Just curious if anybody here has any knowledge of I. H. Anderson? I got this knife many years ago when cleaning out an estate. I never put much thought into the odd blade/handle style. I did a GoogleFU on it and saw one reference to a I H Anderson from the Civil War era.

Although I thought it was T. H. Anderson as it looks on the blade I believe that was just a poor stamping job or worn out stamp??

The one I saw had a similar construction to it but diferent blade/handle geometry.

Anyone enlighten me? Thanks.

Lawdwaz I have no idea who the maker was!! But looking at it
I would guess it was and old time skinning knife (from maybe the days of buffalo hunters) that had been sharpened too many times.
Just my two cents. Cheers NC

Lawdwaz,I do not know either.
I looked around,here's something :

http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/confederate-i-h-anderson-civil-war-bowie-knife

Now if this is a real deal find,you'll need to take your pics & info,and that link,and post it on BladeForums in Bernard Levine's forum.
He will know,or know,who will know

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=691

Hi Vince....I checked with Mr. Levine earlier this week after getting no results from the Campfire knife Gurus. I posted a link to that same Worthpoint thread and a thread that I'm sure is related to that same knife/thread . Mr. Levine commented on it back in 2006 also. (I used the handle "lscott" for Bladeforum)

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=809420

So basically,what you have,is a 100 yr old or so,reproduction.
Please correct me , if I did not correctly interpret his response about it
Still pretty cool. Its old! too
-Vince

Yes, that's kind of the way I see it. Funny that it looks just like that other one though.

I don't know if it has any value to anybody or not, if yes, PM me with offers before it goes to Sothebys Auction House for the big dollars!

Yes,it looks like the other (different pattern/profile,of course),but I think he basically is saying the link knife,is the same,a 100 yr old repro,as well
It seems he has seen knives like this,meaning old knives,copying older knives & handmade,too

I bet there are collectors that'd pay $50 easy,up to $200,even knowing that its not genuine Civil War Era,as I said,its still old
Nice knife to display,in the correct setting
-Vince

Hello folks. I've never posted before. Hope I figger this all out correctly. I know this is a way-old thread, but in the event that other people visit this thread, I have some info to change the trajectory of this discussion. You're looking at a knife that would have been made between about 1914 and maybe 1935. That mark is Ira Harvey Anderson's. I think I am close enough to being correct about the following info, but it should all be double-checked by others before it is believed. He was born in 1863, but didn't start making knives stamped with his name until somewhere between 1910 and 1914, and he seems to have made knives until his late 70s at least. His knifeworks was in Highland, Ohio. He was one of the very earliest makers of stainless steel knives, claiming that his steel was a secret process. I have only one of them, a boning knife. I can say that the stainless is tough, takes a beautiful edge fast, and keeps it. It behaves like a 440B or a 440C stainless. I use that knife every day, and an occasional touch of the sharpening steel, or a swipe with an extra fine diamond hone is all it takes to keep it up. (Don't ever take one of these to a grindstone, folks. You know the story; you'll kill the temper that made it a great knife.) The handle, pewter work and deeply struck mark are all pretty much as with Lawdwas' knife. I've done some checking around the web, and as Anderson got into his 70s he made a deal with Shaw and Slavsky out of Detroit. That would have been sometime between the late 30s and late 40s I'm guessing. They acquired rights to his name and "secret" and marketed S&S knives with the I.H. Anderson signature. His signature can look like his first initial is a J because of the script, but it's actually an I. I believe Anderson made the knives for awhile, but manufacturing may have been contracted out to someone else eventually. Anyone having a stainless steel knife of his is a lucky dog. They are made to do good work, and they're made to last a century or two with reasonable care. I have to respect a man who made a tool like that. So there you go. My first post. Hope someone sees it and finds it interesting.

Per a posting by Jack Jones, I.H. Anderson's great grandson, over at the AAPK site the middle name is actually Hamer, full name then being Ira Hamer Anderson. Sounds a bit more Scandinavian, eh?

Welcome and thanks tom.
We (almost) always like more pertinent information here.
I have a few older knives (I am an accumulator not a collector) and really think some of the work done in past times with much less equipment and technology is really cool.
Thanks for the original post also.
Tim

Yes indeed, welcome & thank you for the information!

The knife is still here, sitting on my workbench. It gets a small job here and there but nothing too serious in case I find out it has a substantial value that someone CAN'T live without!

great knife

Just to keep this ancient thread alive...
The sale of I.H. Anderson's factory happened a couple/three years after WWII. At that point the manufacturing of knives has been transferred to S&S Cutlery, with whom Ira had marketing agreements for marketing for years, likely many more than 10 years. As preparation for the transfer, Mr. Anderson had worked with S&S regarding a modification to the pewter inlay design, and S&S obtained a design patent for that in 1948 or so. I don't know how long S&S continued manufacturing knives using Ira Anderson's proprietary "recipe" and his highly effective tempering process, but I have a feeling that it didn't go much past the time that Ira died. S&S is still in existence. Maybe some day I will try to find out if they can answer that question.
Ira Anderson's obituary was published on July 2, 1954. That would have made him 90-91 at the time he passed on.

Lawdwaz, that knife is probably worth more to you than to most other people, now that you know something about it. They seem to go for $15 to $35 if they sell at all. I don't know anyone who collects them (though maybe I do...heheh). I have about a dozen of his knives now, including a couple of S&S Cutlery versions. I continue to think they are outstanding tools, and take real pleasure each time that I have the opportunity to use one - which is most every day.

Hey, where you been??

I'm heading to the basement and check on my knife...........do you have any pictures of your Anderson knives?

I know this is an old thread, but just ran across it. I am I.H.Anderson's great grand daughter. I actually have the prototype of this knife that was hand carved along with the first knife made. I would love it if possibly someone could connect me with Jack Jones. We lost contact with that side of my Mom's side of the family and I have never heard that name before. I would love to learn more about how he is related to my great grand dad. Hope someone can help me with this.
Thank!

Maybe one of the connected knife guys here can hook you up with Mr Jones.

You mention that you have the "prototype of this knife", are you talking about the knife I have?