What's this knife? (Dexter Russel White River Works) AND a Bracket

[Doug Hobkirk]

I found this odd knife today. What is it? What is its use?

Easy, just go to the manufacturer's web site. Nothing similar.
Google Images. No help.

Ah, I have the Creek!

10.5" long, roughly 6" blade. Sharp edge at bottom, very sharp edge at the nose. Dexter Russel makes quality kitchen, butcher, and "industrial processing" knives in Southbridge, MA.
288976

288977

288978

This is not a very good pic, but the "top" of the blade is about 1/8" thick and the "bottom" is a knife edge, so the sharpened edge tapers from the top to the bottom.
288979

The metal shows something like waves in the metallurgy (?) - like a hand-forged Samurai sword. Which I would think is silly...
288980

---------------------------

OK, number 2 question is a holder of some type with two cradles. This was in a box of parts that came with a 1960's Craftsman lathe. All the other stuff in the box was related to the lathe.

9.5" long overall, 5.25" long flat area.
288981

288982

And Thanks, as always.

------------------

If you guys don't know, I will contact Dexter Russell.

[Jim Koepke]

The knife looks like something for cutting rope or lines.

I recall knives like that many years ago for cutting the lead sheathing on telephone cables. Not sure if they use the same thing on plastic insulated cables.

jtk

[Jay Jolliffe]

http://www.crazycrow.com/green-river-knives.....Maybe a patch knife....

[Jim Matthews]

I think it's a "fish splitter" that somebody broke and salvaged.

Good steel in those, it could make an excellent "hacking" knife
for splitting straight-grained wood in the shop.

I use something like this to make kindling in Winter.

The Sanitary handles are designed for putting the whole knife through a high temperature sanitation wash.

[george wilson]

The metal thing looks like a low horsepower motor mount. The weight of the fractional H.P. motor(1/4-1/.2 H.P.) holds the motor belt snugly enough to do its job. The motor would pivot back against the pull of the belt due to the swivel part of the mount.

The other side of the motor's base would have nothing under it. It was probably the original motor mount for the lathe. I hope this disjointed explanation makes sense.

As for the knife,those are still sold as "patch knives". Google the brand of the knife. Jantz supply sells them as well as some other suppliers.

The handle could just be a commercially made white plastic handle. Crudely injection molded around the tang of the knife.

[Don Rogers]

George is correct about the motor mount. I have seen them in use over the years and also have one waiting for an application.

Cannot comment on the knife.

[David Weaver]

ebay shows russell patch knives that look a lot like that, except with wooden handles. I wonder why they chose to put a handle that cheap on it, or if someone else had it installed aftermarket.

[Doug Hobkirk]

I think it's a "fish splitter" that somebody broke and salvaged.

Good steel in those, it could make an excellent "hacking" knife
for splitting straight-grained wood in the shop.

I use something like this to make kindling in Winter.

The Sanitary handles are designed for putting the whole knife through a high temperature sanitation wash.

It's a new knife. And there was a second knife, identical except it was used. Same length, angle at nose, etc.

I agree that the handle would seem to have been chosen for utilitarian reasons. Industrial​ comes to mind.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Dexter Russell knives are widely used in butcher shops, meat cutting and fish boats / processing plants.
The white handles, while ' cheesey ' looking, are textured so as to provide a good grip when slimy or wet. Also, they can withstand the chemicals / hot water in the sanitation process.
Sheesh, I may get a call to be a salesman!
My exposure is the fact that being a refrigeration guy for over 35 years has put me in many of the places noted above, and here in Canada anyway, we see a lot of the white handles. They are the only brand I know of with the distinctive texturing / handle profile. Also, the white shows residual blood and slime that can harbour bacteria.
I used to own a couple and have lost or gifted them over the years: the stainless is good quality as far as stainless steel goes. One has to remember, butchers are like woodworkers. Blade dull, steel it and keep cutting. The production guys wear a chain mail SS glove ( or Kevlar nowadays ) on the opposite hand that wields the knife. They are sharp.
Also, every shop I have been in has a small, horizontal belt drive setup to touch up the blade if the steel won't get the edge to where it has to be. Sound familiar??
I haven't seen that blade profile, but they do make many styles, including some very specialized types.
It won't take an edge like O1, but it is still a decent knife.

[David Weaver]

Dave, I was going to (not recognize the pattern of the knife) suppose they were made for food service. Every food service place I've worked in had ratty handles on their knives that :
1) didn't cost much, because most of the knives were just stamped steel with a plastic handle on them for good reason (they were abused)
2) had a handle that could be run through the dishwasher with sanitizer

Makes sense if Russell knives are intended for butcher shops.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Knives for industrial use have to be inexpensive. In poultry processing plants down south there are often as many as 50 or more workers sitting along a production line with knives cleaning and cutting up chickens. They each have a sharpening setup at their work station and they will sharpen so often that rarely does a knife last quite a full 2 weeks. Knives like those Dexter Russells designed for the food industry are made in quantities of multiple thousands per week. and like work gloves are often priced and sold in multiples of dozens. Injection molded handles make sense for exactly the reasons David states in addition to being faster to make than riveting on wooden handles. We are talking about consumable/ disposable tools not high end custom made knives for the collector.

[Doug Hobkirk]

FYI - Official Answer:


Hi Doug,

This item is a 112-5 chisel beveled ground blade that we make as a special for a company called Solutia Inc. We make them 600 at a time for this company and they seem to be the only company that orders these types of knives.

Overall a very neat and custom knife and I hope they can be of some use to you.

If you have any additional questions about this product please feel free to email me back and ask.

Thanks and have a great day,

Greg Lapierre
Customer Service


-----------------
The Solutia Springfield, MA, plant (they have many) is near the Dexter Russell plant. No luck searching for "Chisel 112-5," no luck searching Solutia.com for "Chisel." It's probably a specialized tool they use in the manufacture (maybe one of their films).

Thanks to everyone who considered the question.
I think it's going to become a handyman knife in my carpentry utility kit.

----------------
In case you are curious about Solutia - this is the Wikipedia description -

History

The company was formed on September 1, 1997, as a divestiture of the Monsanto Company chemical business. Solutia filed for bankruptcy on December 17, 2003, in response to significant litigation surrounding various products, unsustainable debt structure, and a downturn in the economy. Solutia emerged from bankruptcy on February 28, 2008.[6]
Solutia employs approximately 3,400 people in more than 50 locations worldwide, and reported $1.67 billion in annual revenues for 2009, and $984 million in revenues through June 30, 2010, for its continued operations (nylon revenue not included in figures; new acquisitions included in figures for 2010 only).[7]

Businesses and products

As of April 26, 2010, Solutia reports its businesses in three segments: Advanced Interlayers, Performance Films, and Technical Specialties. The products within these segments are as follows:
Advanced Interlayers
Advanced Interlayers plastic interlayers are used for laminated safety glass, primarily in automotive and architectural applications; Advanced Interlayers also produces PVB, EVA and TPU solar module encapsulants for thin-film and building-integrated photovoltaic applications. Advanced Interlayers brands include Saflex, Vistasolar, Vanceva Color Studio and KeepSafe Max.
Performance Films
Performance Films professional and retail window films are custom-coated and used primarily for automotive and architectural aftermarket tinting, safety and energy efficiency applications under the brand names of LLumar, Vista, EnerLogic, V-KOOL, IQue, Hüper Optik, Sun-X, nanoLux, Gila and FormulaOne High Performance Auto Tint. Performance Films precision coatings products, sold under the Flexvue films brand, are used in protective and conductive films for touch screens and electronic devices, as well as thin-film photovoltaic and concentrating solar power applications.
Technical Specialties
Flexsys rubber processing and antidegradant chemicals, sold under the Crystex and Santoflex brands, are integral to the manufacturing of tires and other rubber products such as belts, hoses, seals and footwear.
Therminol heat transfer fluids are used in systems that provide for indirect heating or cooling of industrial and chemicals processes, including concentrating solar power plant applications.
Skydrol aviation hydraulic fluids and the SkyKleen brand of aviation solvents are supplied across the aviation industry.