Old Knives

[doc623]

I found a couple of old knives that the mother-in-law has no use for anymore - she is 91.
I was hoping to get a little info on them.
One is an kitchen/camp general use knife that is a Case XX.
The other is a carving type - that has been sharpened down over the years and has the markings on the blade of "Village Blacksmith" and the next line is "Watertown, Wis."
The relative has no memory of where or when they came from.
Sorry. Both are straight blades of approx 4" long and have wood handles.
Anyone have any info or ideas on the above two?
Thanks.

 

[3crows]

Both of these knives are good quality and high carbon steel. Probably post WW2. The Backwoodsmen magazine sells these type of knives as collecters items. They've gone from $5 to over $20 in the last few years. reenactors use them by altering the handles or blades to resemble earlier knives.The steel rusts and discolors giving them an aged look. The labels date them however and couldnt be used as is. I use these knives all the because they're easy to sharpen and I like the feel. These are becoming very hard to find these days,most are thrown away.

 

[boar]

Have seen the caseXX priced at 35.00 at Flea Market last year. Told the guy I had four of them and he wanted to buy them. I picked mine up in 10.00 range, some people don"t know the value of things. Its nice when you do. Good knives. Dilly

 

[wtilenw]

Anything marked "CaseXX" has the potential for value. These have always been quality knives and have quite a following by collectors. Look on FleaBay to get an idea what they're bringing.

 

[Le Grand]

You might enjoy knowing; "W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company was created around the turn of the century, during a time when pocketknives were as essential as a watch. Through the years, the company has been recognized as a leader in pioneering new materials and designs in the knife industry.

The company’s roots extend back to 1889, when a few enterprising brothers ”“ William Russell (W.R.), Jean, John and Andrew ”“ in the Case family began selling handcrafted knives from the back of a wagon in upstate New York. In January 1900, the brothers incorporated to form the first Case family brand, Case Brothers Cutlery Company.

J.R. Case, who named the company after his father, W.R., formed W.R. Case & Sons as it is known today. By the time the company moved to Bradford, PA in 1905, the four Case brothers had established their family brands as the most respected names in American cutlery."

That was from the W.R. Case & Sons website.

And, Village Blacksmith knives were made from 1898 to 1940. The actual company name was Washington Cutlerly Co. located in Watertown, Wisconsin. They made a wide variety of half-tang and full-tang knives, mostly butcher knives and skinners.
Either of those old knives should serve you very well.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

Case was a top-line hardware store item early 20th century. very good steel and some rust resistance also due to some alloying content. they were made to be bend-break resistant. likely molybdenum (spring steel has this) maybe not hold the edge as long as some others but a sharpening steel would fix that quick.