I
don’t have a type. I mean there are
virtues and disappointments everywhere, but this one must have been singing my
song because I heard it loud and clear.
 |
| The knife has been carried, but never used or resharpened. |
It’s
a trapper pocket knife with a coal truck embossed into the jet black
handle. Trappers typically have two
blades and mine is no exception. It
sports a traditional 3 inch clip point blade and a funky 3 inch spay blade used
to neuter stock animals and occasional bad guys in novels.
 |
| You can see the tang stamp on both blades |
The
clip point is etched in red with “American Coal Haulers.” Both blades are tanged stamped with a crown
and the reverse is stamped “Hardin Germany.”
It’s
a well-made knife. Separate springs for
each blade with no half open stop but a positive inclination to close and snap
when the blade opens. The liners are
brass and even the springs inside the knife are mirror polished. The blades don’t have any wiggle and whoever
owned it before me took good care of it.
Who
made it is a more complex story. It
seems there is no knife company called Hardin nor is there any town in Germany
which goes by that name.
 |
| Tang Stamp |
One
of the knife forums suggested the crown logo is the key to unlocking this
mystery. It appears the crown is the
trademark for the Friedrich Olbertz Knife Company in Solingen Germany. It was founded in 1872 and produces brands
such as Bulldog, Fighting Rooster and Eyebrand.
Still
in existence, they are a knife jobber specializing in small knife lots. The current management team is fifth
generation family members. The current
minimum order is 600 units.
Their Facebook
page can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Commercial---Industrial/Friedrich-Olbertz-GmbH-Co-KG-213979525305864/
So
who is Harden? That took a little more work.
They
are Harden Wholesale located in Kenova WV.
I called them and the staff remembers the knife as being ordered by
George Smith in the 1980s, but nothing else.
I tried the phone number given to me, but Mr. Smith remains a mystery. Maybe the phone number and name is just good
old boy WV humor.
Hardens
Wholesale appears to be a seller of dry goods.
The photo I found showed plastic flowers for grave decorations, Carharrt
clothing and Wolverine work boots. I’m
sure a trapper pocket knife celebrating any aspect of the WV coal mining
industry would be a hit.
In
any case, I’m happy to have it.
