The News from ElephantToenails.com

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.

For the last two days I have been a part of the W R Case Collector Appreciation Weekend in Bradford, Pennsylvania, both as a member of the Case Auction Team and as a collector. I have to say I don’t believe I have ever witnessed the sincere gratitude a company has for its consumers like the Case firm has for its collectors and customers. You see and hear the “lip search” many companies attempt to pay to its customers, but usually it is more of a PR effort and staged than heart felt. Any one there over the last two days will attest, Case sincerely appreciates the folks who support and purchase from this company- from its owner and senior management all the way through its associates working in the factory.

This firm recognizes its responsibility to its customers. Let me give you a small example.  I am amazed at the admiration its customers have for the company and its executive team. I have never seen individuals line up to get autographs from corporate executives before. Most consumers are of the what’s-in-it-for-me mentality- “Give me your product or service how I want it when I want it, and if I don’t like something I’ll let you know.”

One of the most intriguing phenomenon is Case’s customers are more fans than consumers, and the Case firm clearly recognizes and accepts the responsibility that comes with this culture. And I must say, the senior management team spend hours meeting and signing autographs for their fans. And Case spent this weekend expressing through a special event that it wanted to let these fans know- it values and appreciates them too.

I’ll add more about my trip over the next week- about the first meeting of the ETCC club, the auction, significant events and people I encountered while in Bradford, but the truth is of all the events and happenings there, I am most impressed with Case’s sincere appreciation for its customers and collectors.

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…)

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 :) 

I love being able to get real time feedback from the members here on various topics of interest. While I recognize only a representative segment of our visitors and members take part in our surveys/polls/postings, it does give us a snap shot of feedback at that time. The most Recent Poll asked you to identify your favorite toenail style.

The clear majority of the voters said the Jumbo Swellcenter to be their favorite. Then it was almost a tie between that cute Tear Drop style and what I call the “Standard” style.

The fact that you guys like the Jumbo the best doesn’t surprise me. The Jumbo represents best of all what I think of when I think of a toenail- Massive knife, huge scales (handles) and mother of a master blade. When I think of a toenail the sheer size and weight of the knife instantly comes to mind and the Jumbo is all of that and more!

I will say I was surprised by the level of interest in the Tear Drop style, however, I have always been fond of it. While the standard style, compared to the other two, may strike you as a bit vanilla (plain), we all know it is by far the most common and offers the most variety in the number of different cutlery companies that produced it.

I have a particular fondness for the Jumbo though because it was that knife that jumped out and grabbed me when I, for the first time, flipped the page of Levine’s Guide to Knives and their Values, 4th Edition and saw the various examples of toenails shown on that page.

Did you know there are different variations of the Jumbo? It is true and while they might be considered to only be slight differences, the fact remains there are differences. I have been working on a article on this, but I am not finished, so allow me to illustrate two of the most notable ones below.

While we don’t know this for sure but believe the one shown below is the later model produced by W R Case (after the merger with Platts) and the last model made. Notice the style of the master blade compared to what is called the “Platts Jumbo.” You can see it is a much narrower master blade.

Below is the Platts Jumbo stamped W R Case & Sons, Bradford, PA. This particular knife was either made by Platts on contract for WRC or was made after the firms merged in 1905. Also, you will note the “Platts shield” on these. (I am of the inclination that there is even an earlier version of the “C. Platts” Jumbo and will be sharing that with you in a couple of weeks).

We love the JUMBO!

For Immediate Release:

Online knife collectors club announces first-ever meeting on Saturday, July 19th at 11:00 at W R Case Cutlery Co., Bradford, Pa.

The Elephant Toenail Collectors Club (ETCC) officially announced it will hold its first membership meeting around the W R Case Collector Appreciation Day weekend, July 18th & 19th in Bradford, Pa. Knife enthusiasts with an interest in elephant toenails / sunfish knives are invited to attend.

“We are excited about meeting our members for the first time” said organizer Scott King. Case has arranged to allow the club to use their boardroom at the corporate office for this historic meeting. One of the interesting aspects of this meeting is the ETCC is not just another knife club. They were founded in 2003 and have never had a membership meeting. It is an online collectors club for antique toenails. The online club originated with the launching of ElephantToenails.com and has now grown to over 300 members worldwide. Scott began the community to provide a forum for collectors to access information on the popular knife pattern.

“I never dreamed we’d ever actually have an off-line meeting” Scott said. “It was a natural event timing for us to get together while we will be in Bradford for W R Case’s event. Our members are from all over, so I don’t know at this time, how many will attend, but we are excited about meeting. Plus to think we will be calling our first meeting to order in the boardroom of the oldest remaining American cutlery company is just the icing on the cake!“

The ETCC is unique in that it is an online knife collecting community. There are no membership dues, no bylaws and its newsletter, The News, is only available online.

“One of the interesting things about our community here at ET.com is about one third aren’t really toenail collectors, per se. They like knife collecting and the community we have built, another one third are moderately active toenail collectors and the rest being hard-core. We have a good cross section of knife collectors, which is healthy for a community. We really are but a small group of niche collectors of old knives.”

Meeting date and location: Saturday, July 19th at 11:00 in the boardroom at W R Case Cutlery Co.

For additional information contact Scott King at scott@elephanttoenails.com

In case you haven’t heard yet, let me share my first-hand information I learned today about a rumor that has been circulating for about a week now of an extremely rare discovery by Case last week.

One of the aspects we benefit from when we specialize in a knife pattern as we do here at ET.com is because we are like blood hounds constantly tracking anything and everything toenail related, so when W R Case makes a “discovery,” as they often do, that affects us, we recognize its significance immediately.

Today, I was contacted by one of my friends who works for Case- actually he left me 4 messages, 3 emails and 2 texts to my phone. I couldn’t help but sense he wanted to talk to me pretty badly- I thought it was about my helping them with the auction at the Case Collectors Appreciation Day in July. But it turns out, it was something else.

Case was going through one of their old warehouses and found a small box back in the corner under a bunch of boards and papers. Upon opening it they found some knives. Actually they were all prototypes of knives from about 1915-1920.

One of these knives was- you guessed it- a toenail, but not just your every day run of the mill old Case toenail, this one was a prototype 4 blade toenail!

I couldn’t stand it! I wanted to hop on a plane right then and go see that jewel, but I knew that was out of the question at that time. Later than day, Case send me an email with an attachment. It was a picture of what has to be one of the rarest toenail known. Obviously, this knife was carefully cleaned (but not taken apart) by Case once they found it, along with the other knives they found.

So here is it-

BUT WAIT- LISTEN TO THIS CAUSE THAT IS NOT ALL: I also learned Case is going to donate that one of a kind knife to the Elephant Toenail Collectors Club! Can you believe it. They could have easily stuck this in their museum, or let me auction it at the Case Appreciation Day in July, instead they said because the knife has such significance and the toenail pattern is so overwhelming appreciated by the members here at ET.com that (more…)

A historic meeting is in the works!

Word has been leaking out and it wasn’t because we were going to have a secret meeting, instead I wanted to work out the last details before I announced it, BUT also didn’t want all the hotel rooms to get gone.

So, YES it is true. The Elephant Toenail Collectors Club (ETCC) is going to get off-line and actually have our first-ever meeting!

Can you believe it? We have been an online community here since 2003 and now have a great opportunity to get together around a major Case event.

Here are the details. Case asked me to come back and conduct the auction this year. I was asked to do the auction at the Swap Meet in 2006 and guess I did OK cause they asked me back- with that I heard several of you were also coming up to the Case Appreciation Day so some of us here decided we would get together. This was the start of discussions about us having an ET.com club meeting.

The folks at Case are helping us find a room for our meeting. It won’t be formal. We will not be passing the hat or voting on any by-laws, instead we will meet and put a face with the name.

Many of us have been having email conversations for a long time, so we desire a chance to put a voice to a name. Some of you have been brave enough to send in Collector Profiles with your photos, so for some of us, we feel we know you, at least those guys anyway.

Go ahead and mark you calendar now. July 18th -19th. I’ll let you know which of those two days we plan on getting together as soon as I can.

Case’s website has some more detailed info on the event they are hosting along with hotel info. I’ve linked to it here.

Come on up. Make sure you are attend our first-ever meeting. One day we will all look back and say, “yeah and I attended our first meeting back in July 2008.”

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.

In light of the two recent eBay sales of Case XX USA Dotted Series rehandled toenails (a red bone & a pearl handled), I have taken it upon myself to prepare a “reference list” of toenails produced by WR Case after its Bradford Era. I have attempted to compile a complete list using my collection, information from Case and various resource books.  (more…)