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.

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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As our collections grow most of us begin to get more selective. Many of us narrow our targets down to particular brands. Knife Shows provide an excellent hunting ground to find other toenails of a brand. One of the challenges with shows is learning to recognize the brands when we see them in the dealer’s case.

Typically, my MO is to walk through fairly quickly. Picking out the knives I want to get more information about. And yet, I don’t like showing my hand prematurely to the seller.

One of the challenges with this approach, for me anyway, is knowing if the toenail is even one I am interested in. I decide to buy based on brand and then condition. You may be totally different. Maybe you will buy any toenail if its condition meets your approval, regardless of the brand. Your decision may be based on condition and price. 

My ability to recognize what brand toenail it is is important. If I know it is one I am interested in, then I approach the situation different.

Identify This Toenail Series

So, let’s have a little fun here. Over the next several weeks, I’m going to post a picture of a toenail and you are to identify what brand it is. If there are any particulars associated with a particular knife, I’ll get into that when I post it, like a knife that was made on contract and looks like a knife of another brand. We are going to try to keep is simple.

No cheating. No looking at The List, catalogs or books, unless you don’t know the answer. Good luck. 

Let’s do a practice round just to show you how it is going to work- Ready? Here we go:

Do you recognize this toenail? What brand is it? Oh yeah, I will be marking out the tang stamp

Click below to see if you got it right-

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