here is a picture of a Buck Creek lock back I bought new and within a year it started to degrade.After cleaning it one day,I went to close it and depressing the lock release broke the back off the knife! If you look at the handles,they show no sign of deterioration.
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