Lasting legacy of the Marble’s Safety Knife.

Jack Steed might not have set out to write a history lesson, but he did a fine job of documenting the transitory nature of knife innovation. What’s hot one day is nearly forgotten the next.

Such was the case of Marble’s Knives, which Steed shows were all but forgotten in his article “Marble’s: No, Not The Kind You Shoot,” which appeared in the September-October 1976 issue of The American Blade. A collector of the knives produced by the Marble Safety Axe Company of Gladstone, Michigan, he was inspired to pen the piece because of their nearly unknown status 50 years ago.

He marveled, “Only about thirty years have passed since Marble’s knife ads graced the pages of nearly every sports equipment catalog in our country; yet, more people than not don’t even know that company existed.”

The knives are dandies for those who get a kick out of mechanical novelty. Essentially, the knives were full-sized folding hunting knives that could safely be carried in the pocket thanks to a guard extending from the handle. When the blade opened, the guard swung back to fit flush inside the handle channel; when it closed, the guard deployed to cover the tip. Clever and seen in some modern big-bladed folder designs.

As Steed observed, there was good reason for the unusual engineering: “Many early outdoorsmen preferred pocket knives over sheath knives. Sheathed knives sometimes caught on branches and were lost, or were sat upon—much to the discomfort of the sitter. Other hunters preferred even a longer blade than large pocket knives came with, so problems of satisfying divergent tastes were perplexing.”

Losing favor by the later part of the 20th century didn’t mean Marble’s Knives were hard to come by. From Steed’s telling, they sold well in their day, so they could be found—if the finders knew what they were looking for.

“Believe me, plenty of old Marble and M.S.A. knives are still out there—waiting to be found,” he wrote. Chances are that there are still some Marbles waiting to be discovered today.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Marble still produces its safety knives along with a catalog of other blades.

More Knife History:

• Walter “Blackie” Collins: Applying The Edge To BLADE Magazine
• American Knives: Legendary Designs From The Land Of The Free
• Antique Switchblades: World War II And Beyond