The News from ElephantToenails.com

I think the best way to tell you about my last three days is as a photolog, so here goes. The tale begins at Parker’s Knife Show, then a tour through the NKCA Knife Museum and finally, breakfast with some fellow Elephant Toenail Collector Club Members. Then I headed home.

Parker's Show Hall

C Platts Jumbo for sale by Joe Seale

National Knife Collection Museum

Platts History & Jumbo

Case Family Toenail

Case Brothers Toenail

Early Case Toenail

Henry Sears & Son Tear Drop Style

Napanoch Display featuring Toenail

Voyles Knife Auction

1911 W R Case Letterhead

Talking about historically significant- how would you like to have the chance to listen in on a one-on-one conversation with the president of the oldest remaining knife company… not to mention one of the oldest remaining knife companies to have made toenails!

Well, you can. Let’s face it- there aren’t many of the early knife companies left. Many of them went by the wayside after the Great Depression. Several survived and one of them is the W R Case firm.

While their roots go back to around 1890, we tend to think of them as coming into existence around 1902 with our favorite toenails stamped W R Case & Son (singular). Toenails with this stamped are reported to have only been made around the 1902 to 1903 timeframe- before Case merged with C. Platts to become W R Case & Sons (with the “S”).

W R Case & Son Rogers Bone

The Son toenails reek with OLD and rank right up top on my all time favorite list. You will not run across Son toenails out there very often, but if you do find one, grab it… in any condition.

Sorry, I got carried away here, but obviously, I have a thing for really old Case toenails and history.

Let me invite you to listen in on my interview with Tom Arrowsmith over at Cutlery News Journal

Have you found that collecting old pocketknives (in our case, Toenails) leads to collecting other “things” too? To me it is like a tree that branches out in different directions and yet each branch has the same trunk.

I don’t know all the branches you have taken, but for me have to fight to stay focused. You know, however, I find it fun to discover all things related to old knives, like billheads, boxes, knife rolls, photos, postcards, receipts, time cards, letters, etc.

Well a friend of mine hit me with a different type item the other day, and of course, I liked it.

You know I am working on research related to late 1800’s to very early 1900s cutlery salesmen. And while this piece isn’t that old, it directly relates.

Early knife salesmen were called, among other things, Knights of the Grip- and in case you have ever wanted to see an authentic grip-here you go. It is a Union Cutlery Company, Olean, NY Salesman’s case.

Talk about life and times, this sales- man’s bag puts you right there on the street with that salesman going from merchant to merchant.

Size is about 7-1/2″ x 18-1/2″, and about 14-1/2-15″ tall.

If you have anything related to early hardware co. or cutlery co. salesmen, please let me know.

Did you know that in 1877 several of the early American Cutlery Companies joined forces to auction a large amount of cutlery?

The auction was held in New York City on February 14th, 1877 and consisted of 800 lots. There was a very large attendance, including representatives of the leading houses in Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Chicago, Baltimore and even San Francisco.

Listed as participating in the auction was Beaver Falls Cutlery Company, Landers, Frary & Clark, John Russell Cutlery Company, Meriden Cutlery Company, Chicago Cutlery Manufacturing Company and Lamson & Goodnow Manufacturing Company.

The New York Times reported on that date that the auction prices “were extremely satisfactory, being up to current market rates” and there was discussion of making the joint auction a permanent thing. It did go on to say the auction would continue the next day.

The article goes on to say, “The companies, although they have succeeded in driving most of the English manufacturers out of the market, have met a serious obstacle of late in the establishment of cutlery manufacturing companies in the West. They thereby lost a considerable proportion of their trade. This fact, and the general depression of trade, have left on their hands a large overstock of goods they wished to get rid of.”

While I am a die-hard C. Platts, Case Brothers & W R Case fan, I have always had a strong liking for Cattaraugus. This firm has it all- very rich history, TOENAILS, ample information available and my favorite town in America location- Little Valley. (Photo shown is the old factory in Little Valley after it was closed down. I “discovered” it while driving around Little Valley in 2006. You can imagine my surprise when I found it.)

This history of J.B.F. Champlin (the founder) as a businessman is very interesting. I view him as the patriarch of a whole line of American cutlery firms, including Case Bros, Kinfolks, Little Valley Knife Association, Crandall, W R Case, and many others that had their roots in some association with Mr. Champlin’s vision. (more…)

So you have heard of the toenail being nicknamed a Rope Knife, right? Usually associated with that moniker is a description of it being an English rope knife, but if you have been around ET.com for very long you know I believe it was used as a marketing ploy. But did you know there really is an English toenail manufactured by a firm in Sheffield, England?

One of the aspects we find most interesting about our toes is a degree of mystery exists. Parts of a puzzle we just can’t figure out. We know H. Boker a German firm produced elephant toenails. Well I’d like to introduce my English toenail by Lockwood Brothers. (more…)

What if I could find a description of how pocket knives were made in 1880 as told by an expert at that time, would that be of interest to you? I thought it would- This fascinating article is from The Manufacturer and Builder published in 1880.How Pocket- Knives are Made

The manufacture of pocket cutlery is one of the industries in which remarkable progress has lately been made in this country, and the products of our home manufactories will compare favorably with the best foreign made. As this growing branch of industry possesses certain special details of interest, we give in what follows an account of the processes of manufacture employed, on the authority of a capable expert, who has witnessed the operation from first to last. (more…)

When I was writing the article on Welcome to My World I contacted David Anthony to inquire about their Gowanda, NY factory years of operation. I ran on some conflicting info in different knife books.

My purpose here is to provide correct dates for us as we go forward in our research, not to prove any other book or author wrong.

David has authored several articles on the Platts family and their history in cutlery. He is viewed as The Authority on anything Platts related.

Here is what David had to say (I inserted the pictures)-

Scott,I’ll be happy to tell you anything about the Platts family cutlers that I can. Some of Goin’s dates are wrong and because everyone else relied on his information, the other knife guides are usually wrong on their dates also. Here are the correct dates gathered from 20 years of extensive research:

C. Platts & Sons, Gowanda, NY 1896-1897

C. Platts & Sons, Eldred, PA 1897-1900

C. Platts’ Sons, Eldred, PA, 1900-1905

Platts Bros. Eldred, PA 1905-1907:

These knives were not actually manufactured by the Platts Bros. but were contract or “private brand” knives almost certainly made by the Eldred Cutlery Co. but bearing the Platts Bros. Eldred, PA stamp. There is absolutely no evidence that any knives stamped Platts Bros. were made before Charlie and Frank Platts started this jobbing business in 1905, after C. Platts’ Sons was sold to W.R. Case & Sons.

Platts Bros. Andover, NY 1907-1910

Platts Bros. Union, NY 1910-1911

Hope this helps. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. It was a pleasure to hear from you.

Best Regards,

Dave Pierce

Napanoch Cutlery Co. 1900 - 1919 Napanoch, NY

Napanoch is one of the brands that ranks up near the top in my book. The most information I have found so far is a fantastic little book called Napanoch- A White Man’s Knife with A Red Man’s Name by Mr. Rhett Stidham. Written and complied by Mr. Stedham in cooperation with Mrs. John Cushner and her daughters. Mr. Cushner began working for Napanoch in 1903 up to 1920.

Brothers Irving and William Carmen and William Hoornberg leased the former DuVall Rake Manufactory building in June 1900 and by August the company was in operation. Mr. Stidham reports the knife company became known as Napanoch Knife Company in 1905 and then in 1909 it incorporated.

Winchester Repeating Arms Company of New Haven, Connecticut bought the firm in 1919 and moved the operations to New Haven. Mr. Stidham writes the Napanoch brand continued to exist until 1921 or possibly later.

Many of the employees of Napanoch, including Mr. Cushner, founded Honk Falls Knife Co. in the old Napanoch factory in Napanoch, NY. The factory burned in 1929 and that firm never recovered. However in 1931 Mr. Cusnher converted his barn to a knife shop and made knives under the Napanoch Knife Company name until his death in 1938. His daughters continued to fill his orders and terminated the business in Spring of 1939.

Acccording to Marion Dumond former Town of Wawarsing Historian & Ellenville Public Library Director in Forward into the Past in Wawarsing.Net Magazine Sept. 2004, the Carmen brothers worked under Dwight Divine founder of Ulster Knife Co. (formed in 1875).

In his book, Mr. Stidham writes Napanoch made contract knives for many firms. I have listed the ones that have toenails.Wilbert Cutlery Co. of Chicago, Il (sears brand)

Hibbard, Spencer and Bartlett, Chicago, Il

Challenge Cutlery Co. Bridgeport, CT

Henry Sears No. 1865 St. Paul, MN

It is also believed Napanoch made W R Case & Son contract toenails.

In the Oct 18th, 1906 edition of Youth’s Companion, the Jumbo Pocket Knife is shown in an advertisement illustrating the Napanoch Knife Co. toenail. The caption reads, “Designed especially for that large class who require a knife for heavy work, such as leather or rope cutting, or other similar material requiring great strength.” ….how cool is that?!

Napanoch is as one of the brands ranked Very High in the 2008 Vintage Toenail Price Guide. 

You guys all know that as a result of my collecting toenails, I have become a “collector” of all things knife.

For the last 10 years I have been “investing” in everything I can get my hands on related to old knife companies. Not because I really want to collect the stuff, but I want information to help me/us learn more about toenails. It includes boxes, billheads, pins, buttons, books, catalogs, pictures, letters, stock certificates, and even broken toenails- I mean junk toenails…I wouldn’t dare take any of mine apart to look at its innards, so I buy already broken ones to look at.

It also includes hardware company “stuff” and really old cutlery magazines, like American Cutler and Paines Cutlery Journal from the mid- 1920’s. One of my favorite is Hardware magazine from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s (it is where the Chatillon toenail ad of 1902 came from). They are all very fragile but are chocked full of very interesting tidbits. I know you wondered where in the heck I dig up the ideas I use here in The News, so know you know.

On the old knife “stuff” I look for dates, pattern numbers, locations, signatures, officers and logos. Really just anything that might serve as pointers. While this may sound a bit on the eccentric side it is really cool to “discover” something I had not seen before.

Well the other day I found another really cool “thing” I had not noticed before while studying a particular knife company’s billhead (letterhead) while working on the Welcome to My World article. Then I looked and found it on one of their boxes too.

So, here is your question. What cutlery company used on their very early letterhead and boxes the slogan “The Dawn of a Better Day Breaketh?” Don’t you just love that! I am sure it has significance just right now have too many things I am “researching” to look into it.

….Oh, so you want a clue, well let’s see….OK, I have one- the slogan was placed directly under an image of clouds off on the horizon. That’s it. No more clues. (more…)