Forgive me if this question is posted in the wrong place, but I am new to this, and have just registered.

I have a question about a knife I purchased back in the mid 70's.

This was my first splurge after getting my first job. It was too nice to use, and I do not remember ever cutting anything with it, except for my thumb.

It has been stored all these years. I recently moved, and came accross the knife. With the advent of the internet, and since so much time had passed - I decided to try to find out something about the knife.

The knife has engraved on one side "Handmade by James B. Lile",
and on the other side it says "Duxbak and style 100 and 223 of 500.

I believe the handel is made of orange wood. At least that is what I remember. That information is in the box, but I do not have that in front of me at the moment.

I wanted to find out more information about the knife, value, rare or not, something about the maker.

I did find a little about the maker, but when I tried to access the website "lileknives.com" it is no longer active. Through some help, I found information with the phone number of Lile Handmade Knives, but when I try the number - it is disconnected.

Any information would be appreciated.

Bryan,

Jimmy Lile was a well-respected knifemaker and his legacy is continuing, as 'Lile Custom Knives' is still producing good knives.

But.... with the inclusion of a small dot over the stamp to indicate these are NOT original James Lile knives, as you own.

Rare? Well, there were 500 of these made. Not that rare. Nonetheless, you can get a good indicator of it's value by reviewing this ebay search for completed auctions by 'Lile': Click Here (http://search-completed.ebay.com/search/search.dll?ht=1&query=lile&SortProperty=MetaEndSort).

Les can add in much more than I can.

Good luck!

Coop

Hi BR,

Good News/Bad News.

The fact that the logo is "James B Lile" gives the knife extra value. As the signature guarantees it is a pre-death knife.

The bad news, 500 were made. This negates any rarity.

I have no idea what you paid for it. However, I am sure it is currently worth more than that.

I just wanted to add to this that I don't think Lile Custom Knives is in business any longer. Ihave read elsewhere that they shut down this last summer.