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 chuckle today. Have you seen the Case Bros toenail on eBay right now?

This seller has a $2000 Buy It Now. Then he goes on to say he doesn’t expect to get $2000                            

You tell me what it is worth?

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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You have probably heard by now of the big auction of Bob Wurzelbacher’s green bone knives. While I doubt they are all he owns, it is reported to have over 100 antique Case knives in it.

Green bone handled knives command a premium. It is a fact. Case green bone knives command a king’s ransom. While some folks may want to argue only Case made green bone handled knives, that isn’t the topic for today.

Bottomline: Green bone handled knives are in very high demand. I must confess to like them too, but green is one of my favorite colors.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why folks like green bone so much? I don’t know all the reasons, but do know, variations are good. Collectors like niche’s. Differences add an element of desirability. In my 2003 interview with Mr. Joel Seale, he told me green bone was one of the most desirable handle materials. He went on to tell me one of the reasons for this- Case lost its formula and couldn’t duplicate it. The story goes: After WWII Case tried to rehire its workers returning from the war. The new hires weren’t able to replicate the formula with the proper mix of dyes and also weren’t able to get the color to hold to the bone. 

In a conversation with Mr. Tony Foster, notable antique Case knife expert, Tony said, “all TESTED XX are green bones, actually, even though some appear brown.” He added that there are several variations of green bone and that the Bradford, TESTED XX and XX are the only eras with green bone. He also believes that neither Case Brothers or early WR Case used green bone.

I am not going to argue with an expert, but opinions differ out there as we have learned over the years when it comes to knives and toenails. So, is this Case Brothers a brown bone??  

Anyway, sorry I wasn’t able to add several of the other green bones toenails I have, including some killer green TESTED XX! Plus, I have several non-Case branded toenails made with green bone handles.When you have the chance to acquire a green bone toenail, grab it. You won’t go wrong, and if you are like me, will develop a special liking for them :) 

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 reading the list of nicknames for the toenail do you every wonder where they came from? Elephant Toenail to me is a match. I can see that nickname, but some of the names are really obscure- like one I was thinking about the other day- The Pumpkinseed.

What the heck is a Pumpkinseed. Yeah, I know what a pumpkin is and I know they have fairly large seed, compared to a strawberry, but I don’t think so. So what say you?

Where did the nickname Pumpkinseed (PumpkinSeed or Pumpkin Seed) come from and how did it become associated with our favorite knife pattern? (more…)

Time to test your ET knowledge. The ET.com staff is always digging for nuggests and had to dig really DEEP to come up with a good one for you here. Are you ready?What is the oldest known published toenail? It could have been in a catalog, advertisement or any other image of a toenail knife? Just so we are clear here- the answer will only deal with any printed reference that includes an actual picture in it….so it could be an advertisement, or cutlery company catalog (or any thing else you know about that actually has a picture of a toenail in it).

1. Was it a in publication, catalog, photograph, billhead, sign or what?
2. What is the date associated with when it was published (must have an actual date or year)
3. What knife company or brand was the toenail?

Put your thinking caps on here. Clue: It isn’t one of the “granddaddies” of cutlery co’s you would normally think of. (more…)

You probably know that our favorite knife pattern probably has more documented names (nicknames) than any other pattern- The list includes, Old Honesty, Butterbean, Pumpkinseed, Red Eye, Toenail, English Rope Knife, Toe, Sunfish, Camp Knife, Pocket Axe, Vest Pocket Axe (my favorite), Jumbo, The Bulldog and probably others.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED?

I know it has been a topic of conversation as to when Case first referred to the toenail as an “Elephant Toenail” in one of their catalogs. Do you care to guess when this first occurred?

The answer is- Case first used the nicknamed for the 6250 pattern as an Elephant Toenail in their Cat. #70 published in 1968. Did you get it right? This is not to say, the knife wasn’t referred to as an Elephant Toenail prior to that, but that was the first time Case used it in one of their catalogs.

Second question- When was the first time Case used the nickname “Sunfish” in one of their catalogs?

The answer is- Well, it was also in the same catalog #70 from the same year.

I want to thank Brad Wood for researching this question for me in his extensive collection of Case catalogs. In fact, as Brad researched this question for me, he made an observation, one he had not noticed before. In going all the way back to the earliest Case catalog he owns (c. 1934) he concluded, “I hope this information is helpful. It was interesting for me too to see the first time Case listed nicknames for its patterns in catalogs was 1968 (prior to that the knives were simply referenced by the pattern numbers. SK). I had never notice that before.” Thanks Brad.