How many times a week you give your collection a look?

[tr4252]

Hi Terry. Sure, I could do a photo or 2. It'll take me a while to get it together.

Tom

[tr4252]

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I haven't photographed knives in years and it shows, unfortunately. Anyway, here they are, warts and all. I was tempted to clean them up, but in the end I just didn't have the time.

1st photo is of some bolster release types and picklocks. The clunky looking one on top is actually my first attempt at making a switchblade, and I used the blade and spring from a defective 9" AB. All the rest are completely hand made by me. Top to bottom they are in chronological order. Only about half of these are really good, the others have various defects. (Keepers)

2nd photo is a torsion spring design I cooked up. The unfinished prototype is on top; though the scales look black and dull, they are actually a nice green mother of toilet seat color, like the blue one below it. The 2 on the bottom were never completed, which may be obvious. Again, I apologize for the poor photography, they look a lot nicer in person These were partially done on CNC machines, and function pretty well. (Keepers)

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3rd. Mostly forum knives. Top row: leverlock - Burly wood with Talkblade 2004 etched on blade, SWB forum 2005 knife (Switchblades Without the Button was Claudster's forum).
Middle row: Spotlight Kid commemorative 11" dark horn (have 3 of these), Pushbutton/Teddy commemorative light horn (I have 2), A Brad Skipper semi bayonet light horn, Tiny commemorative leverlock light horn, Tiny Jr. commemorative dark horn, another SWB, open to show blade, 2006.
Bottom row: Godfather with dark horn, etched "Classic Godfather #03 of 10" on frame, Mikov with dark horn and filework, blade etched "Brotherhood of Blades", stamped "021" on blade opposite side (I don't remember buying this one or where I got it).

Since I have extra copies of the Spotlight Kid and Pushbutton/Teddy knives, if anyone's interested make me an offer. As for the Godfather and the Mikov, any information would be appreciated.

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This group includes a few I can spare. Top row: 9" AB with dagger blade & fake pearl scales, Run of the mill leverlock, no markings
Middle row: Godfather with burl scales and black blade, Godson green anodized with black blade, Plain vanilla Mikov with (rosewood?) scales, Due Buoi first run, blade etched "2 of 15 2006" dark horn, Leverletto light horn & damascus blade, Leverletto 1st run light horn
Bottom row: Leverletto dark horn scales, Leverletto cocobolo scales.
I could live without the top row leverlock, the Godfather, the Mikov, the Due Buoi, the damascus Leverletto, and the dark horn Leverletto if anyone is interested.

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Cheap knives I really didn't need anyway.
Top row: Chinese knives with dorky eagle and mysterious numbers, Squarish knife and 3 keychain knives, Falcon folder with dark horn scales (this isn't a cheap knife, should have been in the previous group), Leverlock kit.
Bottom row: 3 Chinese Italians 3 AB Italians with plastic "burl" scales 1 non switchblade Italian folder in a heap, 2 really awful looking import switches, an oddball folder I mutilated on a belt sander, Leverlock kit. Any and all of these could be had cheap, let me know if interested.

That's about it. I have some more that are absolute junk, but what's the point? This is the first time I've had all the knives together; it's been fun but tiresome. At least I can answer the question about how many times I look at my "collection". Since I started with Talkblade in 2003, the answer is "Once every 21 years". If anyone sees something they absolutely must have, let me know, we can talk it over.

These knives were all in a file box. I have 2 other file boxes full of stuff; mostly supplies like scale materials and hardware, steel and brass, God knows what else, maybe a few more knives, but this should do it for now.

I'm grateful for the compliments, thanks to all of you. Thanks to Blitz for starting the thread and Terry for encouraging me to get the camera out.

Tom

[Twobit]

Prettttyyy.

[tr4252]

Thanks Twobit.

Tom

[Twobit]

I see the green in the top one (second picture). I don't see anything wrong with any of them. You're too modest, Tom. Very impressive work.

[whippersnapper]

I have seen quite a few of those before and they are beautiful!

PS - Not to be a party pooper but the ones I was wondering about were the older ordinary stuff you might be willing to part with.

[tr4252]

Those are coming up Terry, I just put up a shot of some forum knives. Two more bunches remain; Good knives I'm uncertain about; a couple of Protechs, a few Leverlettos, etc. And, Knives by the Pound.

Tom

[Tom19176]

Nice group of knives !!

[JulesVane]

The custom knives look really beefy! Nice!

[whippersnapper]

The forum knives bring back a lot of memories. Hard to believe it has been so long on some of them.

[gravknife]

Super knives Tom

Really love the scale materials on all of them ,a knife made by your own hand makes it that bit extra special ,wish I had that talent .
Thanks so much for sharing your endeavours mate ,has brightned up a rainy English morning while im having a coffee .

Hope your well .

Ian

[Killgar]

Beautiful work Tom. Thanks for posting. Those knives should be seen.

[Jay Blade]

Actually most of my knives are packed away. I went through a period when collecting was new to me, and I bought a lot of knives. I have a couple of Godfathers and a Godson, a bunch of Leverlettos, commemorative Talkblade knives (Teddy/Pushbutton, Tiny, etc.), and about a dozen of the custom knives I used to make. Maybe 30 or so. I consider these keepers. I also have about a hundred which are nothing special, that I'd get rid of if I wasn't so lazy. I haven't seen most of them in a long time.

I keep a 9" AB dagger blade in my desk to open letters and boxes.

I was primarily a builder and not a collector. Most of the energy I've put into the hobby was in making knife parts, jigs, fixtures, etc. I have a small metalworking shop in my basement that took shape over the years mainly to make knives. I converted a CNC blade grinder I built to a 3 axis router for the purpose of making RC model plane parts, so, no more custom blades.

I'd like to keep the good ones and sell off the rest, but I never get around to it. I don't regret any of this, the knives I built are among the most precise and well executed items I've ever created (not counting my industrial career). However, I reached a point where I'd done what I had intended to do and making more knives was unnecessary.

I'm getting old (72), and now have a spare bedroom full of knives, guns, guitars, model planes, and a few other leftovers from various interests, and records from the 2 businesses I started. Stuff I'm not currently engaged in.

This thread has renewed my interest in thinning out my posessions.

Tom

You me at Knives, Guns & Guitars!!!!!!
I'd love to see some of those Blades!!!

[Twobit]

I'd like to see some of those "nothing specials"!

[tr4252]

Here's one Twobit. During my late teens and early machinist career I would talk about knives with older guys, and one thing I heard from time to time was that "the best knife I ever had" was made from a metal working file, preferably a Nicholson. So, this one is the first knife I ever made, and I made it from a file of course. I did this about 50 years ago. Though it represents many hours of labor, cuts and burns to me, not to mention the knife-from-a-file bragging rights, to anyone else it would be a blade with a handle on it, end of story. Nothing special. I have another one made with a Dixie Gun Works blade, about the same time. It looks like a not-special steak knife. Didn't make another knife until I joined Talkblade in 2003.

Tom

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