How to date a kissing crane knife
Kissing Crane has a long history as well as a reputation for excellence.
This knife has a long history dating back to the nineteenth century. Knives that have seen it all, They’ve been used for everything and everywhere.
Built primarily as pocket knives, it is not unusual to come across an antique or at least a vintage model dating back a few decades.
For several reasons, dating a Kissing Crane knife may be difficult. Even a seasoned knife enthusiast, believe it or not, will have some trouble accessing the brand.
Bring your vintage knife to a professional for an appraisal, and they may find it difficult to assess it – at times, they may only be able to provide you with some estimates.
Some knives are extremely precise and can be accurately dated, whereas others cannot. When learning how to date a knife, there are a few more things to consider.
But, before we get into the nitty-gritty, here are some of the challenges you might face. The good news is that you can still figure out when your knife was made,
no matter how old or used it is. A quick look at your Kissing Crane knife will reveal most of the information you need, but this is not a law.
1 Check the stamp, logo, or code:
Most of these knives, especially those from the past, have two blades.
Blades were used for several activites back then, depending on their shapes and designs. Sizes differ a lot from one model to the next.
Overall, if you have one of these unusual knives, just completely unfold both blades. Take a look at the bases. Examine each blade separately. Ignore the tip and edge;
they may wear out over time due to wear and tear and sharpening. As a result, most manufacturers stop stamping anything there in favor of concentrating on the base.
Most Kissing Crane folding knives only had a single stamp. On either hand, you’ll need to each side of both blades. There are no large logos or anything like that;
only short codes are used. There are a lot of numbers here, as well as a Roman number. Each number in the code has a specific meaning.
The number 3235, for example, has a specific meaning:
- The number 32 signifies the pattern.
- The blade is represented by the number 3
- The stag is represented by the number 5.
Here’s another example. If you find a knife with the 2929 rating:
- The number 29 refers to the pattern, which in this case is a canoe.
- The blade is represented by the number 2
- The number 9 signifies a bone.
Kissing Crane used to have a code for each pattern, a number for the blade, and another number to indicate the material of the handle.
The Roman number, on the other hand, moves in a different direction. The first number in this scheme was XI, which was introduced in 1972.
The knife was manufactured in 1974, as you can see by the XIII. If you just want to date a Kissing Crane knife, the first numbers are meaningless.
The year of manufacturing is indicated by the Roman numerals. If you look at XXIV, it was released in 1985. Until 1986, they coded knives like this (XXV)
The KC prefix, which was introduced in the early 1990s, can be found on newer knives. It will help determine the knife’s source.
In addition, newer knives can have stamps on both blades – often only the emblem is stamped. Your knife dates from 1995 to 2004 or 1986 to 1991 if it doesn’t have Roman numerals or a KC prefix.
2 Get to a professional
There are knife experts out there who could at the very least give you some suggestions. They might not be able to give you the exact year, but by looking at your knife, they can tell you the year range.
They are committed and this is not the type of work they would do if they didn’t have a passion for it. There’s a good chance they’ll have old catalogs and charts with codes, years, and styles.
3 Online Forums
For knife experts and enthusiasts, there are a few useful portals, discussion boards, and forums you can always refers to. This forums are often divided into categories. Stick to classic, vintage, or general knives instead of hunting knife forums.
Create an account, post a few more pictures of the knife from different angles, weigh it and note its size, but don’t forget to write down the code.
It will be reasonably simple for collectors or experts to determine if the knife was manufactured in Germany, Taiwan, or China. They’ll be able to tell you whether it was made in 1890 or 1940.
Are kissing crane knives good?
Excellent craftsmanship, high-quality materials, and no flaws. It is a perfect blade. The blade is balanced, focused, and tight, there’s no blade wobble or play, and it’s surprisingly sharp.
Are kissing crane knives made in china?
Kissing Crane, a German cutlery company, has switched to 100% Chinese production. Yes, another one has succumbed to the ravages of time.
It’s difficult to tell how long the Made in China Kissing Crane knives have been available, but it’s now official. The round shield is still used on some GERMAN Kissing Crane. Stilettos and a few others were already manufactured in Italy.
Made in Italy was not previously used on Stilettos, but now it is! It’s no shame to see a German company move to China.
It will interest you to know that United Cutlery, a business that specializes in Chinese cutlery, distributes Kissing Crane in the United States.
Please be inform that buying German cutlery can be risky. Unscrupulous producers and importers have been having cheap knives manufactured for them and then importing them into Germany for years.
They then stamp them with the word “Germany” and sell or give them all over the world.
“Unscrupulous” manufacturers or importers are the main words here. Update: Knives are not manufactured in Germany; instead, they are made in the European Union using German design.
Are kissing crane knives made in Germany?
Kissing Cranes manufactured in Germany are still available on the market, as well as on eBay. Unless it’s of Chinese origin,
a German-made KC should have a Solingen stamp, a pair of cranes with a Germany stamp, a ROBI KLAS stamp, and occasionally a model number stamped on the tangs.
The above also applies if you have the package, but another telltale sign is that it should be “made” in Germany.
If it says “handmade” in Germany that means the pieces were imported from China and the knife was assembled in Germany.
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