Posted 9 years ago
aimeeinak
(1 item)
Hi everyone, first time poster!
I recently acquired this knife at an estate sale. My research on the maker Bontgen & Sabin hasn't really lead me anywhere.
I am not a knife collector, and would have assumed there would be plenty of other knives made by this maker out there to find out information about the knife.
I would like to know, what time frame this was most likely made, what the handle material is (looks like tortoiseshell to me) and is this a rare item?
Measurements
Closed: 2.5 inches
Opened: a little over 4 inches
Blade length: 1.75 inches
Thanks for any and all help!
Hard to find knives like this illegal where im from .
Is it illegal due to the style of knife?
Not sure butterfly and switch blades are illegal but spring assisted knives are not . Go figure.
I believe one of the reasons is the knives are stigmatized with gang association. No one is upset enough about this to change the laws that have been around since the 50's.
Boentgen & Sabin is a German maker in business from 1867-1983. Generally, their products are not considered especially valuable by collectors but butterfly knives have their own following. At 2 1/2" it's little more than a novelty but there are collectors for small and miniature knives. If I had to guess I'd say your knife was made ca. WWI. Tortoise shell is one of the most difficult materials to distinguish from its celluloid look-alike but decades of experience leads me to believe that yours is real tortoise. However the differences are subtle and hands-on examination is necessary to be sure. Of course you can always heat up a pin with a match and press it into the handle. If it's celluloid it will melt - tortoise won't - but of course you'll damage the handle. "Rare" is a subjective term; butterfly knives aren't rare but small ones are somewhat scarce.
Now, there are several organizations campaigning relentlessly to overturn the anti-switchblade laws and irrational patchwork of differing regulations that make carrying any knife a potential minefield in most states. KnifeRights (www.kniferights.org) is one and the American Knife & Tool Institute (www.AKTI.org)) is another. They are both introducing legislation wherever they can get a sponsor to make life easier for those of us who use and carry knives on a daily basis.
That's actually a pretty nice little knife and would probably bring $40 to $75.
Thanks for all the information! That's pretty cool it is worth some money as well. I mainly picked it up because I thought it looked nice. Thank you again for providing your insight on this!