Help date knife Hermes Paris

F

fourtrak

Joined
Feb 29, 2024
Messages
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Hi there, new to forum so hope this is the right place. I inherited a knife a while ago, its a folding knife handle made from some sort of dark horn and only markings I can see is Hermes Paris on the blade. The blade is v clean obviously a quality stainless steel and an odd fat shape, maybe a skinning knife. Makes me think maybe a caping knife for large game? Anyway, i don't want to sell it but im not sure how many generations its been in the family, I wondered if there was a way to estimate its age? Anyone know about this make? Obviously hermes paris is a designer brand making all sorts, and I wonder if this was just a phase for them. Any help or thoughts appreciated. Thanks. Eric
 
Use a site like Imgur to host some photos and post them here. There’s not much insight we can give without a photo of the knife
 
fourtrak said:
Hi there, new to forum so hope this is the right place. I inherited a knife a while ago, its a folding knife handle made from some sort of dark horn and only markings I can see is Hermes Paris on the blade. The blade is v clean obviously a quality stainless steel and an odd fat shape, maybe a skinning knife. Makes me think maybe a caping knife for large game? Anyway, i don't want to sell it but im not sure how many generations its been in the family, I wondered if there was a way to estimate its age? Anyone know about this make? Obviously hermes paris is a designer brand making all sorts, and I wonder if this was just a phase for them. Any help or thoughts appreciated. Thanks. Eric
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Hermes of Paris is not a maker, its a retailer. They contract with various manufacturers to make stuff with their name put on it. They have been around for a 100 years or so.
Post good clear pics (high resolution, in focus, no flash glare) of the entire knife and any markings.
 
As others have noted, manufactured for Hermès who specialise in expensive leather goods accessories etc. This one has a leather sheath with it and would've likely been an expensive gift. Looks like it's made of Horn? The pattern is like a Bouledogue originally from the Loire, St. Étienne and according to my sources, first appeared in 1906. The bouledogue usually has bolsters but this is a Shadow pattern. I can't state more but our French comrades Jolipapa Jolipapa , Âchillepattada Âchillepattada and Corto_Malt Corto_Malt are likely to have better/more reliable information.

Thanks, Will
 
I have no idea what the age on the knife is, but I really dig the design. It is sleek yet stout looking. Nice.
 
Arathol said:
Hermes of Paris is not a maker, its a retailer. They contract with various manufacturers to make stuff with their name put on it. They have been around for a 100 years or so.
Post good clear pics (high resolution, in focus, no flash glare) of the entire knife and any markings.
Click to expand...
Hermès is a leather and silk specialist and in the last 40 years has widened it's scope into watches and tableware, the core is made in their own workshops (they opened several specialized schools for that purpose).
They also sell accessories made by artisans.
Could be compared with Dunhill, just a few steps upward.
This knife was probably made in Nogent, pattern unknown to me. Is this a lock ring or just a key ring? Maker possibly Mongin or a forerunner whose name escapes to me.

I worked for Hermès in the last century and they are open minded, why not try and contact the customer service?
 
Hermes has a respected line of fragrances and this one in my arsenal I occasionally splash on but sadly I can't bring myself to crack open and use that soap. Sheesh.

That very large bottle is kinda vintage and now renamed something else but still has some nice pop to it.
 
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fourtrak said:
Thanks for all this, closed length is 12cm, the ring is a lock ring, pull to release. Will try hermes thanks for the tip.
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I saw a very similar knife by Jacques Mongin on a French retailer’s website, except it has an external backspring.
 
Just an update on this, I didn't get round to emailing hermes BUT I did find out it belonged to my great grandfather who bought it in London before the first war and took it with him to Ireland Palestine, Kenya and back to UK. So probably 100 plus years old.

On another thread really I also found another knife owned by the same man, pics added to my Flickr above. I thought I found the maker but can't find it now, initials I R, I think a czech maker, igor something - any help?! Really good steel holds a great edge but gets quite rusty.

Thanks all

Eric
 
Jolipapa Jolipapa What an insightful video-lost age...particularly interested by the complexity of his work and the use of Tortoiseshell for scales.

F fourtrak I think you must be mistaken about the age I'm afraid. Did you mean World War II rather than I ?? Even then it's a moot point. Your knife appears to have the word inoxyable /Inox stamped on the tang- Stainless. Stainless steels did not appear on pocket knives in England (where it originated) or the US until well into the 1920s and then really as a novelty/small scale. I'd say Continental Europe favoured it even less until well into the 1950s.
 
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