The News from ElephantToenails.com

I was born and raised in a small, two-traffic light town located in southeast Alabama named Brundidge. In the name of progress, however, one of the traffic lights has been removed. We were hell bent on not becoming too big. Fifty years later, we still have just one traffic light - so, I guess the removal of that second traffic light must have worked. Although I’ve traveled all over the world, had some great times and met some great people, Brundidge is still my favorite “small town.”

My passion for collecting knives, guns, cars and Harley motorcycles started in my hometown while attempting to walk in my grandfather’s shoes. My grandfather taught me how to “have my cake and eat it too” by buying stuff that he was passionate about, taking good care of his stuff, and believing that sometime in the future, you should pass the stuff on. He instilled that in me at an early age, and I plan to pass my stuff on to the grandkids, but NOT YET!!

After graduating from high school at 17, I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force where I served for 5½ years (some of the best years of my life) - another case of “having my cake and eating it too.” After wearing that blue uniform for my country, I suppose I was hooked on uniforms. I returned from the Land of the Rising Son (Japan) and joined the Metropolitan Police Department in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., where I served for 20½ years (the last 13 years I served as a training officer at the Fourth District) before retiring.

So - after 26 years of service in the Air Force and on the Police Department, I decided that it was about time for me to “man up” and do some real work - I founded V. Henderson Landscaping in 1991. I am still having fun doing this. One of the properties that I take a lot of pride in landscaping and maintaining is the US Chamber of Commerce located across the park (Lafayette Park) from the White House. This property was once the home of the historic Webster family - so, if any of ET.com folks decide to tour this great city and the White House, feel free to walk across the park to the U.S.Chamber, go the front desk and ask for me. If I’m not around that day, they will know how to reach me.

In the past few years while chasing that next “must have” for my collection, I’ve had the chance to talk with some of the most passionate people that I’ve ever encountered (the late James Parker, his son Buzz Parker, Bob Wurzelbacher and, without a doubt, Scott King to name a few). These men have been forthcoming, earnest and helpful - some things that you don’t see much any more. This is just one of the reasons that collecting knives can be so intoxicating for me - what better way to spend your money - collecting knives that you can enjoy for a lifetime while at the same time, teaching your kids (or in my case, the grandkids) some real life lessons about taking care of your stuff, investing, patience and discipline - like “having your cake and eating it too.”

Just like ET.com creator, Scott King, I am also hooked on the elephant toenail pattern - stag is my favorite handle material. C. Platt Son, Case and Napanoch are my favorite brands, but I love all brands of elephant toes. When I’m not searching for old elephant toes, I love driving some of the vehicles that I’ve collected over the years. My favorite is a 1974 Pantera that I purchased brand new and it still has the original wiper blades.

That’s a little about me. I look forward to reading all of your bios.

P.S. Thanks Scott for firing up the old toes again!

My name is Barry Stephenson and I live near Morrow, Ohio which is about thirty miles NE of Cincinnati.

I am married with three grown daughters and six grandkids. I am a retired pipe fitter and busier than when I worked. I am restoring a 1949 Ford auto and watching a lot of sports with grandkids playing. We have a small farm of twenty three acres and have a nice home in the country. Life if Good!

I have been collecting knives for about 15 yrs. And belong to the Fort City Knife Collectors Club in Norwood, Ohio.

Like many collectors I bought everything with a blade when I started. I bought my first ToeNail at a Kentucky auction and was hooked every since. I also have a collection of ivory fruit knives which have ivory blades and back springs, but toenails are my favorites. I enjoy the old hardware store brands and the obscure names the most. This site has been a valuable source of info for me, to see pictures of knives I find at the show and compare info. Scott has been a blessing for me to ask about knives I see and receive answers I need.

My favorite knife is a Union Cutlery, Tidioute Toenail which is a teardrop pattern with one blade. I always try to up grade my knives or add to the collection when I can. It is really hard to believe the way knife values have went up. One thing I have learned collecting is if you think the price is too high now, wait a few years and you’ll think it was cheap!

My brother and I go to the national shows in Louisville, Cincinnati and also a show in Lexington. See a lot of knives and meet a lot of people, the quality of knife is generally better than you find on Ebay and you can hold what you buy before purchase. It is the hunt to find a quality knife you do not already own that makes the shows fun.

There is a rumor shooting through the Knifedom that a crime was committed recently by someone who was obviously a toenail collector. The unfortunate thing is that it has been reported to have been committed by one of our members here at ET.com.

I was contacted by the authorities asking me to cooperate in their investigation. It seems an overly enthusiastic elephant toenail collector committed what is being called a crime of passion and remains at large. I would greatly appreciate it if you have any information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator to contact the authorities.

We have all heard the jawboning by some that elephant toenails are hard to find, especially old ones in so-called collectible condition……well is seems one of us has gone to far in their quest.

Here’s the story as reported by the local newspaper after the crime was committed.

“Recently, a Thai elephant attracted worldwide attention when she had to be fitted with a temporary prosthesis.” Since the incident she has hobbled on three feet. Motola, a 44 year old female elephant, is expected to wear it until her leg strengthens and a permanent one can be put on according to her veterinarian.

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Ken Mundhenk

I live in Blue Creek, Ohio. I’ve been married soon to be 36 years and we have 2 son’s ages 31 and 22.  We are anxiously waiting the birth of our first grandchild.

I’m a material handler for a coal fired electric generating station.

I’ve been collecting case knives for about 14 years. I carry a stag mini copperlock. Over the years I’ve collected the limited editions and recently the tiny trappers. 

I’ve always been fascinated by the toenails but didn’t know alot about them until I met Roger Cunningham, he’s the local toenail guru. Going to knife shows with Roger and watching him on the hunt caused me to catch the toenail fever. With his help and guidance, I’ve acquired several case and catts.

I’m a member of the case collectors club and NKCA. I want to say your ET site is fantastic! I truly enjoy it, it’s a big help to a newbie in the hunt for toenails. I understand you will be in Bradford,PA in July, I’m looking forward to meeting you.

Before I began allow me to be the first to announce Mr. Don Singer as the First-ever Inductee into the Toenail Collectors Hall of Fame! As you read his fascinating account you will wholeheartedly agree with his induction.

I was introduced to Mr. Don Singer from upstate New York by a fellow ET.com member, Mr. Jerry Frank (you can read my interview with Jerry in the Old Timers section of ET.com). Jerry told me I had to talk with Don because “he is a toenail collector.” So, I gave him a call this evening and thankfully I did! While I enjoy talking with all toenail collectors, there are a very limited number of bona fide Old Timer toenail collectors still out there today. It was a real treat for me. The following is a summary of my interview with him.

Mr. Singer started collecting toenails 45 years ago (he is currently 77 years young). “It was almost by accident,” as he describes it. “I was at an antique show tagging along with my wife. I was digging through in a box of stuff and spotted the first toenail I had ever seen. It was an old very dirty knife and it didn’t have a backspring. There was just something about it to the point I bought it and for six dollars. I remember the blade would spin around in a circle since it didn’t the backspring. I got home and began cleaning off the handles to reveal really nice bone- and it had no cracks.”

He remembered taking that old knife out off and on to what he called “mess with it.” His wife, unbeknownst to him, sent the knife to her father who sent it to a man who put a backspring it in. Then she “gave” it back to him as a Christmas present! While I failed to ask, but I can assure you he still has that knife in his collection today.

“The hobby of collecting is a very worthwhile experience. It is a great pastime. Knife collectors are a friendly group and always willing to share information,” he said. “Collecting (toenails) is just a joy!” You can tell from talking with him- he is still as every bit as passionate about toenails as we are.

I found my conversation with him to be extremely rewarding. It is so rare to be able to visit with a die hard toenail collector from a different era. (To put in it perspective, he started collecting at the beginning of knife collecting as a recognized hobby by knife manufacturers. Mr. Singer was out there looking for toenails before the first edition of The American Blade, or Knife World was ever published. Before the hallmark legislation, the 1968 Gun Control Act, that is said to be the most significant factor to cause knife collecting to become the “industry” that it is today. Ten years before The National Knife Collectors Association was formed in 1972.) He is sharp as a tack; remembering details clearly.

“I used to get to 24- 25 shows a year and as I was beginning to build my collection,” remembers Mr. Singer, “the biggest amount of my finds occurred early and then as time went on, it became harder to find toenails to add to my collection. I remember stretching myself to buy certain toenails and ‘would have to eat bread’ for a little while after some of my purchases.” But obviously he would sacrifice to add that one rare jewel for his collection. His collection grew to 52 toenails.

When I asked if he had a favorite brand or specific toenail, Mr. Singer said “no, not really- I liked them all. Later I did go after hardware co. brands and odd ball stampings- I really enjoyed that. These knives were a smaller group of knives. Sometimes they would be stamped with a hardware company or company’s name from areas of the country not known for knives, like Barnsley Brothers. I may have to look for while before I would find one- but when I did it was a real high point!”

“I enjoyed the handle materials of the toenail and the blade- it is such a big piece of metal. The toenail is a big knife,” he said. I could tell as we talked, Mr. Singer is the real deal- a true toenail collector. I asked him if he used a computer and he said a little, but that he is slow. He did tell me he has been to the ET.com site. “I have printed off some of the pages of the site.” That made me feel real good.

“I loved how the employees at old knife companies worked with such precision. Selecting comparable handles that matched so well. The variations of the different toenails among the same maker is very interesting too. I found the pattern to be so intriguing. It had a long history and is a great choice of a pattern to collect.”

I asked if he favored any New York maker, like Case Brothers, for example. Not really, but when I asked about who might have made the first toenails, he said “It could have been Case Brothers. A lot of rope was used down in the oil fields and they were there. You know they were in very close proximity to the need. So, I could see them being one of, if not the first to make the knife.”

Mr. Singer loved to mine for nuggets too. On many occasions he talked to Case about certain historic facts about the toenail. One specific fact he had run down was about how Case would send blades over to Camillus when Camillus was making a run of toenails. “In 1915, I think it was, Camillus was making a run of 200 or 250 knives and made some for Case.” He had a friend who worked at Camillus who confirmed this from their records. Mr. Singer added, “it was just about as cheap to run 500 knives as it would have been to run 250.”

While Mr. Singer doesn’t buy toenails today, he fondly said, “Toenail collecting is a total hobby and it is even better when you have a quest!” I hope one day I have a chance to meet Mr. Singer in person. I asked him if he would be making it to the Case Collectors Appreciation Day in Bradford, Pa this coming July. He said he doesn’t travel much anymore.

We are so privileged to have veteran toenail collectors like Mr. Singer and to share in their passion and to hear the excitement in their voices about toenails. Thank you Jerry for arranging my time with him. I will treasure the memory of it.

Mr. Singer summed up his pursuit of toenails for us all when he said, ”It was a great trip!”

If you don’t already know Mark, you don’t have to talk to him very long before you clearly see he has the collectors’ interest at heart and does not mince works when talking to the “establishment” that we are the lifeblood of the knife world. Mark has always encouraged me with ET.com and trying to use technology to advance our hobby.

One of the things I like about Mark is he is not shy about his editorial comments, which is why my favorite “section” of Knife World is his editorials. You can find “Irons in the Fire” now on page 4 of each edition.

If you don’t already know Mark, next time you are at a knife show look him up as he will probably be there based on the number of shows he attends. 

I have made Mark Zalesky our first honorary ET.com member (I can do that, can’t I?).  With that I’d like to introduce my friend and fellow cutlery enthusiast Mr. Mark Zalesky. 

Hi Scott,
I’d be happy to accept, thanks very much for thinking of me. Will do my best to answer your questions…

General geographic area you call home (country, state/province)

Knoxville, TN

What first got you into collecting toenails?

I’m not precisely a toenail collector, though I’ve owned quite a few over the years. I think Scott has a couple of them…

How long you have collected toenails?

A second-generation knife collector, I’ve been collecting & trading antique knives since roughly 1974… age 5 if you can believe that. Going to gun shows with my Dad was a lot more exciting than staying home and baking cookies with Mom!

Do you collect other patterns in addition to toenails?

My primary interest these days is in pre-Civil War bowie knives by American makers, but I collect or have collected over the years a number of different things… pre-1875 American made lockbacks, Marble’s knives, American made exotic pearl handled knives, wharncliffe patterns, straight razors with patriotic or political motifs, 19th century cutlery related ephemera, and so forth.

Do you collect old or newer toenails?

I’m definitely a rusty blade guy, though I will admit to owning a few modern handmade pieces.

What is your favorite toenail?

I only own one “keeper” — a stag handled M.S.A. Co. that is one of very few holdovers from my Marble’s collecting days. It’s badly worn, but absolutely authentic… and I just can’t bear to part with it.

What is your profession?

Editor of Knife World magazine.

Do you attend knife shows? If so about how many a year?

Roughly 20-25 knife shows or other knife related events a year.

Are you currently looking for any particular toenail to purchase?

Not really… but actively collecting lots of other stuff on the list above.

Any other information you would care to share with the members here at ET.com.

Kudos to Scott King for the fabulous collecting resource he’s created… here’s hoping that he can find time to pen more KNIFE WORLD articles in the future!

Are you willing to share your email address to the membership?

I’m easy to find… just go to http://www.knifeworld.com
Mark

And we thought what we collected was big……

If you like 1) Knife folks, 2) Knife Auctions and 3) W R Case, then mark your calenders now for the Big Event for 2008! The date of the upcoming W R Case Collectors Appreciation Day is July 18th/19th in Bradford, PA.  I was honored to have been asked to be the guest auctioneer for the 2006 Swap Meet. I had a blast and guess I did an OK job because they have asked me to come back. I can’t wait. 

Many of you who have been around since I started ET.com back in 2003 know me pretty well, but what can I say- I’m nuts about old toenails.

I like the historic aspect of old cutlery firms, the Who/What/When and Why to them and their knives.

If you have visited the About Me link in ET.com you know how I got started back collecting knives and how I first got introduced to toenails.

I am a father of four wonderful kids, ages 12, 14, 16 and 18. My wife of 22 years thinks I am nuts, but is glad I have something relatively constructive to invest my time (but no money) in. We live in NE Alabama.

I am a principal in a national real estate auction firm and travel all over meeting with folks with real estate holdings.

I have limited my focus to only toenails and really only old ones. The older the better. I have been tempted by custom toenails and even once or twice by Classics.

What am I looking to purchase? Well, would love to find a pearl and stag MSA, a Case M250 (metal toenail), a stag Case Brothers 5251- to name a few.My favorite toenail? Well, honestly, I like most all of them. I like Jumbo swellcenters probably the best and winterbottom and Rogers bone (stag and pearl too!) handles on any brand. I would say celluloid toenails are my least favorite.

I do have outside interest and one of my most fun is driving top down in my Shelby

….see that wasn’t so bad, now its your turn.

One of the aspects I thoroughly enjoy about hosting ET.com is the pleasure to meet collectors, new and old, from all over the world. Last week, I had the opportunity to meet Dario. He immediately got on my good side with this message:  (more…)