A Knife from Abercrombie & Fitch, 1959

bulletslap said:
I do remember the `Man's favorite Sport' movie, and I am a caretaker for a circa 1910 JP Sauer 98 Mauser factory sporter sold through A&F.
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I have a lovely little Francotte 20 ga. SxS shotgun sold by A&F out of their Manhattan store in Jan. 1933. Griffin & Howe now has the A&F records and those records are very thorough. Their historian is a great guy and I learned some fascinating history with lots of documentation from him on the gun. If you ever get a gun that sold through A&F, check it out. You might learn a lot.
 
Dr. Onomea-

I think your knife may be a Loveless because of the exquisite attention to selecting that stag handle and the care with which it was made, and the Randall-like guard.

Now, examine the blade grind. Note the clever curve along the lower edge, making it function well for both stabbing and for skinning. And note the flat grind, more often seen on German knives, for added blade strength.

Very few men then made knives that'd attract buyers for A&F. Moran, Randall, and Loveless were the best known. Were there others? We may never know! And I personally don't know that Bill Scagel ever made knives directly for A&F.

I think they sold Puma knives as well as those custom quality Randall and Loveless items. But it was very hard in those days to locate a good custom knife maker.

I think the odds favor your knife having been made by R.W. Loveless. I think it's a very early one, made before he had a means to mark his blades and when he was just learning to make knives and didn't want his name on them until his skill was
more evident. But his visionary talent as a designer was already there.
 
Ray said:
I understand that AF shipped a 2nd series Colt Match Target to Mr. Hemingway , Nairobi.
I have a Guns mag covering it. As a matter of fact it´s a 1981 issue, and the Colt is pictured in the cover. Interesting, in that same year I was buying my 3rd series MT in São Paulo, Brazil.
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Ray-

Does your Colt .22 have the six-inch or 4.5-inch barrel?

I've owned two of the longer Match Target ones and a shorter Woodsman Sport Model.

I saw that, Guns article on Hemingway's gun, but don't recall the barrel length. But A&F sold him several guns, I think. And I believe that both Teddy Roosevelt and Dr. Roy Chapman Andrews were A&F customers.
 
Texas Star said:
...I think your knife may be a Loveless because of the exquisite attention to selecting that stag handle and the care with which it was made, and the Randall-like guard.

Now, examine the blade grind. Note the clever curve along the lower edge, making it function well for both stabbing and for skinning. And note the flat grind, more often seen on German knives, for added blade strength....
Click to expand...
T-Star-sensei (if I may call you so, with your extensive knowledge of knives and their makers!):

Thank you for your analysis. If it is an early Loveless, that would be extrodinairily cool, tho I suspect, unmarked, the maker probably cannot ever be established with certainty. But it means a great deal to me that an expert like yourself surmises that Loveless is likely.

I sent some emails out today to Loveless collectors, experts, I found on the web, through Muss’s article. Also found a 1959 A&E catalog. So I will continue to look into it, and report back, for the forum’s interest, what I learn.

Reading today, I found a quote, well known to Loveless collectors, I am sure, that one can always tell a Loveless, even in the dark, by its feel in the hand. The comment dovetails nicely with a comment in a video I watched — on YouTube, “Robert Loveless; an American Legend” — within which a Japanese collector states that a Loveless knife always feels like an extension of one’s own hand.

A cliché, yes. But, this little knife of mine.... Honestly, I have never felt a knife which more naturally nestled in my hand.

And, T-Star, in my reading I learned that Loveless was irascible. Very. Used to shoot up his workshop, unannounced, when the mood struck him, for example. So I can well understand your decision not to interview him. I, too, have little patience for prima donnas, no matter how talented.

So, maybe I have an early Loveless.

But I am also kind of intrigued with the notion that what I have is a one off, or one of a very few, exquisite knives, made by a guy back in the 50s who wound up doing something else with his life, rather than be a maker of knives. A guy lost to history, other than the knife in my hand.

Thanks for the interest, guys.
 
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Texas Star said:
Ray-

Does your Colt .22 have the six-inch or 4.5-inch barrel?

I've owned two of the longer Match Target ones and a shorter Woodsman Sport Model.

I saw that, Guns article on Hemingway's gun, but don't recall the barrel length. But A&F sold him several guns, I think. And I believe that both Teddy Roosevelt and Dr. Roy Chapman Andrews were A&F customers.
Click to expand...

Hi, my MT has the 6 inch barrel. It´s refinished, as a matter of fact it was already refinished by the time I saw it in the shop. Originally it came with black plastic grips. Later on I changed to a walnut set. Also the lever that holds the slide open after the last shot broke, and I replaced it with a 2nd series one. I have 3 mags , one original and 2 from the 2nd series, that with the button resembling a church door, which I know are a bit pricey.It´s also lettered by Colt as being shipped in 1956 to John Jovino´s shop, NYC.
Boy that´s when I was 7 yrs old and going to school to learn to read and write !
A friend of mine living in Houston is bringing me a Wolff recoil spring, as it is about time to change it.

Regards, Ray
 
Onomea said:
T-Star-sensei (if I may call you so, with your extensive knowledge of knives and their makers!):

Thank you for your analysis. If it is an early Loveless, that would be extrodinairily cool, tho I suspect, unmarked, the maker probably cannot ever be established with certainty. But it means a great deal to me that an expert like yourself surmises that Loveless is likely.

I sent some emails out today to Loveless collectors, experts, I found on the web, through Muss’s article. Also found a 1959 A&E catalog. So I will continue to look into it, and report back, for the forum’s interest, what I learn.

Reading today, I found a quote, well known to Loveless collectors, I am sure, that one can always tell a Loveless, even in the dark, by its feel in the hand. The comment dovetails nicely with a comment in a video I watched — on YouTube, “Robert Loveless; an American Legend” — within which a Japanese collector states that a Loveless knife always feels like an extension of one’s own hand.

A cliché, yes. But, this little knife of mine.... Honestly, I have never felt a knife which more naturally nestled in my hand.

And, T-Star, in my reading I learned that Loveless was irascible. Very. Used to shoot up his workshop, unannounced, when the mood struck him, for example. So I can well understand your decision not to interview him. I, too, have little patience for prima donnas, no matter how talented.

So, maybe I have an early Loveless.

But I am also kind of intrigued with the notion that what I have is a one off, or one of a very few, exquisite knives, made by a guy back in the 50s who wound up doing something else with his life, rather than be a maker of knives. A guy lost to history, other than the knife in my hand.

Thanks for the interest, guys.
Click to expand...

Ironically, I just saw that Loveless film on YouTube. Just stumbled across it.

I thought of posting it here, but some of the crude language makes me think it might violate a Rule. In particular, what one man said felt good to him at age 16 was just too gross. :rolleyes:

Loveless was undoubtedly a gifted artist, but his personality quirks alienated many who knew him, I suspect. His knives are very valuable now and I seriously doubt if anyone owning one uses it afield. But they are lovely testimony to what the right man can make with skilled hand work and the right equipment.

BTW, thanks for the compliments. I hope I helped you a little.
 
Onomea, I apologize in advance if I missed it somewhere in all the above posts: Is there provenance other than the sellers statement that the knife was in fact purchased at A & F?
 
Nice memories! Thanks. I shopped at the A&F in New York City a time or two. A zillion years and two lifetimes ago. Bought my first Swiss Army knives there and some steak knives. I also bought a really cool laundry bag that had African animals all over it - I already had its matching curtains in my apartment at the time! It was a truly great store - and believe me, I was appalled at what the new owners of that once great name did with that great name in the interests of commercial success. Ick.
 
That knife is stunning. The shape of the blade, the shape of the handle, the materials...everything just perfect.

That slab of wood it's sitting on intrigues me also. Is it a desk, dining table, conference table? Anyways, I digress, sorry.
 
Thanks for the compliments on the knife, Moose. I am fortunate to have it.

As for the wood on which it is sitting, that is the top of my living room coffee table.

It is Japanese, and thin wood, braced underneath. I bought the table cheaply in a junk store in Tokyo over 25 years ago and repaired it, adding a missing brace, over the Christmas Holidays in 1993. (I recall the date as my youngest son was born Christmas Day that year.)
 
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