P. O. Box 511
Elm Grove, WI 53122
23 Years Strong
Spring 2008
Elm Grove, WI 53122
23 Years Strong
Spring 2008
Phone and Fax: 414-479-9765
Email: badgerknifeclub@aol.com
Web site: www.badgerknifeclub.org
Email: badgerknifeclub@aol.com
Web site: www.badgerknifeclub.org
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Next Meeting: Swords Sunday, April 27, 2008 - 7:00 p.m. |
| Future BKC Meeting Dates April 27, 2008 July 27, 2008 - October 26, 2008 Hope to see you there! |
The next meeting of the Badger Knife Club
(BKC) will be Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 7 p.m.
and will be at the Milwaukee County Council, Boy
Scouts of America (lower level PieperPower
Learning Center) 330 S. 84 St., Milwaukee, WI
(Exit 306 off I-94 at S. 84 St.)
The featured program will be presented by
BKC Member Kurt Rogowski of Kenosha, WI
who will be talking about Swords. Kurt has a
large collection and knowledge about ancient
and modern swords. He made a presentation
several years ago and this promises to be
different and as interesting and informative as
his first one. Don’t miss it.
We will have the Meeting Attendance Prize
drawing, which was won by Paul Katzer at our
last meeting. The Progressive Attendance Prize
drawing is up to $15. Robert Thompson would
have won $10 at our last meeting if he had been
present.
We will also have our club raffle, free coffee and
donuts.
Special thanks go to Gary Glowinski, Col. Joe
Fox, Byron O’Shaughnessy, Jake Jakus and Ed
Brandsey for their generous donations of raffle
prizes.
Bring your knives for showing off—or selling and
trading and have some fun!
Be sure to mark your calendars to support/attend
your 25th Annual Badger Knife Show March
28, 29, 30, 2008.
Members are free. Show hours:
Friday 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
$3 at door/$5 three-day pass. Early bird passes
are available.
It’s hard to believe that we will be celebrating the
25th Annual Badger Knife Show at the end of
March! I was foraging thru the achieves and I
found photos and other information from our first
show on June 24, 1984. Besides my table,
we had twelve other table holders.
AAA Outfitters Robert Gigous
Jeff Amundson Kevin Hoffman
Arenz Cutlery Jerry Rados
Casanovas Dave Ricke
Chris Dahl John Schrank
Clarence De Yong Ralph Turnbull
From this list of original table holders, only Dave
Ricke has been at every single Badger Knife
Shows since then. Congratulations, Dave, and
thank you for your support.
We’ll have the photos and information on display
at the 25th Annual Show.
Please remember that current members of the
BKC are admitted free to the show and Life
Members, along with their family members, are
admitted free. Therefore, I am asking that all
members of the BKC please try to attend and
help support the show and your club—and
celebrate the 25th Annual Badger Knife Show,
March 28, 29 and 30 at the Janesville
Conference Center in Janesville, Wisconsin. I
know you will enjoy yourselves. Free Parking!
We were stunned with the news that longtime
club member, Gregory Clark, age 60, was
murdered on Wednesday, February 6, 2008, in
the driveway of his home as he was snowplowing
his driveway. He was shot in the back multiple
times by the suspects. The suspects have been
captured and the investigation continues.
Details of the crime and the investigation can be
seen on the web site of the Rockford Register
Star at www.rrstar.com.
Greg was an attorney in Rockford, Illinois. He
was very active in his community and was an all
around good guy. He loved knife collecting and
regularly attended our meetings and shows. He
will be missed. Our condolences go out to his
wife and family.
2008 will mark the 25th consecutive Badger
Knife Club Show. To commemorate this Silver
Anniversary milestone, the club will be offering a
special show knife for only the second time.
It will be a handmade hunting knife made by club
member Jerry Kohls. It is 8.5” overall with a
3.625” mirror polished, stainless steel blade,
cocobolo Pakkawood handle with Badger Knife
Club shield, silver anniversary, color blade etch,
and zippered pouch with anniversary marking.
Only 25 serial numbered knives will be available
for purchase at the 2008 Show on a first-come,
first-served basis. Expected price is $95. A true
prototype will be offered through the silent
auction.
Check the mailing label for your renewal date. If
you received a dues statement with your
newsletter, please send in your dues right away.
You can pay one, one, two or three years at
$5.00 a year. You can't find a better deal...four
newsletters and meetings and a free admission
to the annual Badger Knife Show.
Bring dues to the meeting or mail to Badger
Knife Club at P. O. Box 511, Elm Grove, WI
53122. Please see the membership page of this
site to fill out your application. Thank you.
March 28, 29, 30 - 25th Annual Badger Knife
show - Holiday Inn Express and Janesville
Conference Center. Contact Bob Schrap at
(414) 479-9765
April 12 -13 Oregon Knife Show, Eugene,
Oregon. Contact Oregon Knife Club at (541)484-
5564
April 19 - 20, 2008 - Novi, MI, Wolverine Knife
Collectors Show – Call Pat Donovan (586) 786-
5549 or Frank Meek (586) 264-2031
May 30 - June 1, 2008 - Atlanta, GA – Blade
Show. Call Blade Show at (877) 746-9757
October 17 - 18, 2008 – Janesville, WI –
Annual Fall Knife Show - Northern Lakes Knife
Co. Call Bob Schrap (414) 771-6472
The Badger Knife Club pin and patch are
available for $5.00 each. Be sure to get yours at
the next meeting or at our show.
(BKC) will be Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 7 p.m.
and will be at the Milwaukee County Council, Boy
Scouts of America (lower level PieperPower
Learning Center) 330 S. 84 St., Milwaukee, WI
(Exit 306 off I-94 at S. 84 St.)
The featured program will be presented by
BKC Member Kurt Rogowski of Kenosha, WI
who will be talking about Swords. Kurt has a
large collection and knowledge about ancient
and modern swords. He made a presentation
several years ago and this promises to be
different and as interesting and informative as
his first one. Don’t miss it.
We will have the Meeting Attendance Prize
drawing, which was won by Paul Katzer at our
last meeting. The Progressive Attendance Prize
drawing is up to $15. Robert Thompson would
have won $10 at our last meeting if he had been
present.
We will also have our club raffle, free coffee and
donuts.
Special thanks go to Gary Glowinski, Col. Joe
Fox, Byron O’Shaughnessy, Jake Jakus and Ed
Brandsey for their generous donations of raffle
prizes.
Bring your knives for showing off—or selling and
trading and have some fun!
Be sure to mark your calendars to support/attend
your 25th Annual Badger Knife Show March
28, 29, 30, 2008.
Members are free. Show hours:
Friday 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
$3 at door/$5 three-day pass. Early bird passes
are available.
It’s hard to believe that we will be celebrating the
25th Annual Badger Knife Show at the end of
March! I was foraging thru the achieves and I
found photos and other information from our first
show on June 24, 1984. Besides my table,
we had twelve other table holders.
AAA Outfitters Robert Gigous
Jeff Amundson Kevin Hoffman
Arenz Cutlery Jerry Rados
Casanovas Dave Ricke
Chris Dahl John Schrank
Clarence De Yong Ralph Turnbull
From this list of original table holders, only Dave
Ricke has been at every single Badger Knife
Shows since then. Congratulations, Dave, and
thank you for your support.
We’ll have the photos and information on display
at the 25th Annual Show.
Please remember that current members of the
BKC are admitted free to the show and Life
Members, along with their family members, are
admitted free. Therefore, I am asking that all
members of the BKC please try to attend and
help support the show and your club—and
celebrate the 25th Annual Badger Knife Show,
March 28, 29 and 30 at the Janesville
Conference Center in Janesville, Wisconsin. I
know you will enjoy yourselves. Free Parking!
We were stunned with the news that longtime
club member, Gregory Clark, age 60, was
murdered on Wednesday, February 6, 2008, in
the driveway of his home as he was snowplowing
his driveway. He was shot in the back multiple
times by the suspects. The suspects have been
captured and the investigation continues.
Details of the crime and the investigation can be
seen on the web site of the Rockford Register
Star at www.rrstar.com.
Greg was an attorney in Rockford, Illinois. He
was very active in his community and was an all
around good guy. He loved knife collecting and
regularly attended our meetings and shows. He
will be missed. Our condolences go out to his
wife and family.
2008 will mark the 25th consecutive Badger
Knife Club Show. To commemorate this Silver
Anniversary milestone, the club will be offering a
special show knife for only the second time.
It will be a handmade hunting knife made by club
member Jerry Kohls. It is 8.5” overall with a
3.625” mirror polished, stainless steel blade,
cocobolo Pakkawood handle with Badger Knife
Club shield, silver anniversary, color blade etch,
and zippered pouch with anniversary marking.
Only 25 serial numbered knives will be available
for purchase at the 2008 Show on a first-come,
first-served basis. Expected price is $95. A true
prototype will be offered through the silent
auction.
Check the mailing label for your renewal date. If
you received a dues statement with your
newsletter, please send in your dues right away.
You can pay one, one, two or three years at
$5.00 a year. You can't find a better deal...four
newsletters and meetings and a free admission
to the annual Badger Knife Show.
Bring dues to the meeting or mail to Badger
Knife Club at P. O. Box 511, Elm Grove, WI
53122. Please see the membership page of this
site to fill out your application. Thank you.
March 28, 29, 30 - 25th Annual Badger Knife
show - Holiday Inn Express and Janesville
Conference Center. Contact Bob Schrap at
(414) 479-9765
April 12 -13 Oregon Knife Show, Eugene,
Oregon. Contact Oregon Knife Club at (541)484-
5564
April 19 - 20, 2008 - Novi, MI, Wolverine Knife
Collectors Show – Call Pat Donovan (586) 786-
5549 or Frank Meek (586) 264-2031
May 30 - June 1, 2008 - Atlanta, GA – Blade
Show. Call Blade Show at (877) 746-9757
October 17 - 18, 2008 – Janesville, WI –
Annual Fall Knife Show - Northern Lakes Knife
Co. Call Bob Schrap (414) 771-6472
The Badger Knife Club pin and patch are
available for $5.00 each. Be sure to get yours at
the next meeting or at our show.
| Badger Knife Show 25th Annual Show! March 28, 29 & 30, 2008 |
| The Romance of Collecting* By David Nelson |
| Upcoming 2008 Shows |
| Club Pins and Patches |
Designed by BAKITUPDESIGNS
| 25th Annual Badger Knife Show |
Is your life boring, gone stale, same old hum drum?
Your problem may be addiction. You don’t have
any. How’s your love life? Yah, that’s what I thought.
If you need more passion and excitement in your
life you need to spend more time knife collecting.
Before we get you all revved up, I suppose we
should take a look at how addictive knife collecting
can become. If you listen to my advice, and go
broke buying knives, don’t be calling me. I have
enough problems with my own knife collection
addiction. But I do have passion and excitement.
So how addicted are you and what part of this
great hobby are you most hooked on?
Knife collecting has a lot of facets to it. There is
more to it than just deciding what to collect. Some
of the areas I am thinking about are: 1. the hunt, 2.
the research, 3 the clean-up/restoring/ or
maintaining, 4. the showing and appreciating of
your collection. In the same manner you decided
what to collect, you probably have focused some
on these areas and maybe some I haven’t even
thought of. You can exert a lot of time, energy, and
yes, even passion, on any one of these areas. Let’
s look at them a little closer.
1. The Hunt.
I love the thrill of the hunt. My heart rate rises
significantly walking into a gun/knife show or even
an antique shop and it takes another jump when I
see a roll or case full of old knives. Sometimes in
antique shops they even sneak up on me. Once I
was looking at a row of old hammers and
wrenches and in the middle of them, on an open
shelf, was a really nice old Winchester bone
handled easy opener with a five dollar sticker on it.
That was exciting. It was a little like waking up in
the morning to find that your new wife laying next to
you is Miss Wisconsin.
If you have some active pickers, a phone ringing
can turn a hum drum day into one you will be telling
your grandkids about for years to come. Of course,
it also could ruin your spouse’s day when your
wallet is empty and you start eyeing the mortgage
payment you had set aside.
The rush I get from the Janesville show in March
starts about the first week in February and takes
about a week after the show to subside. With the
number of knives at this show, it’s not much of a
challenge but it’s still exciting. Oh, the thrill of the
hunt.
2. The Research.
Some collectors just love the facts. Some love the
story behind the knife. Where has this knife been
for the last century? Some love the history of the
company that made a particular knife. The digging
for information about a knife or the company that
made it, or even who made and supplied parts to
make the knife from can be a fascinating focus for
a collector. There are a ton of small knife or
hardware companies that have little or no printed
history, or at least published history. A lot of
hardware companies had a number of suppliers.
Marshall Wells for example, while they often were
made by New York Knife, also had knives made in
Sheffield, Germany, Finland, and several (probably
many) U.S. companies. I have one I’m pretty sure
was made by Ka-bar. I have it on good authority
(Bob Palmer) that some punch blades were made
by a different company than the one stamped on
the knife containing the punch. There is a lot of
room for researching a single knife before you
store it away in your collection.
Sometime you may even find, on close inspection,
that the blades in a knife were made by a different
company than the frame itself. This is, of course, a
parts knife or more correctly, a counterfeit and that
can also cause your pulse to rise, especially if you
laid out a few hundred dollars for an “original”
hundred year old rare collectable knife. That’s like
waking up married to Miss Wisconsin of 1928.
Usually though, researching a knife or company
can be fun and exciting and can even become a
passion.
3. The Clean up/ Restoring/or Maintaining.
An old knife that has lost its original blade finish
through years of use, misuse, and sharpening, but
which still can be brought back to a very nice,
usable knife can yield tons of enjoyable hours of
pure fun. Many collectors enjoy the cleaning,
reshaping, re-handling (easily done on fixed
blades) and just turning your knife from Cinderella
in rags to Cinderella at the ball.
I sat for a couple of hours by a box of junk at an
auction because it had an old wood scaled
German knife in the bottom of it. I paid one dollar
for the box and had a number of hours of enjoyable
work turning my one dollar junk knife into a two
dollar really nice knife. (Hey, if you’re counting
dollars, it ruins the whole thing.) If, after cleaning
and oiling, the blades snap back and have plenty
of metal left on them, and the scales can be made
to look like new, well that’s a little like making a
new friend.
Speaking of friends, one called me over to his
table at a show once to sell me an old wood clasp
knife that was a mess. It, unbelievably for its
condition, had snap. The blade was down about
40% and the wood scales looked like someone
had confused the knife for a hammer. I asked him
what he expected me to do with that mess. He
pointed out that he knew I liked old wood scaled
knives and a good challenge and the knife did
have some snap. Also he told me that I was this
knifes only hope. If I didn’t want to try to restore it,
probably no one else in the world would. It was junk
to everyone else. I spent several hours at the show
(it was a really slow show) sanding and polishing
the scales and what was left on the blade. There
actually was a respectable knife inside that mess. I
carried the knife in my tool belt at work and had a
lot of satisfaction each time I used it besides all the
satisfaction I had restoring it.
I have an old New York Knife jack that a collector
found partially buried in the dirt and had spent
hours de-rusting, sanding and polishing. I have it
stored with the rest of my bone handled jacks and
you would have a tough time picking it out from the
ones that have had an easy life. Restoring an old
piece of junk to a good usable and sometimes
even attractive knife can really be enjoyable time
well spent.
If you have a roll of celluloid knives (new or old)
make sure you check them every couple months
for gassing, and remove any that are. If they are O.
K., enjoy them a little, some nice quiet passionate
time, before you put them away.
4. The Enjoying and Showing of your
Collection.
Sometimes it’s fun to just sit and watch the
grandkids play. I get the same feeling just sitting in
the quiet of my office with a roll of antique pocket
knives, and they, unlike my grandkids, never get
loud or fight over some toy they all decided to play
with at the same time.
I suspect some of what is called pocket wear on a
nice old knife comes from collectors foundling
them. I have an 1850s Hilger and Sons pearl
ladies leg/boot knife that has had her thighs
caressed more than Marilyn Monroe. If I don’t stop
showing it off, I may need to have the knife
rescaled, because the pearl is getting worn from all
that caressing.
Nothing feels as good in your hand as a vintage
ebony Napanoch whittler or a one hundred year old
bone handled saddle horn. The sight of a whole roll
of similar antique knives all lined up, knowing they
all are yours is a pretty amazing feeling. When I
was a kid I probably would have traded my three
sisters for just one of them and now you own a
whole roll full. The excitement is almost on par with
the hunt itself.
Showing off your collection either to a friend or at a
show where everyone can enjoy them and maybe
spark interest in more people collecting and
enjoying the great hobby you have found is a very
nice feeling. Your passion for this hobby can be
very contagious.
I didn’t even get into the social part of collection
either at shows, shops, flea markets or at a
monthly club meeting. There are many exciting
aspects to collecting blades you could
passionately pursue. Is your life full of passion and
excitement? If not, you’re just not trying.
*Used with permission of author and North Star
Blade Collectors
Your problem may be addiction. You don’t have
any. How’s your love life? Yah, that’s what I thought.
If you need more passion and excitement in your
life you need to spend more time knife collecting.
Before we get you all revved up, I suppose we
should take a look at how addictive knife collecting
can become. If you listen to my advice, and go
broke buying knives, don’t be calling me. I have
enough problems with my own knife collection
addiction. But I do have passion and excitement.
So how addicted are you and what part of this
great hobby are you most hooked on?
Knife collecting has a lot of facets to it. There is
more to it than just deciding what to collect. Some
of the areas I am thinking about are: 1. the hunt, 2.
the research, 3 the clean-up/restoring/ or
maintaining, 4. the showing and appreciating of
your collection. In the same manner you decided
what to collect, you probably have focused some
on these areas and maybe some I haven’t even
thought of. You can exert a lot of time, energy, and
yes, even passion, on any one of these areas. Let’
s look at them a little closer.
1. The Hunt.
I love the thrill of the hunt. My heart rate rises
significantly walking into a gun/knife show or even
an antique shop and it takes another jump when I
see a roll or case full of old knives. Sometimes in
antique shops they even sneak up on me. Once I
was looking at a row of old hammers and
wrenches and in the middle of them, on an open
shelf, was a really nice old Winchester bone
handled easy opener with a five dollar sticker on it.
That was exciting. It was a little like waking up in
the morning to find that your new wife laying next to
you is Miss Wisconsin.
If you have some active pickers, a phone ringing
can turn a hum drum day into one you will be telling
your grandkids about for years to come. Of course,
it also could ruin your spouse’s day when your
wallet is empty and you start eyeing the mortgage
payment you had set aside.
The rush I get from the Janesville show in March
starts about the first week in February and takes
about a week after the show to subside. With the
number of knives at this show, it’s not much of a
challenge but it’s still exciting. Oh, the thrill of the
hunt.
2. The Research.
Some collectors just love the facts. Some love the
story behind the knife. Where has this knife been
for the last century? Some love the history of the
company that made a particular knife. The digging
for information about a knife or the company that
made it, or even who made and supplied parts to
make the knife from can be a fascinating focus for
a collector. There are a ton of small knife or
hardware companies that have little or no printed
history, or at least published history. A lot of
hardware companies had a number of suppliers.
Marshall Wells for example, while they often were
made by New York Knife, also had knives made in
Sheffield, Germany, Finland, and several (probably
many) U.S. companies. I have one I’m pretty sure
was made by Ka-bar. I have it on good authority
(Bob Palmer) that some punch blades were made
by a different company than the one stamped on
the knife containing the punch. There is a lot of
room for researching a single knife before you
store it away in your collection.
Sometime you may even find, on close inspection,
that the blades in a knife were made by a different
company than the frame itself. This is, of course, a
parts knife or more correctly, a counterfeit and that
can also cause your pulse to rise, especially if you
laid out a few hundred dollars for an “original”
hundred year old rare collectable knife. That’s like
waking up married to Miss Wisconsin of 1928.
Usually though, researching a knife or company
can be fun and exciting and can even become a
passion.
3. The Clean up/ Restoring/or Maintaining.
An old knife that has lost its original blade finish
through years of use, misuse, and sharpening, but
which still can be brought back to a very nice,
usable knife can yield tons of enjoyable hours of
pure fun. Many collectors enjoy the cleaning,
reshaping, re-handling (easily done on fixed
blades) and just turning your knife from Cinderella
in rags to Cinderella at the ball.
I sat for a couple of hours by a box of junk at an
auction because it had an old wood scaled
German knife in the bottom of it. I paid one dollar
for the box and had a number of hours of enjoyable
work turning my one dollar junk knife into a two
dollar really nice knife. (Hey, if you’re counting
dollars, it ruins the whole thing.) If, after cleaning
and oiling, the blades snap back and have plenty
of metal left on them, and the scales can be made
to look like new, well that’s a little like making a
new friend.
Speaking of friends, one called me over to his
table at a show once to sell me an old wood clasp
knife that was a mess. It, unbelievably for its
condition, had snap. The blade was down about
40% and the wood scales looked like someone
had confused the knife for a hammer. I asked him
what he expected me to do with that mess. He
pointed out that he knew I liked old wood scaled
knives and a good challenge and the knife did
have some snap. Also he told me that I was this
knifes only hope. If I didn’t want to try to restore it,
probably no one else in the world would. It was junk
to everyone else. I spent several hours at the show
(it was a really slow show) sanding and polishing
the scales and what was left on the blade. There
actually was a respectable knife inside that mess. I
carried the knife in my tool belt at work and had a
lot of satisfaction each time I used it besides all the
satisfaction I had restoring it.
I have an old New York Knife jack that a collector
found partially buried in the dirt and had spent
hours de-rusting, sanding and polishing. I have it
stored with the rest of my bone handled jacks and
you would have a tough time picking it out from the
ones that have had an easy life. Restoring an old
piece of junk to a good usable and sometimes
even attractive knife can really be enjoyable time
well spent.
If you have a roll of celluloid knives (new or old)
make sure you check them every couple months
for gassing, and remove any that are. If they are O.
K., enjoy them a little, some nice quiet passionate
time, before you put them away.
4. The Enjoying and Showing of your
Collection.
Sometimes it’s fun to just sit and watch the
grandkids play. I get the same feeling just sitting in
the quiet of my office with a roll of antique pocket
knives, and they, unlike my grandkids, never get
loud or fight over some toy they all decided to play
with at the same time.
I suspect some of what is called pocket wear on a
nice old knife comes from collectors foundling
them. I have an 1850s Hilger and Sons pearl
ladies leg/boot knife that has had her thighs
caressed more than Marilyn Monroe. If I don’t stop
showing it off, I may need to have the knife
rescaled, because the pearl is getting worn from all
that caressing.
Nothing feels as good in your hand as a vintage
ebony Napanoch whittler or a one hundred year old
bone handled saddle horn. The sight of a whole roll
of similar antique knives all lined up, knowing they
all are yours is a pretty amazing feeling. When I
was a kid I probably would have traded my three
sisters for just one of them and now you own a
whole roll full. The excitement is almost on par with
the hunt itself.
Showing off your collection either to a friend or at a
show where everyone can enjoy them and maybe
spark interest in more people collecting and
enjoying the great hobby you have found is a very
nice feeling. Your passion for this hobby can be
very contagious.
I didn’t even get into the social part of collection
either at shows, shops, flea markets or at a
monthly club meeting. There are many exciting
aspects to collecting blades you could
passionately pursue. Is your life full of passion and
excitement? If not, you’re just not trying.
*Used with permission of author and North Star
Blade Collectors
| Silver Anniversary Show Knife |
| Club Dues |
| Club Member Gregory Clark |
| Annual Badger Knife Show March 26, 27 and 28, 2009 |