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October 5, 2004
MARBLES: A CLASSIC NAME IN KNIVES
By Jim Williamson
When I was a boy, Marble’s of Gladstone, Michigan made some of the finest outdoors knives extant. I remember their ads in the Boy Scout Handbook, and a couple of my friends’ fathers owned them. Later, the company fell on hard times and the knives went off the market, although I believe the firm continued to manufacture their famed rifle sights and compasses.
A few years ago, the knife line returned, but I wasn’t too impressed with the examples that I saw. Some had quality control problems, and handles on the models I tried were too short for comfort in a big hand. I also had reservations about certain other issues that we won’t deal with here.
Today, the company is headed by George Brinkley, formerly with Case, the famous cutlery company of Bradford, Pennsylvania. The prior management team has departed, and the line has changed somewhat. I think that the time is ripe to re-explore Marble’s.
I talked with Mr. Brinkley, who generously granted me nearly an hour of his time and saw that I had appropriate reference material and access to trial knives. They are the first Marble’s knives that I’ve used since the late 1960s, and I think you’ll want to know more about them.
First up is the classic Woodcraft design. Now, before anyone else makes the same mistake that I once did about the name, I hasten to point out that it has nothing to do with whittling. When I first saw this knife in the Boy Scout manual long ago, I looked at the upswept blade and the name, and assumed that it was for, well, wood crafting. Actually, the name goes back several generations, and refers to the wilderness skills needed by sportsmen. Those skills were once called, “woodcraft.” So arose the knife’s name. It’s not a hobby tool; it’s a serious outdoors design!
The present Woodcraft is very much like its forebears, and considering that Marble’s has offered so many options over the years, it’s hardly surprising. I’ve read that in the old days, the company would build knives to order, with longer blades or handles. Moreover, there were catalogued choices: stag, leather, or a combination of both. One popular version blended a leather handle with a stag butt cap. You may have seen this distinctive handle in advanced collections, and it has also been widely copied. Present examples of the Woodcraft are really quite traditional! They therefore appeal both as functional knives, and because of their nostalgic overtones.
Today, there’s a selection of a leather washer handle, a wooden one (called the Game Getter), or a mortised bone haft. The Game Getter has no butt cap; the other two do have traditional aluminum pommels. Fiber and brass spacers enhance the handle assemblies, also.
The Woodcraft is in a series of traditional styles that modern Marble’s catalogs refer to as the Classic line. There are nine blade shapes in this series, ranging from a small drop-point blade to a modified bowie or camp knife with ten inches of steel out ahead of the brass guard. You can see the entire array in the company’s catalog or on their online site, www.marblesoutdoors.com. I wanted to try the Woodcraft because it’s so widely associated with Marble’s and because so many sportsmen over the years have liked it so well. (Several other manufacturers, factory and custom, have copied it to greater or lesser degrees.)
The Woodcraft’s four and one-half-inch blade is plain carbon steel, exact type not being specified. There is no stainless option on the Classic knives. The temper is to 58 on the Rockwell “C” scale, which is about average for higher quality knives today. That hardness allows relatively easy sharpening, but the steel will take and hold a better edge than if it was softer. Harder ratings aren’t a good idea unless one is using a specialty stainless. If ordinary “carbon” steels get too much harder, there’s a tendency for the sharp, thin edge to chip if used for tough jobs.
The Woodcraft was designed largely as a “skinner,” and if used to dress out a deer carcass, one has to be careful to keep the upswept point from ripping into the intestines. No knife is perfect for everything!
Overall length of this model is eight and three-quarter inches, and the handle feels very good in the hand. My knife has the bone handle, and I was mildly surprised to find that it’s thinner than expected, probably due to the mortised construction. It feels very good, but if someone prefers a fuller shape, that’s available in the other options. Frankly, they both feel awfully nice in the grasp of an experienced user, and many buyers will have trouble deciding which they like best. The bone handle pieces are “jigged” or grooved to prevent slippage, but this grooving also adds to the appearance. The bone-handled models, particularly, make one feel as if he’s just stepped back into the 1930s and picked up a new knife! They’re very traditional in that regard.
The back of the blade is grooved to avoid a thumb slipping if wet with water, blood, or fish slime, and this feature can also be used to strike matches. However, be aware that not all matches will work. Both ordinary paper matches such as are given out in restaurants for smokers and special waterproof matches failed to strike in my trials. I suspect that kitchen matches are the right item, but my grocer doesn’t stock any. (Alas, Marble’s catalog no longer lists their once famous “match safe,” but stores often carry foreign copies.)
The Woodcraft handles and “works” very well, and should please most users who aren’t wedded to dropped-point blades.
I also tried the Ideal model, perhaps the most famous knife that Marble’s ever made. This was the original hunting knife from Webster Marble, said to be “ideal” for all outdoors use. It certainly comes as close to fitting that description as anything ever has!
The present form has a 4-3/4-inch blade, which is an excellent compromise. But the A.G. Russell Co. of Springdale, Arkansas offers an exclusive Ideal variant with seven-inch blade and maple handle. If you’d like to see a similar knife in the regular Marble’s line, let them know.
I have a prototype with seven-inch blade and leather washer handle that’s long enough for even a large hand, using the long Applegate-Fairbairn grip. That’s basically a combat hold, but it’s also useful in some sporting applications. It gives much better control of the point in such tasks as opening packages than does the typical “hammer grip.”
This big Ideal is hefty enough to chop sticks to start a fire. It could also be used to make an emergency shelter, and should be a good survival knife for someone lost in rugged terrain.
That’s hardly surprising, for in 1957, Marble’s modified an Ideal-like knife for the Navy as a new survival knife for aircrews. It had the same basic blade and overall shape, with six inches of steel on the business end. The back of the blade had saw teeth, and the pommel was given hexagonal flats to enable it to be used for pounding. The sheath had a pocket for a hone, as with Randall’s famous products.
Within a few years, the blade was shortened to five inches. This style has been made in large quantities by several government contractors, although the 6” Marble’s versions made for the military are very rare. Anyway, an Ideal with a six to seven-inch blade is a good survival and woodcraft tool. Indeed, many a soldier or pilot has used one, or the similar Remington/Pal RH36, in just that role. Many who know these old knives would be happy to see them made again, although perhaps with more modern steel in the blades. I hope both companies will oblige. Writing to them might encourage new production.
Blade thickness on my sample Ideal is one-quarter inch, and the overall proportions make this a knife for heavy use. I really feel that most sportsmen would be better served by something trimmer, such as the five-inch version of this model. However, collectors or those who need a stout knife in the wild will like the seven-inch blade.
The Trailmaker is much like a larger Ideal without the “blood grooves” on the blade. The ten-inch blade is meant for hacking and cutting small limbs that might be a nuisance where one wants to camp, and either the Trailmaker or the larger Ideal would be a formidable weapon if the owner was attacked by a cougar or black bear without a gun within reach. They can also be used in preparing an emergency shelter. Chopping can be done as well or better with a machete, but some prefer a heavy “camp knife” in this role. Marble’s provides it! A seven inch model is available too.
We haven’t room here to cover the entire line, but I can whet your appetite by mentioning that it includes a small drop-point design, a gut hook model, and shorter versions of the Woodcraft under other names. A second series of knives features stainless (420 series) blades and synthetic “Safe Grip” handles. Shapes mostly parallel those in the Classic line, but overall style and quality differ. The Classic is a finer product, but some will prefer the Safe Grip models, especially in wet or humid conditions. These stainless items have black Cordura sheaths instead of the Classic’s leather.
Aware that many sportsmen prefer folding knives, Marble’s has two models. One is a larger (four-inch blade) style with clip point. The other is a smaller item for everyday use. This Pocket Safety Folder has a three-inch blade. Both employ handles of high density, lightweight polymer, and were designed by famed knife architect Blackie Collins.
These have unique locks at the top rear of the handles. To unlock the blade, press the “buttons” and rotate them clockwise until the blade releases. They come with a Cordura belt pouch. I normally prefer more traditional styling, but tried the larger Marble’s folder, and think it will appeal to those who like futuristic designs.
Before closing, it’s worth noting that Marble’s still offers one version of their famed Safety Axe. Over 15 variations of the basic style have been sold over the generations, most with wood handles. This one has a high tech resin handle selected to endure all sorts of weather without eventually loosening, as wooden handles do. A blade guard is concealed in the handle, and swings out to shield the sharp carbon steel edge when the axe isn’t in use.
Overall length is 11-1/2 inches, with a 20 oz. head that has a cutting surface of 2-3/4 inches. Head length is 4-1/2 inches. This looks like a splendid little axe or hatchet for the hunter or camper, and will easily chop firewood or do the heavy cutting on a deer carcass. Because it has a low maintenance synthetic handle and is a handy size, the Safety Axe should prove popular in hunters’ emergency kits and in vehicles driven in rural areas, especially in winter.
Marble’s has been a household word among sportsmen for over a hundred years, and based on the examples I’ve seen of their latest knives and that cute little axe, I think they’ll be around for another century! For complete information on the line, go to www.marblesoutdoors .com or write to Marble’s Outdoors, Dept. KW, P.O. Box 111, Gladstone, MI 49837. The telephone? Call (906)428-3710.
If you check in with them, how about asking them to make those nifty little brass “match safes” again?
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