Good evening, gentlemen.
Tonight I'd like to share my catch with you and ask your opinions.
So, the first find:
Germania Cutlery Works. This brand was created by Nathan Kastor in 1896 and existed until his death in 1938. More about the famous Kastor family later. The blades work perfectly, with a half-stop and a rich click when opening and closing. The body is nickel-silver, the interior is brass. No skimping on materials. The interior is yellow celluloid. The hallmark and materials indicate a period from the 1920s and 1930s. Germania Cutlery Works from Solingen is one of dozens of brands owned by the Kastors. They were the largest importer of cutlery from Europe to the United States, operating dozens of factories in Germany, France, England, and Bohemia. A little bit of history, shared by Codger from the American Knife Forum: “
In the 1840's, German immigrants came over and started businesses in the major U.S. cities. Many of them specialized in dry-goods... hardware... imported through firms in New York and distributed from there as manufacturing was not advancing with products and volumes to keep up with the demands of the growing nation. Natchez and Vicksburg were the locations of two such hardware firms, H. Bodenheim and Meyers and Kastor. After the war circa 1865-1866, these men moved to New York City to become importers themselves, forming Bodenheim, Meyers and Kastor.
On the eve of the Franco-Prussian war, Kastor's nephew immigrated and went to work in his Uncle's firm. Not long afterward, the principal partner, Henry Bodenheim died and the firm struggled for several years before closing. Aaron Kastor's nephew was Adolph Kastor (Koester). Adoph borrowed money from his uncle and started his own import business specializing in knives. His three brothers (Sigmund, August and Nathan) joined him in the venture and the firm became Adolph Kastor and Brothers. Still needing more knives than they could procure from England and Europe, they first leased and then bought Camillus Cutlery and imported German cutlers to work there. SO that is the Kastor-Camillus connection.
Oh yeah... Henry Bodenheim was the grandfather of The Baer brothers, Albert and "Uncle Henry" Baer. Thus Albert came to acquire a job with Camillus leading to his ownershiop of major shares of that firm before leaving to start his own cutlery just pre-WWII. He acquired the remaining shares from the Kastor heirs in 1963. So there is the Ulster-Schrade-Imperial connection to Camillus. And to the Kastors. Albert Baer's two daughters married into the Kauffman and Furgal families. Betsy and Margie were given the Camillus stocks and their husbands and children ran Camillus while the patriarch remained the behind the scenes business director giving advice, hiring key employees and sending them business to the point of using Camillus as an ancillary production line for Imperial Schrade. And the business relationship continued even after Henry's and Albert's deaths right up until Schrade closed in 2004 and Camillus closed in 2007. The history of this company is just too rich to allow it to fade into obscurity in my opinion. It isn't just the rote history of a business, but the interactions of many lives... the founders, the owners, the cutlers and other employees. It is a fascinating story of the evolution of the cutlery industry in America and Germany and how the principals adapted to the changing market, world events and events in their personal lives.”
This knife I have shown here represents the earlier days when the American nation was growing so fast that the very few domestic cutleries could not produce knives in quantiles to keep up with demand. "GERMANIA CUTL WORKS" was the name of the Kastors' German plant. Which also was an exporter of many European cutleries. This on top of selling everything their Camillus factory could turn out. This knife represents one small slice of that history.
The second knife from Rather & Co is a big mystery for all knife lovers. Knives from this brand are very rare, but everyone notes their excellent quality. I have a friend on the American knife forum who has several knives of this brand, bought in Texas 10 years ago. He still hasn't been able to find out anything about them. Hi, Ken. But let's take it from the beginning. The knife is of excellent quality, with carbon steel blades and the inscription in French "Acier superfine" on the blade. The logo features two scraped swords or epees and the brand name Rather & Co. Some examples are marked "Czechoslovakia," while others are stamped "Wadsworth Austria." All this only adds to the confusion. It is known that Wadsworth, a former British company, was acquired by the Kastor family and was a distributor of cutlery from Europe to the USA. So why the inscription in French? Regarding the Austria and Czechoslovakia hallmarks, it's more or less clear, since Bohemia (later Czechoslovakia) was part of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire until 1918. Dear experts, I ask you to help us unravel this mystery. After all, these stunning antique knives are worth it. Just look at the lovely Moustache comb! The scales are made of genuine mother-of-pearl. All the parts work perfectly, with an excellent click and half-stop. Poor Ken, the owner of several Rather & Co knives, has been puzzled since 2015. His friends on the American forum don't even know such a country as Czechoslovakia exists. I hope I'm not mistaken in associating the Rather & Co brand with the Kastor family. After all, many European knifemakers, including those from Bohemia, once worked for them. Ken and I look forward to your opinions and comments. Enjoy
Tonight I'd like to share my catch with you and ask your opinions.
So, the first find:
Germania Cutlery Works. This brand was created by Nathan Kastor in 1896 and existed until his death in 1938. More about the famous Kastor family later. The blades work perfectly, with a half-stop and a rich click when opening and closing. The body is nickel-silver, the interior is brass. No skimping on materials. The interior is yellow celluloid. The hallmark and materials indicate a period from the 1920s and 1930s. Germania Cutlery Works from Solingen is one of dozens of brands owned by the Kastors. They were the largest importer of cutlery from Europe to the United States, operating dozens of factories in Germany, France, England, and Bohemia. A little bit of history, shared by Codger from the American Knife Forum: “
In the 1840's, German immigrants came over and started businesses in the major U.S. cities. Many of them specialized in dry-goods... hardware... imported through firms in New York and distributed from there as manufacturing was not advancing with products and volumes to keep up with the demands of the growing nation. Natchez and Vicksburg were the locations of two such hardware firms, H. Bodenheim and Meyers and Kastor. After the war circa 1865-1866, these men moved to New York City to become importers themselves, forming Bodenheim, Meyers and Kastor.
On the eve of the Franco-Prussian war, Kastor's nephew immigrated and went to work in his Uncle's firm. Not long afterward, the principal partner, Henry Bodenheim died and the firm struggled for several years before closing. Aaron Kastor's nephew was Adolph Kastor (Koester). Adoph borrowed money from his uncle and started his own import business specializing in knives. His three brothers (Sigmund, August and Nathan) joined him in the venture and the firm became Adolph Kastor and Brothers. Still needing more knives than they could procure from England and Europe, they first leased and then bought Camillus Cutlery and imported German cutlers to work there. SO that is the Kastor-Camillus connection.
Oh yeah... Henry Bodenheim was the grandfather of The Baer brothers, Albert and "Uncle Henry" Baer. Thus Albert came to acquire a job with Camillus leading to his ownershiop of major shares of that firm before leaving to start his own cutlery just pre-WWII. He acquired the remaining shares from the Kastor heirs in 1963. So there is the Ulster-Schrade-Imperial connection to Camillus. And to the Kastors. Albert Baer's two daughters married into the Kauffman and Furgal families. Betsy and Margie were given the Camillus stocks and their husbands and children ran Camillus while the patriarch remained the behind the scenes business director giving advice, hiring key employees and sending them business to the point of using Camillus as an ancillary production line for Imperial Schrade. And the business relationship continued even after Henry's and Albert's deaths right up until Schrade closed in 2004 and Camillus closed in 2007. The history of this company is just too rich to allow it to fade into obscurity in my opinion. It isn't just the rote history of a business, but the interactions of many lives... the founders, the owners, the cutlers and other employees. It is a fascinating story of the evolution of the cutlery industry in America and Germany and how the principals adapted to the changing market, world events and events in their personal lives.”
This knife I have shown here represents the earlier days when the American nation was growing so fast that the very few domestic cutleries could not produce knives in quantiles to keep up with demand. "GERMANIA CUTL WORKS" was the name of the Kastors' German plant. Which also was an exporter of many European cutleries. This on top of selling everything their Camillus factory could turn out. This knife represents one small slice of that history.
The second knife from Rather & Co is a big mystery for all knife lovers. Knives from this brand are very rare, but everyone notes their excellent quality. I have a friend on the American knife forum who has several knives of this brand, bought in Texas 10 years ago. He still hasn't been able to find out anything about them. Hi, Ken. But let's take it from the beginning. The knife is of excellent quality, with carbon steel blades and the inscription in French "Acier superfine" on the blade. The logo features two scraped swords or epees and the brand name Rather & Co. Some examples are marked "Czechoslovakia," while others are stamped "Wadsworth Austria." All this only adds to the confusion. It is known that Wadsworth, a former British company, was acquired by the Kastor family and was a distributor of cutlery from Europe to the USA. So why the inscription in French? Regarding the Austria and Czechoslovakia hallmarks, it's more or less clear, since Bohemia (later Czechoslovakia) was part of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire until 1918. Dear experts, I ask you to help us unravel this mystery. After all, these stunning antique knives are worth it. Just look at the lovely Moustache comb! The scales are made of genuine mother-of-pearl. All the parts work perfectly, with an excellent click and half-stop. Poor Ken, the owner of several Rather & Co knives, has been puzzled since 2015. His friends on the American forum don't even know such a country as Czechoslovakia exists. I hope I'm not mistaken in associating the Rather & Co brand with the Kastor family. After all, many European knifemakers, including those from Bohemia, once worked for them. Ken and I look forward to your opinions and comments. Enjoy
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