Jumbo Swellcenter on eBay
Roger Cunningham, the ETCC Vice President, pointed out a Jumbo Swellcenter is being auctioned on eBay right now.
Here’s what the seller has to say about it-
“I have a great old sunfish knife up for bid. It is a W.R. Case and Sons, winterbottom bone with full blades and excellent condition. This knife is built on the old Platts frame, and I am dating it at about 1903. These knives book at 3500 if you can find one . This one is in great condition. It takes a thick thumbnail to open it, the backspring is that strong. Nice winterbottom bone handles make this an extremely rare piece.”
I’m not sure about the date being able to be pinned down to a single year.
Too bad the seller dictated a starting bid of right at $2000 to get into it. Personally, I am convinced an item will bring its worth without forcing buyers to start at a wholesale price. Plus, the market is deep enough (sufficient demand) that it would have brought what it was worth. We may have been willing to spend $2000- $5000 after being caught up in the fever, but he is asking us to commit to spend $2000 cold.
It will be interesting to watch a quality knife sell today via eBay. Before I bid, however, I would ask for additional close-ups of the handles and stamps, for sure. These are my favorite swellcenter handles. I don’t know they are technically Winterbottom. I was told by Joe Seale they called Platts Bone. But, I’m OK with Winterbottom bone if you are.
February 14th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Roger, It is really hard to put that kind of money in a knife without holding it in your hands or knowing nothing about the seller. It’s like buying a car from 50 feet away and not driving it. It does look great but better have a few close up pics. Knives like these are better bought at the national shows, you get allot less disappointments than you do on Ebay.
February 16th, 2009 at 8:32 am
I agree.Already up to almost $2600.
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:32 am
This really shows what I know, knife closed at $3000, at that kind of money I would want to hold it in my hand unless I really knew the person selling it. It does look great but people tend to forget to mention the bad and focus on the good qualities of the knife when listing an item. I once bought a toenail and was not told it had a bolster pin sheared in half, guy told me he wasn’t a knife collector. Got my money back but made me a little wiser on Ebay. Got to ask questions when bidding.
February 22nd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I understand, Barry. To me the difference for the swellcenter was the advertised return policy coupled with 100% feedback. The seller added more pics, not great ones but more nonetheless. If I had needed a WRC Jumbo “winterbottom” for my collection I would have been comfortable bidding for it in this situation.
Assuming it was as good as it appeared, minus the cleaned blades, it would have brought over $3000 in my way of thinking, but probably not over $3500. Had it not been cleaned it would have been worth more still.
My 2 cents.
February 22nd, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Hello everyone, Great threads on this knife and thanks for the imput everyone. I did win this toenail the other day (I really did not think I would win it). My username on ebay is aka ratlesnake75. Mr. Scott King I appreciate you letting me be part of your members here at ET and without this website, I would have never been comfortable buying such a toenail. I could get a good feeling of the average price that others sold for in their respective condition, and the more pictures the better way too compare. I have not recieved the knife yet, but hope it is a nice example. I will take some better pictures of it when I get it in and send them to you Scott for this site (if you don’t mind sir). I do frown on buffing and professionally cleaned knives. I did ask the seller a couple of questions which he never posted, here are the Q & A’s quotes that come from my email inbox.
Dear dskc1,
Super knife!!! Has it been prof. cleaned?? Is the secondary pen blade marked? Is knife all original with blades fitting flush against its respective backspring in the open position? Thx for your time–Do you have a buy-it-now in mind?? Thx Mark
- ratlesnake75
Dear ratlesnake75,
This knife was cleaned about 12 years ago by Herbert Aycock. The pen blade is marked and both blades sit tight against backspring. All original. Thanks
Robert
- dskc1
He does not say what the pen blade says and my ignorance since I have never owned one of these knives I don’t know what it should say. I checked the other knives on this website and cannot tell what markings should be on the pen blade. This seller, to me, seems to be straight forward and very confident, knows knife terminolgy and seems very very nice. I even got an email saying the knife will be shipped monday morning and hopes that I will love the old knife. To me (what little I know), Herbert Aycock was suppose to be the VERY BEST in cleaning of old pocket knives, therefore I assume the cleaning was done right.
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Congratulations Mark!
Welcome to the Jumbo Swellcenter Owners Club
Check it out when you get it, but is sounds like you got a fine swellcenter. When it comes let us know what you decide.
I don’t have access to my jumbos right now, but best I can remember, the stamp will be the same as found on the masterblade. You won’t find a pattern number on these.
Glad we here at ET.com can help you and other collectors. We know of Aycock. Several of the toenails I have, including a few of my jumbos were cleaned before I got them and I am sure at least one was what they call “Aycocked.”
Some of the purist won’t have a cleaned knife. To me is depends- If it is a jumbo I’ll still buy it… though it isn’t worth the same as a natural one, or if it is a brand I still don’t have….if it is the best condition (or only one) I can find, then I’ll still buy it.
Enjoy the knife. I love the handles! Hopefully, it will check out as you expect.
Scott
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Scott–I have many knives in my collection and I do not believe any of them have ever been prof.cleaned, except this one big toenail (I am not a purist though) and I do not normally like cleaned knives as well as the rest. Sometimes we all have to either make exceptions or upgrades(he he he). I looked forward to seeing those stampings on the pen blade–Thanks a million——-Mark
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 am
I THINK THE KNIFE IS BACK ON EBAY. WONDER WHAT WENT WRONG.
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:22 am
Yes, the wife of the buyer confirmed the buyer returned it. Don’t know why, but when the husband gets back from his road trip, I’ll find out.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Hello Scott,
I had asked the seller a few questions when this knife was first listed. Found out the main blade did have wobble when fully opened. Never know - maybe the buyer didn’t ask all the questions.
Jeff
March 7th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Hello Everyone, Sorry I could not get back with you all sooner. Just remember the things I say ARE MY OPINION ONLY, someone else could be happy with the knife JUST NOT ME. I am not an expert, however, I know what I LIKE TO SEE IN OLD KNIVES. I did return the toenail for a refund. I offered to pay for half-ebay fee’s and paypal fee’s. The seller refunded all my money anyway. Very nice gentleman(the seller). Back to the knife. I will get straight to the specifics. WOBBLE–there was none(why), Rememeber knife was very hard to open(hmmmm). So hard I was afraid to break backspring and get stuck with the knife(not good). When fully opened, master blade was sitting very very low and crooked!!consistent to the hard opening(hmmm) to the respective backspring. This is what really surprised me(master blade was only half as wide as the backspring(hmmm–hence wobble). When master is fully opened, the whole knife felt crooked TO ME. I will make 2 more points here, bolster pin was sunken and very obvious on the small blade side, and when you open the small blade it just rubs rough on opening(not smooth, and then stout to the half-stop. Backspring liners were not straight(large gaps). Hopefully you guys can see why I returned it. Thx Mark and Shana