Found an oldie....Henry Sears

Absintheur

Absintheur

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Jan 31, 2008
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Found this one and while it is not perfect it is still fun to find an old one. Must have been a farmer's knife as the blade was sharpened on what looks to be a grinder, tip is short about a 1/4 inch and worn, the pen and coping blade have also been sharpened but are in a little better shape. Handles are celluloid and rust has had it's way with it. Marked on the tang Henry Sears and Son which dates it as a mid 1900's rather than early as it would be if marked only Henry Sears. I have some more cleaning to do on it, still flushing tons of nasty crud from under the blades and springs but I wanted to post some pics. One thing that I found different is the thickness of the back of the main blade. Rather than using tapered springs or half springs they simply made the main blade wide enough to fill the slot between the two secondary blades. I also love the small nail nicks to provide access to open the secondary blades. The main and coping have lots of snap but the pen is a little weak.

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That's a nice Ole whittler.. Are you sure the springs aren't tapered ? The knife looks wider on the bottom end than the top end... Laying in the well the main blade doesn't look to be a 1/4" short. I think if you clean her up a little you have a better knife than you think. I believe they call that a birds eye shadow pattern ?
 
If you look closely at the picture of the knife closed you will see the tip of the main blade actuall above the secondary blade, maybe nor as much as a 1/4 inch but at least an 1/8 or better is gone. I am unsure of the blades original profile. It really was heavily ground.
 
Really like that. Thanks for sharing. Please post more pics when finish cleaning it.
 
Really great find, great knife!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Those old ones are way better than a new knife, think of all the time the former owner spent putting all that charater into it for you. Shadow patterns are a little more special anyways.
 
I like it, it has personality.

Are you sure about the date? Goins lists Henry Sears & Son as 1883-1897. Henry Sears & Son 1865 is 1897-1959. Henry Sears & Son followed by Rockford, Chicago, or Prussia is 1883-1897.
 
It is hard to see in the pics but I am pretty sure this is a Henry Sears & Son 1865. I don't have a book that lists these or shows patterns so anything about the date of manufacture is just a guess from me.
 
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