Pocket Knife Emerges

[Beeps in my sleep]

I had found this pocket knife at a Confederate camp I have been hunting. I am not saying it is Confederate, however it is old. Check out the before pictures. Here are my photos of the knife as it comes out of the ground and after coming out of my electrolysis machine today




After coming out today, A pocket knife is found!!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[Msbeepbeep]

Nice save!

 

[civil_war22]

Is it a buck?

 

[Beeps in my sleep]

Is it a buck?

No Clue, Blades won't ever open but it did clean up better than I thought. I don't think I will ever get a date on it or time period for that matter. No markings other than the emblem and little bit of wood left on it. Still a cool find in my book. Sure glad I dug it, it was coming up as trashy signals. I had nothing better to do and love digging deep targets just to make sure I am not leaving something strangely buried behind, or something being masked by junk.

 

[vpnavy]

Interesting - thanks for sharing...

 

[civil_war22]

I found one very similar a year ago at a CW campsite I hunt and wasn't sure how old it was. Mine was much worse than yours as far as condition. Too many years of laying in a fertilized field killed mine

 

[Beeps in my sleep]

I found one very similar a year ago at a CW campsite I hunt and wasn't sure how old it was. Mine was much worse than yours as far as condition. Too many years of laying in a fertilized field killed mine

I think I got lucky because this field where the camp is, is not used and has not been in some time. Sorry to hear yours was in bad shape. I am happy mine cleaned up as well as it did even if I can't get an approx age on it. I like to think positive...I found it near harmonica reeds, and a VERY old horse shoe and other goodies. So even if not Confederate...I can still pretend just like I am going to pretend that tomorrow on my day off I will walk out side and all the snow and ice will be gone

 

[Hillbilly Joe]

I know on some old Case knifes a shield was used, but I have not looked into that much, most of what I find is a old butcher knife or modern knives from hunters. Great find!

 

[civil_war22]

Looks to be a Olsen knife. Here's a bit of history I found on the company:

Olsen OK Hunting Knife

By Chuck Hawks



Olsen OK Hunting Knife. The pinkish color on the polished blade is a reflection. Photo by Chuck Hawks.
The history of the Olsen Knife Company ("Fatty Fatty run for your life, here comes Skinny with an Olsen Knife") is a bit obscure and confused. Here is what I have been able to piece together. The village of Howard City, Michigan (founded in 1868 and incorporated in 1873) was the home of the Hudson Knife Co., which became Joslin Knife Co. and ultimately the Olsen Knife Company owned by Lee Olsen, Jr.

The Olsen OK fixed blade hunting knives that established Olsen as one of the premier American knife makers of his time were made in Howard City (population around 1500) from 1950 to 1970. These were excellent quality knives (I believe hand made) and highly respected in the period before the general revival of interest in custom American knife making.

During the 1950's and 1960's, Olsen knives were generally equated with contemporary Randall, Buck and Gerber hunting knives, which were probably the best known premium American knives of the period, although Olsen never achieved the fame of Randall Made or the popularity of Buck and Gerber. In addition to fixed blade hunting knives, Olsen offered nice folders and pocket knives. Note that Olsen's American made knives reached prominence prior to the founding of the Knifemakers Guild (1970), the American Bladesmith Society (1972) and American Blade (later just Blade) magazine (1973), all of which came too late to benefit Olsen.

After 1970 and possibly until as late as 1980, the Olsen Company marketed knives made to their pattern in Solingen, Germany. It is unclear whether they produced any hand made knives in America during this period. The Olsen facility in Howard City was apparently destroyed by fire sometime between 1978 and 1980, marking the end of the original Company. However, a group based in Grand Rapids, Michigan apparently marketed Olsen brand knives made in Germany and Japan from about 1982 until 1985 and some Olsen branded knives from this period may have been made for them by Schrade Cutlery.

I purchased the Olsen hunting knife that is the subject of this article in 1970 from a sporting goods retailer in Eugene, Oregon. It was the only Olsen knife they had, mixed in with a display of Buck hunting knives, and the sales clerk was unfamiliar with the brand. Several years earlier I had read an article in one of the gun and hunting magazines about premium American hunting knives that focused on Buck, Gerber, Moran, Olsen and Randall Made knives, so I had at least heard of Olsen knives and bought it on the spot. This turned out to be one of my better buying decisions, as I have used the knife ever since.

It came with a top quality sheath bearing the Olsen OK trademark. The sheath is made of heavy duty saddle leather, heavily stitched, with a thick, stitch-protecting spline of leather around the sides and a big 4" belt loop. The knife point cannot pierce the stitching. It is similar in design and quality to the sheaths supplied with Randall Made knives, which is to say excellent.


Olsen sheath. Photo by Chuck Hawks.
Like the other American made Olsen hunting knives I have seen, mine has a heavy duty blade, full length/width/thickness tang, brass single hilt (finger guard) and a two-piece wooden handle. The slightly hollow ground, mirror polished blade is 4" long, made from 3/16" tempered carbon steel stock and tapered for its full length. The curved brass hilt is soldered to the blade. The handle and grips, which look to me like rosewood, are the typical Olsen curved shape. (See photo above.) There is a hole for a lanyard in the end of the handle.

Specifications

Type: Fixed blade hunting knife
Blade shape: Normal straight back
Blade material: Carbon steel
Blade stock: 3/16" with full width/length/thickness tang
Finished blade max. thickness: 0.170"
Blade length: 4"
Hilt: Brass, single
Handle material: Wood
Overall length: 8-3/4"
Weight: 6.7 ounces
Country of origin: USA
Approx. 1969/1970 discount retail price: $25
This knife is a pleasure to hold and use. It balances about 1-1/4" behind the base of the blade and the handle shape, flat sides with enough belly to fit the curve of the fingers of the cutting hand, is very comfortable. The back of the handle curves downward at the butt for firm retention. It is easy to grip, even with bloody fingers (as when dressing game), and provides excellent cutting leverage.

The straight back blade has a gently curved cutting edge and a flat back. This design makes the blade heavy and strong for its size and allows the thumb of the cutting hand to rest on the blade forward of the hilt when extra cutting force is required. The blade's curve makes cutting easier by focusing the force on a small area, while the overall blade shape allows chopping as well as slicing.

The blade is marked in two lines "Olsen OK / H.C., MI."; there is no model number provided. It holds an edge well, being sufficiently hard to remain sharp after field dressing a deer, although I don't know its Rockwell hardness. Its gently curved cutting edge, beveled at about 20-degrees, is relatively easy to sharpen. I use a Buck sharpening set with medium and hard stones to keep my Olsen's blade sharp. Always use honing oil on the stone when sharpening any knife and never use an electric kitchen knife sharpener on a fine blade.

Olsen knives are long out of production, but they are occasionally offered for sale on eBay and other used markets. I have seen used, made in USA Olsen hunting knives in excellent condition that are similar to mine advertised for sale in the $90-$175 price range. The Olsen brand knives imported from Germany, while presumably good quality, are usually much less expensive on the used market.

 

[Hillbilly Joe]

While it could be an Olsen, it is a folder, and after looking at the pic better, I dont think it is a Case, it would have a more oval badge on it.

 

[civil_war22]

Like that small article said they made many knock off versions of the name brand knives. Try made folders as well. My antique knives and cutlery book shows several Olsen folders that model the sodbusters and buck knives. I have what I believe is a Olsen but my badge is missing so unsure. I think his knife has a O in the shield. A lot of companies made knock off items for big companies. Like my sears and roebuck modeled after a Stevens

 

[texjim]

Nice save. We have at least 8" of frozen ice on the ground up this way.

 

[gunsil]

The shield on the knife is called a "federal shield", no relation to the military use of federal. These shields are/were used by many knife companies over the years. Case had many styles of shields in the early 1900s, not just oval ones. Olsen was not a maker of pocket or folding knives, they specialized in hunting fixed blade knives. There have been literally thousands of pocket knife manufacturers over the years and Beep is correct that it will never be positively identified since it won't open, and even if it did the name would likely be illegible. I don't think it is a CW era knife, but we will never know for sure. There were very few American pocket knife manufacturers at the time of the CW, most were imported from England. Everybody who hunts relics should attend knife shows occasionally, there is a lot of knowledge to be obtained at them. The Keystone Blade Collectors show is Feb 22-23 in Lewisburg, PA, and the Eastern PA Knife club show is in Wind Gap PA March 15-16. I'll have a table at these shows, and would like to see other members there.

 

[creade]

Its hard without opening it. Did you try letting it soak in wd40? it might loosen up. I think its either josepth rodgers or remington but you need to see the stamp on the blade.

 

[civil_war22]

Gunsil that's funny because I have a Olsen folding knife in my hand and also Google Olsen folding knife and there is bookoos of folders on here. I build knives and have collected for almost 30 years. My great grandfather and grandfather were master metal smiths and built many as well

 

[creade]

I am going to pretend that tomorrow on my day off I will walk out side and all the snow and ice will be gone

The great pretender

 

[civil_war22]

Beeps in my sleep I tried pretending today too but when I opened my eyes from dreaming the snow was still there;(

 

[gunsil]

Gunsil that's funny because I have a Olsen folding knife in my hand and also Google Olsen folding knife and there is bookoos of folders on here. I build knives and have collected for almost 30 years. My great grandfather and grandfather were master metal smiths and built many as well

Yes, there are Olsen marked folding knives, but they had them made by somebody else. The Howard City factory only produced hunting knives I believe. Just like Buck didn't make the smaller two and three blade pocket knives that bear their name, and all the Remington marked knives from the last twenty years were not made by Remington. Beep's knife looks a lot older than any Olsen made or marked knives. Any and all attempts at making a positive ID on Beep's knife is purely conjecture, and he is aware of that. I have found many old rusted folding knives, and except for a couple with the maker's name on the shield they all are unidentifiable. Once they are that rusty one will never get the mark off the blade. The knife in question is a swell-end jack knife and pretty much every cutlery company made them over the years.

 

[DigIron2]

nice find, looks civil war period to me,Like allot of things,pocket knives are hard to date if unless you are a expert unlike me.I would say it was made no later then the middle 1800's,I am assuming by the wood rott,and pins.