Flea market Wostenholm Congress

[I'mSoSharp]

I'm in southern Spain where I gave up the chance of ever finding a decent old folder a long time ago, stalls have horrible new cheap stuff or well used Opinels & worn out Spanish friction folders & ask more than they cost new!!
So did a double take yesterday when I noticed some black imitation jigged scales on something multi-bladed, picking it up the blades wouldn't open with a nail, I noticed the bevels on the back of the blades & thought this is possibly something nice so took a gamble, the owner thought it rusted shut so for the price of a coffee it was mine
I looked a little more & noticed the key shaped knife that normally I'd never give a second glance had a carbon blade, then noticed the Sheffield on it, then the little twin blade knife so had them as well.

The Wostenholm is quite nice, the little gentlemans knife has "made in Sheffield" but nothing else, I suspect it's the typical sold in millions from a card on a counter thing, like the key knife, quite nice anyway.

Strange that the smaller blades are the same, & the two larger blades nearly the same just slightly different lengths.

I'm really happy about finding the Wostenholm, it has strong springs (more of the reason for stubborn opening rather than rust!) & good snap, I now have to work out the best way of gentle rust removal without damaging the writing, any suggestions?

 

[Jsega51]

Rust removal is going to be pretty hard without scratching up the rest of the blade if you use anything coarse. Maybe try some 000 steel wool as it’s fairly soft and be sure to use light pressure to start with.

 

[screened porch]

Nice haul.

 

[wlfryjr]

Wostenholm is a good find , especially for a cuppa. I've watched too many British crime shows.

 

[rockman0]

Nice old congress for rust removal soak the blades in wd40 for 24 hours or more. Scrub with a cloth and get as much off as you can. Dry the blade and clean with Windex or anything that cleans oil. Put a good coating of flitz on and let it sit 5 mins, then use 0000 steel wool and start out easy.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

Thanks for all the replies, I've gone the ultra-fine wire wool route & it's looking good.

Can anyone explain the "Tobacco blade"?
A bit of Googling shows up some who say Congress's were sometimes known as Tobacco knives? Anyone care to elaborate.

 

[eisman]

The short, straight, blade is ideal for cutting twist (old time chew) tobacco. One of the main reasons Congress patterns were (and are) more popular in the South.

 

[Hickory n steel]

All nice finds , way to go.

I never actually realized those Key knives weren't something to come out recently.

 

[lambertiana]

Nice Wostenholm! It has a lot of life left in it.

 

[Ernie1980]

Nice pick ups, especially that Congress! I have a couple of those tobacco knives, they are nice and solid

 

[Jack Black]

Congratulations, nice finds, particularly the Congress. Here's my IXL Tobacco Knife. I have the other two patterns too. As I'm sure you suspect, the penknife, like the Key knife, was made by Richards. Our friend @herder has a nice Richards catalogue, with a page for their Key knife I need to take more photographs!

 

[Will Power]

The Congress interests me. It has the typical arrangement of nearly identical paired blades, but there are variations on this. By the overall look of the blades they appear to show remarkably little wear or sharpening which is a big positive. Careful clean up will bring it into nice shape and ready for use or collecting. I like the bolsters a kind of Rat-Tail but are you SURE it's composite for the scales? Looks like there's some shrink going on by the bolster which might suggest bone? But certain composites, the rubber type will shrink too, the jigging looks nice enough there though!

Thanks, Will

 

[I'mSoSharp]

The short, straight, blade is ideal for cutting twist (old time chew) tobacco. One of the main reasons Congress patterns were (and are) more popular in the South.

Thank you, great explanation

All nice finds , way to go.
I never actually realized those Key knives weren't something to come out recently.

I also thought they were modern novelty items, apparently Richards "lamp post brand" made them 50's & 60's.

By the overall look of the blades they appear to show remarkably little wear or sharpening which is a big positive.
I like the bolsters a kind of Rat-Tail but are you SURE it's composite for the scales? Looks like there's some shrink going on by the bolster which might suggest bone?
Thanks, Will

It's had very little in the way of sharpening, if any. Not 100% about the scales, I've not much to compare it to.
Some slightly better images after a light clean.

 

[I'mSoSharp]

Congratulations, nice finds, particularly the Congress. Here's my IXL Tobacco Knife. I have the other two patterns too. As I'm sure you suspect, the penknife, like the Key knife, was made by Richards. Our friend @herder has a nice Richards catalogue, with a page for their Key knife I need to take more photographs!

I didn't know for sure the small knife was Richard's but suspected so, & any info on the key knife would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[glennbad]

That congress is great!

 

[Jack Black]

I didn't know for sure the small knife was Richard's but suspected so, & any info on the key knife would be appreciated, thanks.

Yes, Richards used a number of tang stamps in addition to their famous Lamp-post trademark. They were the only Sheffield manufacturer geared-up to make shell-handled knives, and the only one to license the patented Lohr and Stiehl technology. I hope @herder will see this as the Richard's catalogue pics are colourful and attractive. Here's a similar pattern, which was also a big-seller for the firm