trying to identify an old hunting knife

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albin25
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trying to identify an old hunting knife

Post by albin25 » Thu Nov 19, 2015 12:10 pm

I'm not really into knives but I have a very nice old hunting?/skinning? knife that I'm at a loss as to if it has value or not.
I figured I'd ask here to see if anyone has heard of it.
I know little about it other than my Dad purchased it approx. 50 years ago in Winnipeg (Canada) took it with him hunting a few times.
He passed on approx. 25 years ago and it has been sitting in an old toolbox in my sister's basement ever since.
I haven't had much success but I figured someone here might be a LOT more informed than me.

here's a description:
-over all it's 8.5"
-blade is 4.5", heavy, no flex, has a shape similarity to a Bowie (but short and fat)
-handle is natural horn, with leather stacks on either end and a stainless? flared cap.
-Blade is sharp,nick free, no rust, no pitting,
-stamped on blade near handle... Lamplough cutlery Solingen ..and.. N241/2 St
-riveted Leather belt loop sheath, stamped "Germany", tooled elk(?) picture.
Image

I'm basically asking, is it a good knife? Is it something I should polish (how)?
Does it have more than sentimental value?
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Re: trying to identify an old hunting knife

Post by Rigger28 » Thu Nov 19, 2015 6:05 pm

Solingen is a very high quality German knife. Hang on to it especially if it was your dads.

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ron
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Re: trying to identify an old hunting knife

Post by ron » Mon Dec 14, 2015 2:56 pm

Lamplough was a fairly common German manufacturer of good quality knives and they really aren't collectors items though the larger Bowies sell for more than the smaller knives like this. This one is probably worth around $50 bucks with the sheath or maybe more if the sheath were in especially nice condition . The Pommel or end cap is aluminum not stainless and the blade is probably carbon steel. I wouldn't polish it, the patina that's on there now will protect it from rust. Better just to sharpen it and use it as is.

I had a Bear and sons large bowie that was brushed stainless steel and the brushed finish on one side was uneven and I sent it to a company called the Mirror polishing company and they gave it a mirror finish that looks great but it cost almost as much as the knife, about $80 bucks. it's a big impressive looking knife but there aren't many knives I'd spend that kind of money on and not every knife is going to look good with a bright shiny blade and any knife that's actually collectable can lose a lot of value if you mess with the original finish.

Polishing knife blades is very time consuming an labor intensive, first you work through many different grits of sandpaper and then finish it with a buffer.

Most knife-makers do a brush finish and use a sanding belt, but that is a skill that takes time to learn.
Last edited by ron on Tue Dec 15, 2015 9:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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albin25
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Re: trying to identify an old hunting knife

Post by albin25 » Mon Dec 14, 2015 5:06 pm

Thanks for the info guys...I'm going to hang on to it in it's current patina and just keep it oiled and out of the leather sheath.
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