VINTAGE John Primble Belknap Hdw & Mfg Co 5133 W/ Star. Looks &
Item History & Price
VINTAGE John Primble Belknap Hdw & Mfg Co 5133 w/ Star. Looks Unused" & Original. Condition is Used. Shipped with USPS First Class Package.This knife is part of a collection of pocket knives that I'll be listing over the next few months. Many are very collectable dating back to the early 1900's. I see a lot of Remington, John Primble/Belknap Hardware, Winchester, Robeson, Kutter Keen, L.F. & C, Queen City, Wards, Ulster, and more.This is a beautiful vintage pocket knife. I'...ll look up the details to see what I can find about the age. If it has the star above the number stamp, then it's not a recent reproduction. It has a Boker look to it. Did Boker produce any knives for John Primble/Belknap Hardware back in the day? I'll find out and post it here. It's unusual to see an old vintage knife with full blades in such great condition with the original etching on the main blade. If it has been used, I can't tell. You tell me. Look at the photos. If you are a Primble collector, I'm sure that you'll want this one 😏. I will be listing more Primbles from this collection so keep an eye out for them. They are all Full Blades and look great. Cheers!On Jul-14-19 at 02:49:43 PDT, seller added the following information:I forgot to mention that the bone handles could be delrin. It's always hard for me to tell the difference unless there is some damage to the handle which allows me to see if there was a clean break or if there are splinters. The clean break would be delrin and the splinters would be bone, but these handles are in perfect condition, so it's hard to tell. All I can say is that it has the look and feel of bone. I just can't be certain.
I also used to think that a vintage pocket knife in this "like new" condition with full bkades and clear etching on the blade had to be some kind of recent reproduction, but another Ebay member educated me otherwise. Sometimes it's just because an old collector purchased it new with no intention of using it in order to keep it preserved for collection purposes. Much like many baseball card collectors. They understood the value of keeping their cards like new which would pay big dividends in the event that they had to sell them. This Ebay member brought the point home when he told me to imagine having a Babe Ruth baseball card that had been perfectly preserved for all these years, then to imagine the price I would get by selling it to another collector. The difference in price was staggering when compared to the exact same card with a couple of minor creases or a bent corner. In the case of this pocket knife, there just happens to be some very nice John Primble reproductions made by Queen Cutlery (sometime in the 80's or 90's) in this collection with the same etching on the blade, but have no number stamp or star on the tang. Instead, they have "authorized reproduction" stamped on the tang, so it was easy for me to be certain about this knife's vintage authenticity.I will be listing some of those reproductions as well because I've learned that those are now very collectable. Especially the ones made by Queen. Their reproductions are of a high quality and standard like you would expect from any US factory. They are now around 40 years old and, sadly, Queen Cutlery has closed their doors and are no longer producing their high quality pocket knives. Like any art, when the artist dies, their work increases in value because the supply is limited while the demand increases. Chinese manufacturers bought the names and rights to nearly all American pocket knife companies and seem to be the only ones making them, but their quality just doesn't compare to what the US manufacturers were able to produce, so it makes sense why Queens reproductions of the John Primble knives have become a valuable collectable of their own. They represent the last of the high quality American pocket knives made with the best workmanship and quality materials.
I also used to think that a vintage pocket knife in this "like new" condition with full bkades and clear etching on the blade had to be some kind of recent reproduction, but another Ebay member educated me otherwise. Sometimes it's just because an old collector purchased it new with no intention of using it in order to keep it preserved for collection purposes. Much like many baseball card collectors. They understood the value of keeping their cards like new which would pay big dividends in the event that they had to sell them. This Ebay member brought the point home when he told me to imagine having a Babe Ruth baseball card that had been perfectly preserved for all these years, then to imagine the price I would get by selling it to another collector. The difference in price was staggering when compared to the exact same card with a couple of minor creases or a bent corner. In the case of this pocket knife, there just happens to be some very nice John Primble reproductions made by Queen Cutlery (sometime in the 80's or 90's) in this collection with the same etching on the blade, but have no number stamp or star on the tang. Instead, they have "authorized reproduction" stamped on the tang, so it was easy for me to be certain about this knife's vintage authenticity.I will be listing some of those reproductions as well because I've learned that those are now very collectable. Especially the ones made by Queen. Their reproductions are of a high quality and standard like you would expect from any US factory. They are now around 40 years old and, sadly, Queen Cutlery has closed their doors and are no longer producing their high quality pocket knives. Like any art, when the artist dies, their work increases in value because the supply is limited while the demand increases. Chinese manufacturers bought the names and rights to nearly all American pocket knife companies and seem to be the only ones making them, but their quality just doesn't compare to what the US manufacturers were able to produce, so it makes sense why Queens reproductions of the John Primble knives have become a valuable collectable of their own. They represent the last of the high quality American pocket knives made with the best workmanship and quality materials.
