Sadly my digital camera died back in October, hence no new photos since then. So I can't show you blokes what I picked up... but here's the story;
In Canada, there's a new holiday called Family Day.. why it came to be, I'll never know, because I didn't see any families spending time together. But with a day off from work, I decided to go antique shopping with my sister. She works in theatre, so is always looking for old clothes and posters, and other items for plays. While I look for wool blankets, any old axe or sleds, and the occasional smoking pipe (an item I like to collect). Well we found a big antique shop in a giant barn, so we split up and looked for what we came for...
10 minutes there, I already found three old tobacco tins, and two wool hospital blankets. As well, I found a very old copy of Bradford Angier's "Feasting Free on Wild Edibles", and I was sitting pretty.. and then I saw the booth... this old man had about fifty old iron worked tools, including old logging axes, lead ball makers for black powder, horn measures for black powder, and so many bizarre knives, I just had to stand and marvel..
First knife I saw was this giant, obviously home made bowie-like blade, that came from a Korean he met in Vancouver. Apparently the Korean's father made it during the Korean war so he could (in the words of the old antique salesman) "kill them American b***ards better". That made me decide to pass on buying it...
Next I came to a little folding knife, slightly rusted, and the once black painted handle chipping and showing the tin(steel?) beneath it. After licking my thumb and rubbing the rust away from the label, I saw the words "Scout Knife". The salesman said it was an old boy scout knife found in a barn somewhere in Wisconsin. I opened the blade (with great effort), and again licked a finger to help clear the writing. In plain, almost military surplus print, I saw "Panamex Germany". The man wanted $6.50 for it. I had myself a new (sort of) pocket knife.
I saw several old belt knives, two were Case knives, but were far too expensive for my current bank account (after ordering a lot of leather and blades from an online trading post). There was also a blade, similar to my old Green River belt knife, but the handle was boxy and aged. Apparently it was owned by a French-Canadien trapper in northern Quebec around the turn of the century. I passed it without a second thought.
And then there she was.. dark handle, still in perfect condition... a slightly stained, pock-marked blade, that reached out 15 inches long, and at it's widest, was three fingers wide. It looked exactly like my old dependable Green River belt knife (which I had given away to my cousin), but four times the length. I looked for a mark, a label, anything to identify it. I nearly missed the print. Due to a severe pock mark, only the words "HYDE" and "Mass. USA" could be found. The salesman said it was from the 1850s, and was owned by a Metis Buffalo Hunter from Saskatchewan. Apparently the design was also called a "Buffalo Hunter", so I cannot be definite on the salesman's story of the Metis, the age of it, or the actual name of the knife design. But the print proved it definitely was a mass produced blade. Due to the hump on the spine, I can definitely place it around the 1850s or later (when Green River and those hump-spine designs were really popular). He asked for $50. I left $56.50 out of my pocket, but those blades are with me at all times.
So the story ends with a question.. and it is.. does anybody know much about old Panamex knives, or any type of Hyde Massachusetts Knife company? I've googled and searched all over the web, but I have not found anything definite.
In Canada, there's a new holiday called Family Day.. why it came to be, I'll never know, because I didn't see any families spending time together. But with a day off from work, I decided to go antique shopping with my sister. She works in theatre, so is always looking for old clothes and posters, and other items for plays. While I look for wool blankets, any old axe or sleds, and the occasional smoking pipe (an item I like to collect). Well we found a big antique shop in a giant barn, so we split up and looked for what we came for...
10 minutes there, I already found three old tobacco tins, and two wool hospital blankets. As well, I found a very old copy of Bradford Angier's "Feasting Free on Wild Edibles", and I was sitting pretty.. and then I saw the booth... this old man had about fifty old iron worked tools, including old logging axes, lead ball makers for black powder, horn measures for black powder, and so many bizarre knives, I just had to stand and marvel..
First knife I saw was this giant, obviously home made bowie-like blade, that came from a Korean he met in Vancouver. Apparently the Korean's father made it during the Korean war so he could (in the words of the old antique salesman) "kill them American b***ards better". That made me decide to pass on buying it...
Next I came to a little folding knife, slightly rusted, and the once black painted handle chipping and showing the tin(steel?) beneath it. After licking my thumb and rubbing the rust away from the label, I saw the words "Scout Knife". The salesman said it was an old boy scout knife found in a barn somewhere in Wisconsin. I opened the blade (with great effort), and again licked a finger to help clear the writing. In plain, almost military surplus print, I saw "Panamex Germany". The man wanted $6.50 for it. I had myself a new (sort of) pocket knife.
I saw several old belt knives, two were Case knives, but were far too expensive for my current bank account (after ordering a lot of leather and blades from an online trading post). There was also a blade, similar to my old Green River belt knife, but the handle was boxy and aged. Apparently it was owned by a French-Canadien trapper in northern Quebec around the turn of the century. I passed it without a second thought.
And then there she was.. dark handle, still in perfect condition... a slightly stained, pock-marked blade, that reached out 15 inches long, and at it's widest, was three fingers wide. It looked exactly like my old dependable Green River belt knife (which I had given away to my cousin), but four times the length. I looked for a mark, a label, anything to identify it. I nearly missed the print. Due to a severe pock mark, only the words "HYDE" and "Mass. USA" could be found. The salesman said it was from the 1850s, and was owned by a Metis Buffalo Hunter from Saskatchewan. Apparently the design was also called a "Buffalo Hunter", so I cannot be definite on the salesman's story of the Metis, the age of it, or the actual name of the knife design. But the print proved it definitely was a mass produced blade. Due to the hump on the spine, I can definitely place it around the 1850s or later (when Green River and those hump-spine designs were really popular). He asked for $50. I left $56.50 out of my pocket, but those blades are with me at all times.
So the story ends with a question.. and it is.. does anybody know much about old Panamex knives, or any type of Hyde Massachusetts Knife company? I've googled and searched all over the web, but I have not found anything definite.
