27400 10/5/12
- FIND THIS KNIFE -
- COLLECT A $200
REWARD -
-
FIND A CATALOG LISTING OF THIS KNIFE - COLLECT A $100
REWARD - see bottom
SINGLE EDGE HUNTING
KNIFE OR DOUBLE EDGE KNIFE
I've been looking for one of these knives for quite some time. I'm
not a knife collector but If
you have one, contact me with a price and give yourself an additional $200
finders fee reward if I buy it. If you can help me locate one, I'll pay
you a $200 FINDERS FEE if your lead results in a
purchase from someone else. (
Unfortunately a finders fee cannot be paid if the knife has been
discovered prior to being contacted ) Note: I have a personal
family interest in these knives and will pay a higher price because of that.
Many thousands were made in the 1950s. Overall quality is rather
crude when compared to a Marbles knife, Case knife, or Randall knife.
Construction is always the same. The aluminum guard is cast onto the blade
with the aluminum pommel pinned to the blade shank on the hunting knife.
Both the aluminum guard and the aluminum pommel are cast onto the blade on the
double edge knife. Leather washers are stacked between the guard and
pommel to form the handle on the hunting knife. Wood slats are pinned with
copper rivets on the handle of the double edge knife. Blade lengths were
5" and 6" for the hunting knife and 7-3/4" on the double edge
knife. Overall length was approx 10-1/2" and 12-1/2"
respectively.
Blades can be marked in numerous ways: VANADrSTIN, VAN ADrSTIN,
VANADESTIN, VAN ADESTIN, VANADESTINE, VAN ADESTINE, AJVANADrSTIN, AJ
VANADrSTIN, AJ VAN ADrSTIN, AJVANADESTIN, AJ VANADESTIN,
AJ VAN ADESTIN, AJVANESTINE, AJ VANADESTINE, AJ VAN ADESTINE, VANADfSTIN, VAN
ADfSTIN, AJVANADfSTIN, AJ VANADfSTIN, AJ VAN ADfSTIN, AJ MANAUFSTIN, MANAUFSTIN,
or any variations thereof on the left side.
Some
portion of the marking may have worn away from polishing or sharpening by a
knife collector.
I will purchase any of these knives with or without their leather sheaths,
but will pay the highest price for knives with their original sheaths. (see
examples shown below)
CALL DAY OR NIGHT
BLADE MARKING MAY SHOWN ONLY PARTIAL STAMP - EXAMINE
CAREFULLY
Blades are marked left side and can be marked in numerous
ways: VANADrSTIN, VAN ADrSTIN, VANADESTIN, VAN ADESTIN, VANADESTINE, VAN ADESTINE,
AJVANADrSTIN, AJ VANADrSTIN, AJ VAN ADrSTIN, AJVANADESTIN, AJ VANADESTIN,
AJ VAN ADESTIN, AJVANESTINE, AJ VANADESTINE, AJ VAN ADESTINE, VANADfSTIN, VAN
ADfSTIN, AJVANADfSTIN, AJ VANADfSTIN, AJ VAN ADfSTIN, ( or portions thereof)
These knives are not generally found with a Randall knife,
Marbles knife, Case knife,
and other collectable knifes because they are low quality for a handmade knife. Check tables at
gun shows, knife shows, and antique fairs. Everyone recognizes a handmade
knife or custom knife like Randall knife, Marbles knife, Case knife, etc. but
seldom do they notice these plain hand made knives. This custom knife was made during the 1950s. I have a personal family
interest in this custom knife and will pay a higher price because of that.
Sometimes these knives are found in Marbles sheaths, Case sheathes or Randall
sheaths. Some sheath styles may vary greatly.
Remember the names: VANADrSTIN, VAN ADrSTIN, VANADESTIN, VAN ADESTIN,
VANADESTINE, VAN ADESTINE, AJVANADrSTIN, AJ VANADrSTIN, AJ VAN ADrSTIN, AJVANADESTIN, AJ
VANADESTIN,
AJ VAN ADESTIN, AJVANESTINE, AJ VANADESTINE, AJ VAN ADESTINE, VANADfSTIN, VAN
ADfSTIN, AJVANADfSTIN, AJ VANADfSTIN, AJ VAN ADfSTIN, AJ MANAUFSTIN,
MANAUFSTIN, ( or portions thereof)
-
FIND A CATALOG LISTING OF THIS KNIFE - COLLECT A $100
REWARD -
This
ad appeared in the 1947 VL&A catalog - Von Lengerke & Antoine catalog
Abercrombie & Fitch may have also had a similar ad.
FIND
ANY AD LIKE THIS IN ANY SPORTING GOODS CATALOG 1945 - 1955 AND GET A
$100
REWARD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Expanded Edition - 2011
Book Reviews
Take a look inside the book
CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE THE
FIRST 20 PAGES OF THE 2011 EDITION (click "back" to return)
http://www.yourbook.com/DisplayArea/IP41158-11.pdf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2011 EDITION BOOK REVIEW
Knife World - Feb 2012 /H.W.
Sakschek
VAN
ADESTINE KNIVES, II: More Treasures From Little Wolf Wis.
By Helmut W. Sakschek
2011, Instant Publisher.com - Hardcover, 214
pp. $39.95 plus $7.95 shipping to U.S. addresses; signed copies available from
the author, POB 3, Neenah, WI 54957-0003 or email buckstix@aol.com
Mr. Sakschek's article in this month's issue presents us with the
perfect opportunity to review his new book, Van Adestine Knives, II - so
let's get to it.
This book is essentially an updated and greatly expanded version of
his 2008 release, Van Adestine Knives. It tells the story of two
blacksmith-knifemakers, father Andrew Van Adestine and son Robert Van Adestine,
who pursued their trades from the late 1800s up to 1959 in a tiny Wisconsin town
by the name of Little Wolf. Andrew was more of a blacksmith and Robert
more of a knifemaker; the latter is best known in the collecting world for the
dagger-style fighting knives he produced for WWII soldiers, and also for the
leather handled, aluminum mounted hunting knives that were sold locally by the
maker and nationwide by the upscale Chicago-based sporting goods retailer Von
Lengerke and Antoine. VL&A notably sold Van Adestine
"Manawa" knives alongside handmade knives by W.W. Scagel and Bo
Randall.
The new book adds about 80 additional pages and 135 additional photos
to what was presented in the initial edition, allowing the author to explore the
Van Adestines (particularly Robert, the primary knifemaker) and their knives in
even greater detail. Not only has the number of knives presented in the
book more than doubled (to fifty examples), but the histories behind some of
these newly-discovered knives (and other objects) are also included and add
greatly to the book.
History has been kind to some pioneering makers like Scagel, Randall,
and Ruana; less kind to others. Mr. Sakschek has put forth considerable
effort into dragging the Van Adestines out of the dustbin of history, and has
done a superb job of it. If you enjoyed the first book, you absolutely must
own this one; if you found the article in this issue intriguing and want to
learn more about the subject, you'll find Van Adestine Knives, II a
fascinating read.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First Edition - 2008 Book
Reviews
Take a look inside the book
CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE THE
FIRST 20 PAGES OF THE 2008 EDITION (click "back" to return)
http://www.yourbook.com/DisplayArea/IP24833-08.pdf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2008 EDITION BOOK REVIEWS
Knife World - May 2008
/H.W. Sakschek
VAN
ADESTINE KNIVES: Treasures From Little Wolf Wis.
By Helmut W. Sakschek
2008, Instant Publisher.com - signed copies
available from the author, POB 3, Neenah, WI 54957-0003 or email
buckstix@aol.com
Ask a group of collectors about the pioneering knifemakers of the
20th century, and you're likely to hear the same names over and over again -
Scagel, Ruanna, Richtig, Morseth, Randall, Moran. But what about Van
Adestine?
Author Helmut Sakschek hopes to correct an apparent oversight by
bringing to the world this new book entitled Van Adestine Knives: Treasures
From Little Wolf, Wis. In it, Sakschek reveals the story of father
Andrew Van Adestine and son Robert Van Adestine, the former a blacksmith who
made knives and the latter a knifemaker who was also an accomplished blacksmith.
Robert, the primary knifemaker, made his first knife in 1894 and
continued to craft hunting and fighting knives until his death in 1959.
The fighting knives, produced during WWII, are already somewhat recognized due
to coverage in such books as Wright's Theater Made Military Knives of WWII (pp.145,177),
but the hunting knives have remained largely unknown - until now. The
World Book Encyclopedia recognized him - a Van Adestine fighting knife was
long illustrated under the entry for "dagger" and the maker's knives
apparently shared V.L.&A's display space for a time with W.W. Scagel's.
Robert even left us a fascinating little anecdote about Scagel... but we'll
leave that tidbit for the book to reveal!
This book covers everything from the establishment of Little Wolf,
Wisconsin and the arrival of the Van Adestines in that place, to in-depth
discussions of the maker's methods, standard knife models and one-offs, often in
fascinating detail. The book's 50 color and 165 b&w photos include
some real gems, including the interior of Van Adestine's shop with knives in
progress, the maker with a knife display board, and a great many photos of
different knives.
Mr. Sakschek has had this book published in a very limited edition of
100 copies in tribute to his late friend Frank Binder, another of the
grandchildren of Robert Van Adestine. Much of the information herein was
obtained from interviews with the maker's family and friends, capturing bits of
history that in many cases would already be gone. While not inexpensive
due to the small quantity printed, anyone interested in pioneering American
knifemakers of the knives of World War II will find this a fascinating read
indeed. But hurry - as these lines are written there are only about 40
copies left, and no present plans for printing more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Images by D&R Sharpening
Solutions/H.W. Sakschek
VAN
ADESTINE KNIVES: Treasures From Little Wolf Wis.
By Helmut W. Sakschek
One of the subjects that never ceases to amaze me is how many early
20th century custom knife makers are practically unknown today. The author of
Van Adestine Knives has self-published (limited to 100 copies in the first
printing) a compact history of one of those makers from his own part of
Wisconsin. R.A. Van Adestines shop started hand forging knives sometime in the
late 19th century with his son taking over the business in the 20th century. The
business seems to have faded out of the picture by the early 1960s.
There are several interesting points that can be made about the Van
Adestine knives. First, they were made as a side business by a blacksmith,
something a well-known cutlery expert claims never happened. Second, they were
forged from worn-out files, yet another controversial subject. Third, they
utilized a cast aluminum handle frame with handle inserts much like those found
on Ruana knives. And possibly the most interesting bit of trivia is that either
Bill Scagel copied the Van Adestine combat knife or the Wisconsin maker copied
him. The Van Adestine family feels it was the latter and offers fairly
convincing proof.
The once famous Chicago outdoor store, Von Lengerke & Antoine
(part of Abercrombie & Fitch), sold the Van Adestine knives through their
mail-order catalog so these rare blades can turn up about anywhere. They are
certainly collectables worth keeping an eye open for.
H.W. Sakschek
P.O. Box 3, Neenah, WI 54957
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"AND NOW"
Van
Adestine Knives, II
More
Treasures
From Little Wolf, Wis.
Introducing a new
"Updated" book for the Knife Collector
Expanded "HARD
COVER" Edition
OVER TWICE AS MANY KNIVES as the
the first book
Robert Van Adestine
is an unsung knife maker from 1895 - 1959. He and his father before him,
made fighting knives for U.S. Soldiers for WWI , WWII , and the Korea war.
Robert Van Adestine's hand forged hunting knives served hunters throughout the
U.S. right along side Marbles, Randall, and others.
Hard Cover - 208 pages with over
100 color photos - over 350 knife pictures
A complete story
about the rare Van Adestine knife has been long awaited.
The author continues
to seek examples of these knives and offers significant rewards for locating
them.
Use this book as a
Collecting Guide to find these knives and obtain $ Hundreds $ in REWARDS $
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ORDER NOW
only
$39.95 plus 7.95 p&h U.S.
SALES ONLY
BOOKS
WILL SHIP SAME DAY
Limited Hard Cover Edition
Signed by Author
SEE BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR
SALES TO EUROPE
YOU CAN ALSO ORDER BY
EMAIL
EMAIL
- BUCKSTIX@AOL.COM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright
© 2011 by Helmut W. Sakschek
2011
Expanded Edition
Limited
Printing
All
rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author.
Published by: Instant Publisher.com
In
Conjunction. with: Helmut W.
Sakschek
POB
3 Neenah WI 54957-0003
Printed
in U.S.A.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contents
Dedication
.
..
.
....
..7
Acknowledgements
..
..
.
9
Preface
..
.
........
11
Preface
Update 2011
..
.
.......
13
CHAPTER
1 They Were Made in Little Wolf, Wis. ....
14
CHAPTER 2 Andrew Van Adestine Arrives
..
.........19
CHAPTER
3 Robert Van Adestine Arrives
.............23
CHAPTER 4 Robert Van Adestine, Knife Maker
..
25
CHAPTER
4.1 Robert Van
Adestine's
Shop ................30
CHAPTER
5 Van Adestine WWII Fighting
Knives ..
36
CHAPTER
6 Van Adestine Hunting Knives
..
39
CHAPTER
7 Sheaths for the Van Adestine Knives .
.43
CHAPTER
8 Van Adestine Knife Sales
...
..
57
CHAPTER
8.1 Von Lengerke & Antoine VL&A
...63
CHAPTER
9 Van Adestines Work is Recognized
..68
CHAPTER
9.1 - The Knife Display Board
.71
CHAPTER
10 Van Adestine Hunter Variations
.
...75
CHAPTER
11 Van Adestine Fighter Variations ..
.79
CHAPTER
12 Identified Fighting Knives
.....101
CHAPTER
12.1 - Identified Hunting Knives
..114
CHAPTER
13 One-of-a-Kind Van Adestine Knives ...151
CHAPTER
13.1 Other Van Adestine Knives
...167
CHAPTER
14 Other Van Adestine marked items
..176
CHAPTER
14 .1 - Van Adestine Knife Distribution
.185
CHAPTER
15 The Van Adestine Theater Knife
....
188
CHAPTER
17 Epilog
...
..
..197
Fighting
Knife Pictures 2008
.
..
.199
Hunting
Knife Pictures 2008
..
..
..
.200
Additional
Knife Pictures 2011
..
.201
Additional
Knife Pictures 2011
....
..
.202
Additional
Knife Pictures 2011
..
.203
Fighting
Knife Specifications 2008
..
..
.204
Hunting
Knife Specifications 2008
..
..
.204
Additional
Knife Specifications 2011
..
...205
Bibliography
.
.
.....
206
Other
Interesting Facts
.
.
.
..206
Notes
..
.
.
.
.207
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ORDER NOW
only
$39.95 plus 7.95 p&h U.S.
SALES ONLY
BOOKS
WILL SHIP SAME DAY
YOU CAN ALSO ORDER BY
EMAIL
EMAIL
- BUCKSTIX@AOL.COM
Limited Edition
Signed by The Author
----------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
only
$39.95 plus 17.95 ea. p&h -
SALES TO EUROPE
Van
Adestine Knives, II
More
Treasures
From Little Wolf, Wis.
By:
Helmut W. Sakschek
U.
S. Military Fighting Knives
Hand
Forged hunting Knives
And
Other Treasures
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
