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Post by phoenix1967 on May 9, 2011 10:43:48 GMT -5
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Post by caretaker on May 9, 2011 12:44:57 GMT -5
man I really like these discussions. i don`t understand all of it but i`m learnin.
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Post by beaudro on May 9, 2011 15:41:53 GMT -5
I remember that thread now , Joebosch did a good job on those knives. Historically speaking, there has been a debate as to whether knives where ever made from trap springs. In my opinion it was probably done but there is no known documentation for it. A person needs to really narrow it down to time and place before assuming however. Lets look at 1800 to 1860 or so. Would a rocky mountain fur trapper make one? probably not, he was around wagon loads of trade knives and scalpers. He would also need a forge, fuel , and anvil. Thats something the forts had. There's no reason why one of them couldn't have been playing around and just wanted to make one and he would have plenty of broken springs to play with however. Now lets look at 1760 to 1860, but back in the eastern settlements. Not as many traps in the first quarter of this hundred years but they were coming quick. This is the time that fur was the currency and many people were in a pinch. Trap springs broke plenty of times and a trap is useless when they do break. Most springs will break at the bend , so you have the perfect knife blank ready to be shaped in hand. If the longhunters were so resourceful then it's a little more than a safe assumption. The perfect candidate for making a trap spring knife in my opinion is the Native American. There exists examples of knives being made from brass kettles , this goes back to the early 1800's when trade goods were most common. Traps were giving, traded, and sold to natives. They were the real suppliers of beaver fur in the west. Many natives stole traps from the white trapping parties. You don't have to get the idea they were crude and primitive either , some of the Cherokees had plantations with forge set ups. Out west it probably was a little primitive when a native made a knife , and remote areas in the east. It's too diverse of a country to assume "nobody" made a knife out of a trap spring. There is an example of a knife in the Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron, Nebraska. At first glance it would look as if it were made from a trap spring, because it has a round lanyard ring, but it's two pieces , it's possible the ring came from a trap , but the blade is a Jukes Coulson from Sheffield England. He made several of the large dagger/spear head blades for the indian trade. This might be where many people get the idea of trap spring knives. I took this picture of it last year.
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Post by phoenix1967 on May 9, 2011 17:31:49 GMT -5
I'd have to agree Beaudro, my folk have been frankeninjuning knives from whatever they could find for thousands of years. Iron was the greatest thing the white man brought west, as far as the natives were concerned; gun barrels became hawks and pipes (what else ya gonna do with 'em when you run outta bullets?) rifles became war clubs, etc. I've seen drawings of squaws using the tin can lids from tobacco cans for skinning and scraping hides (in the museum in Deming NM) The glass bottles that came over (whisky and wine mostly) were actually knapped into arrowheads toward the mid 1800's by some of the pueblo tribes in the SW. Some northern tribes in the black hills were known to shoot hammered gold bullets from stolen muskets... Like to find a few of them
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Post by dmpknives on May 20, 2011 21:15:42 GMT -5
Ok, if any one wants to know the history or process of making these knives please reply. I'll clear up any questions. As the second generation maker of Palmer knives, i'm sure I can help out
Dave
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Post by phoenix1967 on May 21, 2011 7:44:24 GMT -5
please enlighten us. as an honorable man, I'm sure you wouldn't misrepresent your work...
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Post by caretaker on May 22, 2011 15:09:09 GMT -5
please add any and information you have. I do not make knives but I enjoy reading and learning. I also enjoy pics of working and finished products. I also enjoy any and all information on working hides. There are a lot of talented and informative people on this site and I try to read and learn as much as I can. Thank all of you for your contributions.
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Post by twistedmetalworks on May 27, 2011 17:23:43 GMT -5
I should point out that the knife I refere to was baught from a knife magazine and not directly from marv, and it was the magazine that advertised it as a damascus knife. But It would be interesting to know who stamped Wrangler on it? I doubt it was marv, but maybe DMP knows. I cant say I know or knew Marv personaly but had met him and shot the breez at a randevous or two, Howard city Mi. I believe.
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