The News from ElephantToenails.com

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.

My Christmas present just came in. I had to open it to make sure it was a keeper. It is!

My wife knows I got myself a “pocketknife” for Christmas… I didn’t provide any additional info., like…. IT’S A TOENAIL!!! IT’S STAG!!!! IT’S A CASE BROTHERS!!!! IT’S 100 YEARS OLD!!!

It has a few age spots, but otherwise it’s KILLER!!! 

Now the question is do I make it a part of the Christmas ritual- wrapping it up and then opening it tomorrow morn? Once I unwrap it, you know what the question is going to be don’t you? “How much was it?” 

The shield is engraved with Eli Faber. It was purchased from an estate in Manistee, MI.

Those of us who are into toenails appreciate all the nuiances of each old knife- the different handles, shields, lengths, colors, jiggings, and brands. One of the most significant differences is what we call- style.

I have been apart of a few conversations about which knives are classified as a toenail and why, and yet, one style where there is no debate is the Jumbo Swellcenter.

It is universally accepted as the icon of toenails, and it is my favorite style. 

To date a couple of hundred folks over at YouTube have been interested enough to watch the Intro to Toenails I made. So, I decided to introduce them to the Jumbo. It is a high-level orientation, so for you guys it will be very basic, but hopefully you will find it a treat.

I was pleasantly surprised by an email yesterday from a fellow toenail collector sharing great looking toenails. He gave me permission to share them with you.

Here they are-

House of Coutel Scrimshaw by Marsh

Close up of file work

Click on photos to enlarge

The toenail in the first photo is 9 inches closed. The bottom two are more standard style length.

The House of Coutel was formed in Sheffield in the late 1970’s. The name was later changed to “Digby’s.” Graham Clayton worked at Kelham Island 1984-2003 making Digby’s knives.

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

Due to the rarity of Jumbo Swellcenters (vintage or custom), I have elected to bring you another custom Jumbo that is being finished up right now.

Jeff Claiborne has keep us in the loop on his toenail makes and has another (his second) he is finishing.

He said, it is green mastodon leg bone. The only work left is to “hand rub, then high polish buff.”

We vintage Jumbo purest may jump back at the sur nuff green here, but recognize it is a custom and not a replica… it has grown on me. If you can’t handle it, then you can give it to me for Christmas

Just got a heads up about a Jumbo Swellcenter Easy Open from our friend Jeff Claiborne. This is hot off the press intel with pictures, as we are the first to see it here in the ET.com exclusive.

While I am not a expert in custom knives, but I can tell you, there are very few easy open swellcenters out there. We’ve found a few Jumbos, but very few. Easy Open Jumbos…don’t know that I have ever seen a custom.

Thanks Jeff for giving us the exclusive on what is going to be a cool knife.

Got an update from our friend and custom old knife maker, Mr. Jeff Claiborne recently providing us with additional behind the scenes of the knife getting real close to being finished.

He’s what he had to say about the later stage the knife is in:

“Scott, here is the next set of pictures- showing liners milled, stag cut and ground, blades handrubbed, and first fitting. Hope you enjoy behind the scene look at birth of the swellcenter. Thanks Jeff”

Here you go-

Don’t you love those Gen. Stag handles? I do.

Thanks Jeff for letting us see this beauty as she is being crafted.

Knife collecting has several rewarding aspects; one of them is the memories associated with our knife finds- the person you got it from, the knife maker, where you got it, or even an event you are reminded of, like a particular knife show (maybe it was your very first knife show).

As you probably know, I had the fortunate opportunity recently to conduct the auction for the W R Case Cutlery Co. at their Case Collectors Appreciation Day held in Bradford, PA on July 18th & 19th.

The morning after the auction we arrived very early for 200 Club Breakfast. Tom Arrowsmith, the president of the W R Case Cutlery Co., started off the session by talking about how much fun the auction was the night before. I had just started to eat, there with Roger, Ken and their wives, when I thought I heard Tom mention my name. I look up and sure nuf- there he was holding out something and telling me to come up front.

Good grief… while I am an auctioneer and just the night before stood 800 folks, I am basically a shy person. But I walked up to the podium and there Tom presented me with a beautiful toenail in appreciation for helping with their auction. I was honored. (You guys know I’d give my left… big toe to work directly with the oldest knife company in America, especially one that made toenails from their earliest of days).

2008 Case Collectors Appreciation Day Toenail

Yes, my passion is early toenails, and not customs, but I can tell you- this knife ranks among my sentimental favorites. This gorgeous one-of-a-kind toenail sparkles a million brilliant colors. It features bright Abalone handles with Nickel Silver design topped with a Mother-of-Pearl inlay.

This was my second time to be the auctioneer for a Case Event. The first was two years ago at their Case/Zippo International Swap Meet. After that auction the Case folks surprised me with a special toenail too, but out of the blue a week or so later through the mail.

2008 & 2006 Case Event Toenails

The one at the bottom of the photo was made by the talented Mike DuBois. It features Jet Black Onyx handles with genuine Mother-of-Pearl accents and custom wire-cut nickel silver bolsters. While I won’t be posting either of these two knives in The List, I did want to share them with you here in The News.

Granted they aren’t big old fat toenails from days gone by, but to me these knives are priceless. Had they been auctioned at the Case/Zippo or the Appreciation Day auction, either one would have brought over $2500, but now… they are MINE! : )  Seriously, you wouldn’t believe the prices those knives sale for at the Case Auctions. I don’t have the final sales prices (I don’t write them down), but several brought north of $5000.