Vintage Kitchen Knifes. I know you got'em, so show'em!!!

When I lived a little more Upstate in NY, I used to go to a huge Flea Market held every weekend at an old abandoned Drive-in Theater.
I used to find all sorts of stuff there, but mostly I was one the lookout for knives that I could either refurbish or just use as is.
Well, that was more than 2 decades ago, and many that I found have moved on to different homes or just been lost in time (and my storage unit)...
But I still have a few of my favorites left...
So I know if I have some, some of you guys and gals do as well.

So I'm going to start this off with the very first knife I found while scouring tables looking for treasure. It's also the 1st knife I tried to restore, close to 25 years ago.

Up 1st is "Ole' Reliable" as I call her. An old Sabatier Chef.
When I got her she had no handle at all, just a piece of wood stuck to the "rat tail" tang by rust.
The tip was broken and her edge had quite a pronounced frown sharpened into it.

I took her home and reground the tip and straightened out the edge and cleaned off all the rust I could without it losing too much of her character.
I heated up the tang and forged a little bit of flatness to it so that when I put a handle on it, it wouldn't spin away from true when epoxied.
I put a piece of brass with a small slice of Amber(which has since cracked) between the blade and the Cocobolo handle.

She's suffered a bit through the years...my Ex leaving her in the sink and putting her in the dishwasher. And yes, that's why she's my ex...

I try to leave the patina on her as when I 1st used it to cut onions, you could smell it from 2o' away it was so reactive. Not so much anymore though.

So, now some pics!





If anyone can date this knife by it's mark, that info would be much appreciated.

Okay! Who's next!

 

Looks great Bill. I bet she is still a workhorse.

 

I have an old sabatier i am trying my hand at refurbing... will post some photos along the way

 

I have one or two lying around. Going to have to take some pics when I get back home. Love vintage knives...maybe this is just me, but I find myself wondering who else cut with the knife as I chop. (Helps pass the time)

 

I have a 100 year old Henckels 102 laying around. She cleaned up ok but the blade has some deep pits that I will not get out. Its going to sit in a shadow box in the kitchen once I finish the box. I'll try to get a picture.

I've cleaned up a bunch of Sabatiers and sold them. I should look for more actually...

 

@Jim Certainly is..used her just last night. Made Pasta Fazool, so I cut onions, garlic and pepperoni with her.
Definitely my oldest friend in the kitchen!

@Alex Armstrong @MattS @John Fout I can't wait to see them!!

I have a few more oldies, but I'm just waiting for someone else to share first!

 

That Sabatier was produced in Paris at 84 rue Saint Honore under Sabatier and Mailles. The cutlery manufacturer was founded in 1728. Haven't found an end date for manufacturing maybe WWI, but there was a Charles Mailles located there in 1878-1885 that was a horticulturist. Probly doesn't matter though. With the country name on there though would probly be 1890-1914 or so. Before that there was the French republic and emperors and different names. Interesting fact: although the original building is most likely gone, there seems to be an adult swing club there now.

 

@Stumblinman Wow! It's much older than I thought. Incredible! Thank you for that info!

And what an awesome collection you have as well!

 

I have bunches that I've acquired to refurbish, few are usable as is right now.

 

I sure would love to see some of your knives guys...really I would...

But till then here's another of my oldies. Again, it's a find at a Flea Market

It's a J. Russel & Co., Green River Works. I have a couple of Russel's...seems to me they find me instead of the other way around...

It's got a very interesting bolster design. I think it's made of pewter, but I'm not sure.
The handle is bone that shows plenty of age. It was probably as white as ivory at one time. And sadly, both slabs are cracked at the rear of the bolster design.
And interestingly, the tang is tapered a bit. Not much, but enough to notice.

Enough rambling..on with the pics!









Enjoy!!

 

Great knife.

 

Ok here's one. I bought it still coated in cosmoline and wrapped in brown paper. Military issue I think. I had to put an edge on it, came without one. Still working at it. Also had to soak the handle in mineral oil for about a week.

 

@Wagner the Wehrwolf
I absolutely love it!!!

 

Here is another. I don't know anything about the brand. I rescued it from my Grandmother's belongings after she died. My parents were just going to throw it away. Unlike what seems like everyone who refurbishes knives I like to keep some pitting for aesthetics. Actually I had a really hard time parting with the thin layer of rust on the knife. That's how my grandmother used it! I also prefer to not rehandle vintage knives, trying instead to salvage the original handle as best as possible. I had this one professionally redone though. This one turned out to be a pretty good cutter.

 

I found this knife about a month ago and was immediately drawn to the incredible taper on the tang. It was rusted throughout, but not too much pitting. After gluing a split in the handle, hand sanding for an hour and grinding a fresh edge, it was good to go. Excellent balance a surprising versatile.

A big thanks to Bill T. for letting me know about this great knife forum...cheers!

 

Okay, here goes another goodie found at a flea market...

Another Carver..this one also marked J. Russel & Co, Green River Works.
It's got a funny little mark to the left of the stamp, but I'm assuming it's nothing more than a tooling mark...

It's got a gorgeous flare at the forged guard. Following that, there appears to be a ferrule of a different metal. Not sure if it's fit on or soldered.

The handle material is Ivory.
The handle obviously, has seen better years. It came with the 4 deep cracks at the top of the handle..and through the years they've spread to the point where the piece on the upper right top had popped off.

I just added epoxy when needed to fill it in and keep it usable and as original as possible.

Pictures....!!

 

Here is my great grandfathers chefs knife, he was a cook in little Italy back in the 20's-30's maybe longer, he died in the 40's. It looks like it's stamped "Universal" under the eagle, with "Made in the USA" under that. I'd love to know more about it because grandma doesn't remember much about it.

 

Universal was made by Landers Frary & Clark