safariknut
Well-known member
Having been a collector of knives since I bought my first one at the age of 10(which I still have but it went MIA for 23 years;a story for another time) I have always considered them just another tool. I like to find unusual examples such as knives that don't look like knives or ones with multiple blades.
In my collection I had a combination knife/ax made by Case that features a common handle that can be used to fit either a knife blade or an ax and is carried in a single sheath.
These were made by several companies and seemed to be most popular starting in the 1920's.They seemed to have pretty much disappeared after the end of WWII.
I chanced upon this one at an antique shop I have been known to frequent a couple weeks ago. The blades were pretty full but somewhat pitted and the sheath was in very poor shape. The celluloid handles were in remarkably good condition however and showed no sign of warpage or the dreaded "outgassing" where they self destruct and corrode the steel and brass around them. The price wasn't too bad for a rare piece of cutlery either($40).
In doing research on the company I found that this particular stamping(Keenwell Mfg. Olean NY) was only used between 1911 and 1912 and was a mark of the Union Cutlery Co which eventually became KA-BAR.
I also found a seller on e-Bay that had a sheath and ax blade for sale! I won the auction (for under $40) and now have a great sheath and a spare ax blade.
I thought the members might enjoy seeing a hundred year old,"tool" that now resides proudly in my accumulation. I've also included a picture of the Case KnifAx for comparison.
The latch mechanism on the Keenwell is a simple thumbscrew that holds the blades in place. The Case is a bit more complicated in that a lever swings out to allow the blade to be removed and then swung back to lock the new blade in place.
In my collection I had a combination knife/ax made by Case that features a common handle that can be used to fit either a knife blade or an ax and is carried in a single sheath.
These were made by several companies and seemed to be most popular starting in the 1920's.They seemed to have pretty much disappeared after the end of WWII.
I chanced upon this one at an antique shop I have been known to frequent a couple weeks ago. The blades were pretty full but somewhat pitted and the sheath was in very poor shape. The celluloid handles were in remarkably good condition however and showed no sign of warpage or the dreaded "outgassing" where they self destruct and corrode the steel and brass around them. The price wasn't too bad for a rare piece of cutlery either($40).
In doing research on the company I found that this particular stamping(Keenwell Mfg. Olean NY) was only used between 1911 and 1912 and was a mark of the Union Cutlery Co which eventually became KA-BAR.
I also found a seller on e-Bay that had a sheath and ax blade for sale! I won the auction (for under $40) and now have a great sheath and a spare ax blade.
I thought the members might enjoy seeing a hundred year old,"tool" that now resides proudly in my accumulation. I've also included a picture of the Case KnifAx for comparison.
The latch mechanism on the Keenwell is a simple thumbscrew that holds the blades in place. The Case is a bit more complicated in that a lever swings out to allow the blade to be removed and then swung back to lock the new blade in place.
