Fruits From Jack’s Table

[Jack Black]

Thanks for all the kind words gents, I'm very flattered

On the Granton knife, is it only the scallops that are sharpened?

No, the whole edge is sharpened. The original idea was that the scallops lightened the blade and stopped food sticking to the knife as it was cut :thumbup:

Here's a couple of small Granton knives of the same pattern. The bottom one was a friend's grandfather's fruit knife. For decades, after his meal, he would use it to cut up a pear or apple. One of my favourite knives



And this is my Granton Midget Fruit Knife :thumbup:

I always love to see your old knives! I really like the "Harry" knife in the first post, I have a couple old blades with initials but none with a full name.

Thanks Harry, me too. I'd be glad to gift it to Harry's descendents should they ever come across this thread on the internet (stranger things happen). I think the only other knife I have with a name is this somewhat abused Boker TL-29 :thumbup:

Hi jack I do love see these Old Sheffield knives. I have a couple of old ones I have picked up that I'd like to send you. Email me your address and we'll get it sorted:thumbup: p.s have you ever heard of F Morgan and co ?

Good to see you here my friend I can't find anything in Tweedale about F.Morgan I'm afraid

I had to look up churi/peg-knife.
Of course all I know about Romanies is what I've seen in "From Russia with Love"; "Golden Earring", which may have been a band, but I'm thinking of the Ray Milland & Marlene Dietrich movie; and "The List of Adrian Messenger", in which Sinatra plays a gypsy horse-trader and everyone in Hollywood gets murdered in heavy make-up.
That boiling of a wooden handle to receive a pin-tang was news to me.

LOL! Just a little bit different here

Certainly common for that to be done when making peg knives. Unusual to find one in the wild (and not being used).

Great stuff Jack.

I was hoping you'd spot my post Liam, good to have your input my friend Of course I was just guessing (haven't had a chance to consult the outlaws yet ), but there is a very large Traveller community here :thumbup:

The marking is on the wood scales. Typically seen on Royal Navy sailors knives but not on a pen like yours Jack. Might have been owned by an officer but that would be a quess.
You do find many interesting specimens though Jack - keep em coming.

Thanks OB :thumbup:

This table-full contains a great collection, Jack!
What a loverly bunch of coconuts!!

:thumbup:

The good old nutbrown is still going strong mate.It resides in the t spoon section. The questscalibur was used last Sunday Fathers day here to slice up a lump of pork I did in the barbie. Also did I mention that I scored a complete almost virgin nutbrown breadknife a while ago.
Its yours if you want.:thumbup:

That's good to hear pal That's a very kind offer, but I think I am already over-stocked in the cutlery department :thumbup:

 

[cub308]

Great looking table art Jack. The knife with the broad arrow stamped in the wood looks like the rest of the handle has some lettering stamped down the length of it. Wondering if it is stamped or is it just old character from handling in the wood. If it is stamped can you do a pencil rubbing to better see what may be there?

 

[R.c.s]

Sorry mate it's F.Mordan &co Sheffield

 

[Jack Black]

Great looking table art Jack. The knife with the broad arrow stamped in the wood looks like the rest of the handle has some lettering stamped down the length of it. Wondering if it is stamped or is it just old character from handling in the wood. If it is stamped can you do a pencil rubbing to better see what may be there?

Thanks Yes, I thought the same, but looking at it under a strong glass, I think the marks are just from handling and years of wear and tear :thumbup:

Sorry mate it's F.Mordan &co Sheffield

Could you post a picture of the tang-stamp and say a bit more about the knife? Nothing in Tweedale, but Francis Mordan was one of the sons of silversmith Sampson Mordan (S.Mordan & Co), forming his own company, F.Mordan & Co, after his father's death. They were a London firm though, so it might be that this is a different firm, or that they were acting as factors in this case.

Edit - Is the knife a Skeleton Knife or Fruit Knife?

 

[R.c.s]

. There isn't much of an say about it really . It's old the scales are bone and it has brass liner's. And I would say it would of been of good quality when it was new . This is one of the knifes I am going to send you mate

 

[Jack Black]

Thank you My guess would be that it was made for F. Mordan & Co in Sheffield, to sell in their high-class London shop. It was quite common for merchants from outside Sheffield to have knives stamped up in this way :thumbup:

 

[liamstrain]

I was hoping you'd spot my post Liam, good to have your input my friend Of course I was just guessing (haven't had a chance to consult the outlaws yet ), but there is a very large Traveller community here :thumbup:

Sure thing. They are more common over on your side of the pond - not as much call for clothes pegs here (it seems), much less for having someone make em (and honestly, not many who make that their trade on the mainland either - pretty much a UK and Romanichal thing these days). There's a mursh named John Vickers, who goes to Appleby every year and carves them on the spot with his wife, from hazel branches he's collected on the way. It's fun to watch.

 

[5K Qs]

As always, very interesting to see what's on your table, Jack.

This Cigar-cutter Knife has no maker’s mark unfortunately. I imagine it was made for a high class tobacconist.
...

...

...

I smoked cigars for about 45 years and finally quit almost two years ago; when I smoked, I usually bought inexpensive wood-tipped cigars, so I'd have had no use for this wonderful knife. But that cigar cutter has to be near the pinnacle of western civilization!!

I’ve already posted pics of this knife in the Old Knives thread, and would be grateful for any informed comment about it. Here’s what I posted previously:

...






...

I'm reluctant to call this "informed comment", but I'd certainly be interested if you find out more about this knife, if only because I'm a sucker for animals depicted in tang/blade stamps. I assume that's a fish stamped near the nail nick?

Are you sure this knife is of British origin? I'm not completely convinced that the letters stamped on the blade are from the English alphabet! I could easily be persuaded that the characters might be Greek or even Cyrillic.

- GT

 

[Jack Black]

Sure thing. They are more common over on your side of the pond - not as much call for clothes pegs here (it seems), much less for having someone make em (and honestly, not many who make that their trade on the mainland either - pretty much a UK and Romanichal thing these days). There's a mursh named John Vickers, who goes to Appleby every year and carves them on the spot with his wife, from hazel branches he's collected on the way. It's fun to watch.

I don't think there's much peg-making goes on anymore here Liam, except at places like Appleby. I sometimes come across the old ones on market stalls though :thumbup:

I'm reluctant to call this "informed comment", but I'd certainly be interested if you find out more about this knife, if only because I'm a sucker for animals depicted in tang/blade stamps. I assume that's a fish stamped near the nail nick?

Are you sure this knife is of British origin? I'm not completely convinced that the letters stamped on the blade are from the English alphabet! I could easily be persuaded that the characters might be Greek or even Cyrillic.

Thanks, as always, for your kind words my friend. I'd be astonished if the knife was of British origin, the letters certainly aren't English. I might give it a go in Bernard Levine's forum, see if someone recognises the language, which looks Cyrillic to me too :thumbup:

 

[Jack Black]

I've posted pics of the old mystery knife in Bernard Levine's forum. I know that there are one or two Russian speakers who sometimes post there, so I'm hoping they can help. I'll let you know :thumbup:

 

[neal70]

That has to be the first folding knife I've ever seen with a granton edge. A ring opener to boot? Wow. Not overly common I'd guess. Personally, from my time working as a short order type cook in a bar, I'd say that they are definitely helpful in preventing food from sticking to your knife. As to lightening them idk, if it's a big enough santoku or French/German style chef's knife they did not noticeably lessen the weight, tho' maybe that's in part due to technique when using a knife.
Thanks, Neal

 

[Jack Black]

That has to be the first folding knife I've ever seen with a granton edge. A ring opener to boot? Wow. Not overly common I'd guess. Personally, from my time working as a short order type cook in a bar, I'd say that they are definitely helpful in preventing food from sticking to your knife. As to lightening them idk, if it's a big enough santoku or French/German style chef's knife they did not noticeably lessen the weight, tho' maybe that's in part due to technique when using a knife.

Thanks Neal, yes, I think the blade-lightening was just another 'selling point'. I've only seen one other Granton Midget on my travels, and the seller wanted a hefty price for it :thumbup:

 

[Will Power]

Very interesting that fish head tang stamp Jack. I looked at your post in Levine's but I can't comment just speculate, so i thought this would be a safer venue..

The letters certainly are not Latin alphabet but Cyrillic, so this gives the option of Russia, Bulgaria or Serbia, Ukraine, Byelorus, I'd speculate the former two. Wild guessing but the fish stamp, could it be a Sturgeon the great purveyor of caviar? Source, the Black Sea which Russia,Bulgaria and others share? The letters are mainly feint but on the left they spell in Latin 'BA' followed by what looks like a fish-hook. The Russian word for fish is Riba when transliterated, the letters before it could be an 'i' The letters under the fishstamp, Sturgeon? Carp? spell M.N. then under that PR but can't see the rest. Clearly it's a very old knife and a type of pattern not really familiar to England. Long blade for getting caviar out of a jar? How would such an old Eastern knife end up in England? Who knows ? But here's an exciting wild-card, a relic or trophy from the Crimean War brought back by a soldier! Or perhaps a rich gourmet in Sheffield who enjoyed caviar and had a suitable Russian knife as a gift from an importer? All wild guessing of course! Interesting though....

Thanks, Will

 

[Jack Black]

Very interesting that fish head tang stamp Jack. I looked at your post in Levine's but I can't comment just speculate, so i thought this would be a safer venue..

The letters certainly are not Latin alphabet but Cyrillic, so this gives the option of Russia, Bulgaria or Serbia, Ukraine, Byelorus, I'd speculate the former two. Wild guessing but the fish stamp, could it be a Sturgeon the great purveyor of caviar? Source, the Black Sea which Russia,Bulgaria and others share? The letters are mainly feint but on the left they spell in Latin 'BA' followed by what looks like a fish-hook. The Russian word for fish is Riba when transliterated, the letters before it could be an 'i' The letters under the fishstamp, Sturgeon? Carp? spell M.N. then under that PR but can't see the rest. Clearly it's a very old knife and a type of pattern not really familiar to England. Long blade for getting caviar out of a jar? How would such an old Eastern knife end up in England? Who knows ? But here's an exciting wild-card, a relic or trophy from the Crimean War brought back by a soldier! Or perhaps a rich gourmet in Sheffield who enjoyed caviar and had a suitable Russian knife as a gift from an importer? All wild guessing of course! Interesting though....

Thanks Will, very helpful post. I'm thinking Russian. My dad read Russian, but passed last year. I know a Serb, so I might run it past him. The letters are very worn so it's not possible to read all the words. I like the Crimean War idea, I'd thought about it in relation to the marks on the wooden scale, but there has long been emigration from Eastern Europe to the UK. I picked up the knife near Harrogate, a wealthy town in North Yorkshire. All interesting ideas my friend :thumbup:

 

[Will Power]

Thanks Jack! All supposition on my part, but I understand and read Russian though those marks are worn like most old stamps are. It certainly looks like an old knife though, could well be over a century. Might be a candidate for King of the Table actually:thumbup: Or is that Tsar..?

Regards, Will

 

[5K Qs]

... I'd be astonished if the knife was of British origin, the letters certainly aren't English. I might give it a go in Bernard Levine's forum, see if someone recognises the language, which looks Cyrillic to me too :thumbup:

Very interesting that fish head tang stamp Jack. I looked at your post in Levine's but I can't comment just speculate, so i thought this would be a safer venue..

The letters certainly are not Latin alphabet but Cyrillic, so this gives the option of Russia, Bulgaria or Serbia, Ukraine, Byelorus, I'd speculate the former two. Wild guessing but the fish stamp, could it be a Sturgeon the great purveyor of caviar? Source, the Black Sea which Russia,Bulgaria and others share? The letters are mainly feint but on the left they spell in Latin 'BA' followed by what looks like a fish-hook. The Russian word for fish is Riba when transliterated, the letters before it could be an 'i' The letters under the fishstamp, Sturgeon? Carp? spell M.N. then under that PR but can't see the rest. Clearly it's a very old knife and a type of pattern not really familiar to England. Long blade for getting caviar out of a jar? How would such an old Eastern knife end up in England? Who knows ? But here's an exciting wild-card, a relic or trophy from the Crimean War brought back by a soldier! Or perhaps a rich gourmet in Sheffield who enjoyed caviar and had a suitable Russian knife as a gift from an importer? All wild guessing of course! Interesting though....

Thanks, Will

Thanks Jack! All supposition on my part, but I understand and read Russian though those marks are worn like most old stamps are. It certainly looks like an old knife though, could well be over a century. Might be a candidate for King of the Table actually:thumbup: Or is that Tsar..?

Regards, Will

I enjoy a good mystery. :thumbup: Interesting speculations, Will! Jack, I hope you continue to make progress on identifying that interesting knife.

- GT

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks Jack! All supposition on my part, but I understand and read Russian though those marks are worn like most old stamps are. It certainly looks like an old knife though, could well be over a century. Might be a candidate for King of the Table actually:thumbup: Or is that Tsar..?

:thumbup:

I enjoy a good mystery. :thumbup: Interesting speculations, Will! Jack, I hope you continue to make progress on identifying that interesting knife.

Thanks GT, I enjoy a mystery myself, solving them even more :thumbup: