Vintage Marbles Knives – Gladstone, MI

Marbles knives were made in Gladstone, Michigan starting in the late 1890’s.  Although their use of pinned stag slabs are second to none, they are most known for popularizing stacked leather washers in the handles.  As a young man in northern Michigan, Webster L. Marble gained an appreciation for the outdoors as a timber cruiser and surveyor.  After starting a factory in 1898 producing the Safety Axe and a waterproof match safe.  Hunting knives soon followed with the introduction of the famous, Ideal Hunting Knife.  The form and quality of the early version of this knife make it the most popular model of Marbles knives among collectors.  In addition, other collectible models include the Woodcraft, Canoe and the Safety Hunting Knife.  Pocket knives bearing the mark of M.S.A. Co are exceedingly rare and were rumored to have been contract knives from Case Bros.