Chui
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2012
- Messages
- 3,071
One of the members in my UK knife forum has been left this old pocketknife by a lovely neighbour very many years ago.......his story below.
Can anyone shed light upon the model and year please, any info gratefully received.
Another knife I know nothing about but hoping someone can help decode. First, a little of the man himself. Frank and his wife were our neighbours in South Devon. I was 9 or 10 when we moved to the village. I soon discovered that Frank and I were both fishermen.
Well, Frank cast dry flies for finicky Devon brown trout. Slow growing in the peaty acidic water running off Dartmoor. He also Spey cast for wild Atlantic salmon whenever he could.
I drowned worms fishing for whatever was around in the tidal Dart (free) below the bridge in Totnes. I had heard of fly fishing but wasn’t sure why you would want to catch one! Frank and his wife lavished their time and attention on me in a way I am very grateful now. He taught me to do a basic overhead cast and land a piece of wool in the bird bath in his back garden. His wife (only ever known to me as Mrs Airey) taught me how to tie a few basic patterns. Tied in the hand of course. Skills I would later come back to.
Frank passed well before his wife. I do remember visiting her and talking whenever I was home from university. Paying back their time in my own way. She lived to a good age and passed some of Frank’s stuff to me. More odds and ends came to me when my parents bought and moved into their house.
Amongst the books and fly tying tools (I still use them) was this little knife.
It has a basic hook remover on the end and one much used blade. Despite the use it had had and the likely numerous dunkings into various water bodies, it is still tight and sharp. There are two holes near the pivot to allow a drop of oil in.
The writing on the pad is what my magnifying glass and my eye can see. With a gentle rub with some 00 wire wool, I think we have:
MILLUS
UTLERVCO
AMILLUS NY
U S A
Can anyone shed light upon the model and year please, any info gratefully received.
Another knife I know nothing about but hoping someone can help decode. First, a little of the man himself. Frank and his wife were our neighbours in South Devon. I was 9 or 10 when we moved to the village. I soon discovered that Frank and I were both fishermen.
Well, Frank cast dry flies for finicky Devon brown trout. Slow growing in the peaty acidic water running off Dartmoor. He also Spey cast for wild Atlantic salmon whenever he could.
I drowned worms fishing for whatever was around in the tidal Dart (free) below the bridge in Totnes. I had heard of fly fishing but wasn’t sure why you would want to catch one! Frank and his wife lavished their time and attention on me in a way I am very grateful now. He taught me to do a basic overhead cast and land a piece of wool in the bird bath in his back garden. His wife (only ever known to me as Mrs Airey) taught me how to tie a few basic patterns. Tied in the hand of course. Skills I would later come back to.
Frank passed well before his wife. I do remember visiting her and talking whenever I was home from university. Paying back their time in my own way. She lived to a good age and passed some of Frank’s stuff to me. More odds and ends came to me when my parents bought and moved into their house.
Amongst the books and fly tying tools (I still use them) was this little knife.
It has a basic hook remover on the end and one much used blade. Despite the use it had had and the likely numerous dunkings into various water bodies, it is still tight and sharp. There are two holes near the pivot to allow a drop of oil in.
The writing on the pad is what my magnifying glass and my eye can see. With a gentle rub with some 00 wire wool, I think we have:
MILLUS
UTLERVCO
AMILLUS NY
U S A
