Thread: Pre-Genco Geneva Cutlery Co.

I picked this little guy up dirt cheap. As you can see in the first 3 pictures, it was in need of some serious TLC. I've never seen this model of Geneva Cutlery Co. Anyone ever seen this model before?



A lot of elbow grease, metal polish and ancient chinese secret brought some luster back to it. I had to reset the bevel and honed it up. For a while I didn't think I could do it. Now it's shave ready!

Not bad. I'm sure many were made & if you look on eBay, you will eventually see more of them.
Geneva Cutlery Co. was in business from 1902-1935. My book doesn't say when Genco came into the picture with Geneva. Two men, brothers, Walter & William Althoff who were apparently the first to bring the German ways of cutlery making to American shops. In 1928 they became Geneva Cutlery Inc. & in 1935 the name was changed to Geneva Forge. It was at this time all their cutlery had the trademark EKCO. Then when they were Genco, they were bought out by W.R. Case & Sons in 1936. In 1960 the forge was closed & moved to Chicago, IL.

Yeah I'm familiar with the history. I've just never seen this model before. The wood scales throws me off as does the spike and three grooves on the tang. I've been trying to identify the model but have had no luck at all.

I understand. It's hard to tell if it is real wood unless you know yourself. There were many who made some imitations of a wood but was of a different material. Who knows, they might be wood but if they are, it is rather unusual. I have seen very few original wood scales. Some may have been very old examples & others I have seen had a replacement wood scale on one side but it wasn't a Geneva. Looks nice though.

Originally Posted by engine46

I understand. It's hard to tell if it is real wood unless you know yourself. There were many who made some imitations of a wood but was of a different material. Who knows, they might be wood but if they are, it is rather unusual. I have seen very few original wood scales. Some may have been very old examples & others I have seen had a replacement wood scale on one side but it wasn't a Geneva. Looks nice though.

I'm thinking its nots real wood. The finish is very shiny and the "grain" seems flat and not 3d (like a piece of wood that's been finished and coated". I can't get a good look inside the scales because it's too tight.