The News from ElephantToenails.com

As we have discussed many times before, we must constantly be in the hunt. Turning stones. Actively looking for our prey.

I bagged a good one yesterday, but only because a kind knife collector pointed me too it. Thanks Steve.

Funsten Brothers of St. Louis catalog

It should be in next week and I’ll give you all the nuggets. Bottomline- it is hunting and trapping catalog from 191? and it has a picture of a toenail included with the other knives and equipment for the outdoorsman.

I’m curious to know if there are any tidbits that can be traced to the make and brand. I’ll let you know what I find out.

It’s official now-

This is a video recorded to let the YouTube knife folks know about iKnifeCollector

The Grand Opening of iKnifeCollector- the new online knife community has not been announced yet, but a few folks are signing up already (Thanks Ken- the Secretary/Treasurer of the Elephant Toenail Collector Club).

So, let me offer you a sneak peek. iKnifeCollector is all about people- knife people- all knife people, young and old, tactical or antique collectors (and everything in between), and now we have us a special place to gather.

One of the cool features of our community there is the ability to form Groups. They are special gatherings of collectors with the same interest. I went ahead and formed us a group there and want you to join us. Look on the main menu for “Groups,” then click Elephant Toenail Collectors.

As time goes on, ETC will give us a place to gather and talk about topics of interest- real discussions, not just comments to one of my post like here at The News.

Groups is just one of about 15 really cool features of iKC, so head that way and become a Charter Member.

See ya there- but don’t tell anyone else about it yet…I’m still moving in myself and trying to get it ready.

If you haven’t yet you can read some details about iKC in my latest post at CNJ. Don’t let the tech talk make you think it is too geeky..cause it’s not. In fact, I’m even expecting Roger (the ETCC Vice President) to pop in there too.

I’m ready for you guys to discuss toenails, cause I know after over a year, you may be getting tired of me doing all the talking.

Here’s the link. See ya there.

Oh yeah, thanks for all the cards and flowers, but I am now over my recent agony.

The agony of defeat. Moments ago, I lost a knife I wanted, but just not enough.

I am talking about being runner up in an auction. I just didn’t want to pay retail price. While I do have several already, I didn’t have a pearl with XX stamped out on the blade, in this condition.

In case you haven’t been out prospecting for toenails over the last week and didn’t know there was a Case Brothers pearl toenail up for auction. It was being sold for the executor of an estate in Michigan.

Less than a minute ago the bidding closed. While the number of bidders was limited to 7, it narrowed down to two once the bidding got over $1000. Me and the eventual winner.

Guys, this knife was a keeper. It was an Excellent + to Near Mint example of a 100 year old Case Brothers pearl toenail.

While I wallow in my grief, I’ll close with its picture. Oh yeah, I almost forgot- it sold for $3439.99. It was worth it too. Congratulations to the winner!

When my wounds heal, I’ll post in under Recent Sales here at ET.com. The post about its pearl handles were shown here earlier today.

Pearl toenails are rare. All you have to do is search The List at ET.com to realize this. And while The List is by no means every toenail made, it does give us a feel for the different knives out there. In fact, only 7% of the 250 different knives cataloged on The List are pearl. If you think about all the old toenails made, I bet the percentage of pearls is much lower than that.

Because pearls are rare and we don’t run across them often, I thought I would show you what you are looking for when you look at the handles. If you have never seen an old pearl up close, the handles may appear to be less than desirable (if you are used to looking at MINT knives, that is).

Nothing can be further from the truth though. Seeing pearl like this is like having black stuff (black gold, Texas tea) bubbling up in your backyard.

What you see here is AGE. This particular knife is about 100 years old.

Again let’s keep the look of pearl in context. We’re talking old knives. And this is what old looks like.

After having my ear to the ground, I am convinced collectors are letting go of some high quality toenails right now.

Whether it is related to the economy or folks just cashing out, some very nice toenails have, and I believe will continue to, make their way to our attention.

Recently, we’ve seen a high quality Jumbo Swellcenter, a pearl Case Brothers, a stag Case Brothers, a few hardware brands and others come up for sale.

We have known there are some extremely rare and excellent conditioned toenails in collections out there. Most of these collectors stay below the radar.

My recommendation is to 1) Start setting aside a war chest of cash to be in a position to take advantage of these opportunities, 2) Start talking to anyone in the Knife World about what you are looking for, and 3) Watch all auctions- online or traditional. Attend as many shows as you can. We will probably have to find them and not expect them to come knocking on our door.

Got a little time before I head off to church this morning, so thought I would give y’all another one to ponder-

Your assignment today, should you choose to accept it, is to identify this brand. One of these, for sure, is believed to be a contract knife.

On this one, if you are able to identify the manufacturer(s) (regardless of whether you guessed the brand correctly or not) and support that claim, you’ll win a lifetime subscription to Cutlery News Journal, including the Weekend Editions.

Here you go-

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Continuing with the series of identifying this toenail, I have another for you to test your skill.

The question today is “What Brand is this toenail?”

As we have already pointed out, a knife brand (make) could have been made on contract by a different manufacturer, so if you name the manufacturer instead of the brand, that is cool. It won’t win, but will get you honorable mention.

Here you go-

Today’s knife is actually a picture of three (I thought I’d make it a bit easier).

Name the Brand stamped on these toenails

Click through for the answer

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Asking if you have a favorite toenail is probably like asking which of your children is your favorite, and I realize that.

Over a Cutlery News Journal we are running the My Favorite Knife YouTube Video Contest. Collectors have an opportunity to win cash and prizes by shooting a short video about their favorite knife.

I was telling my wife about the contest and she asked me if I had a favorite from my collection. I was put on the spot for a second and realized, no, I don’t actually have a favorite- not a most favorite. It is like being asked which of my offspring is my favorite.

The truth is the knife doesn’t actually have to be your most favorite- cause if you are like me, you ain’t got just one, so don’t get hung up. Pick one and just pretend, for the contest, anyway, that it is it.

I’m expecting members of the Elephant Toenail Collectors Club to enter this contest. I can hear some of you now saying, I don’t know anything about putting a video up on YouTube so that it can be entered in the contest. I anticipated that, so here’s the deal- if you will shoot the video- I’ll walk you through the process. Follow the link above to entry form and details.

The contest ends the last day of April. The judging will end the first week of May and the winners announced.

Have fun and don’t worry about trying be Steven Spielberg. The winners will be selected on originality and creativity, not cinematography, per se.

The contest is sponsored by the National Knife Collectors Association, YouTube’s cutlerylover and CNJ.

Griffon sign originally from the 1920s.

Ever heard of a Griffon?

I hadn’t prior to today.  In case you are familiar, Goins has it Griffon as Griffon XX Bridgeport, Conn and Griffon Cutlery Works (and a few other variations).

Basically, the firm began back in 1983ish. Goins says the main offices of Griffon Cutlery Works have always been in NYC. They had a factory in Worcester, Mass around 1919 and 1921. He goes on to say many of their knives were made on contract.

Then he shows an image of their brand it is “Griffon” in cursive. Here it is on a painted on the side of their building. Photo taken in 1986. Additional info on Griffon.

Griffon XX Cutlery Bridgeport, Conn

In case you are wondering what the heck I am going on about Griffon for, well today I met another toenail collector. He was kind enough to provide me photos of several of his collection. One of these toenails was a Griffon.

Griffon was eventually purchased by Cole National in 1969.