Check This Out!!!

Augie said:
A few I've accumulated over the years, checkered covers are not common.



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Nice collection, John!!

In the era around the World Wars, and following, Sheffield cutlery sported a lot of Jigged bone that looked like the checkering, or weaving on the common "Flat Caps" and also Wool Suits that were worn at the time, which patterns appeared to evolve from the Early Scottish Tweeds!! Look at SteveC SteveC 's old Lambfoot here;SteveC 1.jpgSteveC 2.jpg
(Steve, I hope you don't mind me borrowing these pics!!)
Also Check out Rhidian's version here, in a somewhat larger format, on this reprise of an old Sheffield Castrating knife!!Rhidians Last Dip 2.jpgRhidians Last Dip 3.jpgMore modern checkering is a "hardened", more regular pattern of a similar geometry!!
Observing similar patterns, Jack Black and I came up with the name "Flat Cap Jigging" referring to visual appearances of knives from the 20th century eras mentioned previously!!
If any of you fans of those knives have some similar examples, please post them here!! I'd love to get more of an idea of how frequently they turn up!!
 
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As someone who's done a bit of checkering I greatly admire much of the work shown here. Strangely this manner of texture started before the industrial revolution and yet it's one of the better ways of adding to a gripping surface that can be converted to a machine process. Done correctly it is a series of parallel cuts done at an angle (33, 45, and 90 degrees are most common) to make pyramidal shapes in the material. Flat top and skip line variations are less common, although they do show on gunstocks going back into the 1700's. (My personal opinion on these is they are less due to aesthetics than to workmanship, as they require less time to cut by hand, and time was, and is, money to the craftsman.) Checkering by hand is a skill, and a camera will show any mistakes. Checkering by machine can be flawless, but difficult to achieve on surfaces that are not flat. Knurling (which is a machine process of pressing a pattern into a softer material) is not checkering, and can be seen by inspecting the surface for displacement.

Charlie, I do not consider that first knife you posted to be checkered. The lines are not evenly spaced, or parallel, and they were cut with a curved tool so they are uneven. Scratting, stippling, etc are less time consuming and precise and, to me anyways, not attractive.

One thing I truly like about checkering is that it's often done on white scaled knives. This is less common now as the primary materials, MOP and ivory, are so rarely used. Hand cutting MOP is not a healthy endeavor.

For some exceptional examples look no further than chuko's old thread: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/vintage-lobsters-lets-showem.927772/
 
eisman said:
Charlie, I do not consider that first knife you posted to be checkered. The lines are not evenly spaced, or parallel, and they were cut with a curved tool so they are uneven. Scratting, stippling, etc are less time consuming and precise and, to me anyways, not attractive.
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I agree it is not checkering! For want of a better word, I have called it "Flat-Cap Jigging"!!
(Actually I like my words for it!!) !
Fine hand checkering, while beautiful and functional, seems too expensive/time consuming, for most useful, every day cutlery!
But for Safe Queens, or exhibition pieces, to be admired for their exquisite workmanship, that's the stuff!!
 
Great thread Charlie, I've enjoyed seeing the many various checkered handles.
There is something very satisfying about seeing the crisp clean lines of a hand filed handle.
Here is an old Sheffield sportsman's model from Allen & Sons with checkered ebony handles.
Happy Holidays to all !!!

Sheffield Allen Sportsman Checkered (2000x1302).jpg
 
The last 3 knives are not mine.


"Here's a routed jigged (30s,40s, or 50s ? ) Rawson Bros. 4 1/8' and a 3 7/8" Ibberson sowbelly This is where Stan Shaw worked and made these .
Here are some more typical of that 40's or 50's ? style jigging. I took these pictures from auctions As soon as seen , I immediately know it's English of that period.
Spratt's dog groomer
Wade and Butcher
IXL English jack
"
Rawson Bros (2).JPGRawson Bros (10).JPGIbberson SS bone sowbelly796.jpgEnglish bone on Spratt's dog groomer.JPGEnglish bone on Wade and Butcher.JPGEnglish bone on IXL english jack.jpg:
 
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herder said:
Great thread Charlie, I've enjoyed seeing the many various checkered handles.
There is something very satisfying about seeing the crisp clean lines of a hand filed handle.
Here is an old Sheffield sportsman's model from Allen & Sons with checkered ebony handles.
Happy Holidays to all !!!

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What is the closed length? Usually knives with a button hook are rather dainty.
 
lambertiana said:
What is the closed length? Usually knives with a button hook are rather dainty.
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That model has a handle length of 4 inches.
Actually, button hooks are commonly found on all sizes of (mostly) Sheffield-made knives from the mid 1800s through early 1900s.
Enclosed is a picture of two examples with a great variation in sizes from under 2 inches to 7 inches.
The smaller Chatelaine style types were used for the buttons on gloves (generally for women), while the large button hooks were meant for boots (generally for men).
And to keep the thread relevant to Charlies "Check" theme, the smaller knife pictured does have checkered ebony handles.

Sheffield Button Hooks (1600x984).jpg
 
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herder said:
That model has a handle length of 4 inches.
Actually, button hooks are commonly found on all sizes of (mostly) Sheffield-made knives from the mid 1800s through early 1900s.
Enclosed is a picture of two examples with a great variation in sizes from under 2 inches to 7 inches.
The smaller Chatelaine style types were used for the buttons on gloves (generally for women), while the large button hooks were meant for boots (generally for men).
And to keep the thread relevant to Charlies "Check" theme, the smaller knife picture does have checkered ebony handles.

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Very interesting info thank you. Wonderful pair of knives :thumbsup: A Swiftian Lilliput meets Brobingnad:)
 
Aha!!!
My apologies, as I searched for these photo's when this Thread came out.

This Knife is a relic I bought- it has two broken blades, but I paid the little they wanted- just to have this as I thought it was such a great example of the Checkering from the old, so...without further ado here is what is left of this Ol' Brookes and Crookes.
I wonder.... when you see the below Photo- the Checkering is far from evenly matched sized Checkers - done by hand??

E1LZ9TY.jpg


DZx9tYC.jpg
 
Campbellclanman said:
This Knife is a relic I bought- it has two broken blades, but I paid the little they wanted- just to have this as I thought it was such a great example of the Checkering from the old, so...without further ado here is what is left of this Ol' Brookes and Crookes.
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What is that handle material, Duncan?? Horn??
 
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