Ek Owners?

[bcd007]

Anyone own any of the Ek Commando knives that were made in the early 90's?
I worked at Cutlery World in Greenwood then, and bought almost every one that came into the store. Not really functional, but just really well made and beautiful.
Plus the back story of the company was really interesting. Just wondering if anyone else got hooked on them like I did?

 

[warthog]

Wish I owned one. I have always wanted one but as a person who did not serve in the armed forces, I wasn't eligible and the few I was able to handle frm friends... I have always wished to own one. I am also a big fn of daggers.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Where was Cutlery World? Was it in the mall?

I vaguely remember a shopping trip here from my younger days...(most trips were to Washington Square and to Castleton)

 

[warthog]

How about selling one of the many you have to a fellow enthusiast?

 

[KG1]

Here's mine. EK Commando DP6 Operation Desert Storm era.

 

[shootersix]

Where was Cutlery World? Was it in the mall?

I vaguely remember a shopping trip here from my younger days...(most trips were to Washington Square and to Castleton)

in evansville we had one in eastland mall, every trip to the mall,ended up with me drooling on the glass case's...till the day i handed them a buck knife to sharpen, and they effed up the edge so bad it took me days to get it back to normal!, and then got mad at me when i complained about it! (his exact words "you dont need a razor edge on a knife, the only reason you need a razor edge is to cut flesh!"), thats when i learned to sharpen a knife!

but back then they had everything! swords,knives,blowguns! you know the kind of stuff that made the 10-18 year olds happy....then at 18...GUNS!

i work with a guy who used to work there and he told me that the used to "shoot" the "kgb" balistic knives in the back room!

 

[rhino]

I admired them many times, usually in the Cutlery Shoppe catalogs. They were out of my price range then, though.

 

[warthog]

They are out of my range too but I so want one.... though a vintage one and I know that I cannot afford.

 

[bcd007]

I worked in the Greenwood Mall, we were right next to McDonald's and right across from Orange Julius (oh those were the days).
Best job I ever had, learned a ton about knives, and got to talk to a lot of really good collectors and enthusiasts. Sad day when Parker sold the whole thing to Hoffritz, and they shut us down a year or so later...

I have 2 Eks, the black "sterile" model (no markings at all), and a walnut handled model. I love them...

 

[KokomoDave]

I used to sell them til I got burned by the 'owner'. Never again!

 

[Bradsknives]

I used to sell them til I got burned by the 'owner'. Never again!

When John Ek owned EK knives or when Black Jack knives owned them starting in 1993......which would be Mike Stewart (current owner of Bark River)?

Note: Last year (2014) Kabar bought EK.

 

[bcd007]

These are the two I have. One is called "War", the other is "SF-4". These are really great knives. I swear my boss worked me on shipment delivery day just so I would open the boxes and buy the things I wanted...

 

[rhino]

Was the Parker who owned Cutlery Worlds the same Parker of Parker Cutlery based in Tennessee? Their line was all made in Japan, quality ranged from novelty to very, very good.

I worked in the Greenwood Mall, we were right next to McDonald's and right across from Orange Julius (oh those were the days).
Best job I ever had, learned a ton about knives, and got to talk to a lot of really good collectors and enthusiasts. Sad day when Parker sold the whole thing to Hoffritz, and they shut us down a year or so later...

I have 2 Eks, the black "sterile" model (no markings at all), and a walnut handled model. I love them...

 

[bcd007]

Yep, the Parker Family owned Cutlery World for some time. They had a few minor brain-damaged issues, like thinking their knives were as collectable as Case knives. The finally sold Cutlery World to a company called Hoffritz, who then processed to stamp their name on everything. From crappy kitchen knives to 25-piece Case stag/Damascus sets, all of it got the Hoffritz treatment. A few years later, the shops all closed. A shame really, most of the people at my store really knew their stuff.

 

[rhino]

Yep, the Parker Family owned Cutlery World for some time. They had a few minor brain-damaged issues, like thinking their knives were as collectable as Case knives. The finally sold Cutlery World to a company called Hoffritz, who then processed to stamp their name on everything. From crappy kitchen knives to 25-piece Case stag/Damascus sets, all of it got the Hoffritz treatment. A few years later, the shops all closed. A shame really, most of the people at my store really knew their stuff.

It was always fun visiting those places.

Brick & Mortar knife shops are few and far between in the age of the internet. When I lived in California, there was a shop called "Edge of the World in Jack London Village in Oakland. I bought my first Spydercos there. The first was a serrated Co-Pilot I bought as a gift for my father and then later I bought an early Delica serrated. That Delica destroyed a lot of pizza boxes!

 

[Bradsknives]

Yep, the Parker Family owned Cutlery World for some time. They had a few minor brain-damaged issues, like thinking their knives were as collectable as Case knives. The finally sold Cutlery World to a company called Hoffritz, who then processed to stamp their name on everything. From crappy kitchen knives to 25-piece Case stag/Damascus sets, all of it got the Hoffritz treatment. A few years later, the shops all closed. A shame really, most of the people at my store really knew their stuff.

35 + years of collecting Case knives, and I have never seen a Case knife with the tang stamped "Hoffritz". Not only did Hoffritz own the Cutlery World chain, but they were a huge importer of knives from all over the world.

 

[bcd007]

35 + years of collecting Case knives, and I have never seen a Case knife with the tang stamped "Hoffritz". Not only did Hoffritz own the Cutlery World chain, but they were a huge importer of knives from all over the world.

Good!, no one bought them from us, once the stamping started. I hated telling customers that the Case knives we had were great knives for use, but because of the stamp, they were not collectible...

 

[warthog]

I used to go to them too. Was a lot poorer then though. There was also a place on I-57(?) called Blackhawk Knives that I used to go to as it wasn't too far from my home and they had a fair bit of very nice knives among all the kitchy crap there. I miss them too. I STILL WANT AN EK DAGGER FIGHTING BLADE THOUGH!