junk store find: copper-clad knife

r8shell

r8shell

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Jan 16, 2010
Messages
25,916
Last weekend, I stopped in a junk store to look for old knives. When I say "junk store", I don't mean an antique, or vintage shop. I mean junk! It was kind of amazing.
I was glad no one was smoking in there, as I may not have gotten out alive in event of fire. The picture might give an idea, but imagine a maze of walls like this going back into the depths.



I asked about pocket knives, and the store owner brought me a plastic bin filled with some newer gas station type knives, and many older examples as well.: almost all of them rusty with broken blades. Still, I dug down to see if there was anything interesting. I found two:



The bowling pin knife seemed very familiar to me. I remember seeing knives like this with white cell covers. It is the kind of little souvenir knife that Colonial or Imperial used to make. I can't make out what the tang stamp is on this one. Kind of looks like an anvil?

The little copper knife is pretty cool. I think it's an example of a "skeleton knife" The cutler would make the knife with plain scales, and a jeweler would put on gold or silver covers. This appears to be copper. The tang stamp says "Sheffield Steel" Does anyone have a guess as to its age?




So no amazing treasures, but I think the little copper knife might be worth shining up.
 
The first picture backs up your story. I think it would be fun to clean up the copper knife also.
 
I wouldn't polish the copper. I think it looks good aged! You'll lose who knows how many years of copper patina from it.
 
Now that I think about it, you should get that green Verdigris off of it, before it corrodes it more. Try some toothpicks to pick it off. Just don't polish it to a shiny copper or brass color. Or, you might try the old coin collectors trick of soaking it in olive oil for a few weeks/months. It will loosen up the green crud, but leave the copper/brass patina alone. It does take a long time to work though. I've used this for Ancient Roman coins and US Large Cents.
 
Thanks, fx17.
I think I'll start with a toothpick with a little oil on it. If I take off too much patina, I'm sure it won't take long for it to come back. :)
 
Really neat finds! Can't wait to see that little copper knife when you get it all ready for service.
 
I know the place quite well, r8shell!! I have not been there in a coons age but she has some neat stuff from time to time. Ask to search the bottom of the cabinet she keeps the plastic bin in ;) To the right of the front door as your going out she keeps old farm tools. I missed them a few times in all the clutter. Be safe in there.
 
R8shell.
As already suggested don't go polishing that Copper- Copper looks awful shined up on something old.
You don't see the curved SHEFFIELD stamp much- even on the smaller blades. I'm guessing early 1900,s. Even though the lack of England suggests to many for it to be immediately pre 1891 but the knife may have been manufactured with the intent of local sales - and not export therefore not needing the ENGLAND part of the stamp.

That's a cool little knife. Thanks for sharing.

There MUST be another box with knives in there somewhere........
 
Campbellclanman said:
R8shell.
As already suggested don't go polishing that Copper- Copper looks awful shined up on something old.
You don't see the curved SHEFFIELD stamp much- even on the smaller blades. I'm guessing early 1900,s. Even though the lack of England suggests to many for it to be immediately pre 1891 but the knife may have been manufactured with the intent of local sales - and not export therefore not needing the ENGLAND part of the stamp.

That's a cool little knife. Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Interesting. So is "Sheffield Steel" the name of a cutlery or a generic sort of stamp to denote "made in Sheffield?"



Campbellclanman said:
There MUST be another box with knives in there somewhere........
Click to expand...

It may look like chaos, but the owner seems to know exactly where everything is. That's part of the charm.
 
Hi Rachel. Nice find. :)
It looks to me like a bronze alloy material and if it were mine, I would use a Q tip with brass cleaner, per instructions, and clean it. Oil the joints when finished and enjoy it.

Regards,

Mark
 
It's a junk store knife thus no harm in cleaning it up or even giving it a nice polish. If it was mine, I'd clean it up first with soap and water and and old tooth brush. After that, I'd see what it looked like, but would probably use flitz on it just to see what it would be like shiny. It was probably originally meant to be shiny. Then I'd sharpen it and give it some light oil.
 
Markesharp said:
Hi Rachel. Nice find. :)
It looks to me like a bronze alloy material and if it were mine, I would use a Q tip with brass cleaner, per instructions, and clean it. Oil the joints when finished and enjoy it.

Regards,

Mark
Click to expand...

Thought I'd post a pic of it after a bit of clean-up. I didn't want to overdo it, just an ultrasonic cleaning and buffing with a sunshine cloth. Mark, I think you're right- it does look more like bronze, now.

 
Wow, that cleaned up really nicely, Rachel. :thumbup:
In your original photo, I hadn't even notice those parallel stripes running the length of the handle. Very cool!

-GT
 
What brand of ultrasonic cleaner do you use? I've been looking for one, but the price is usually too high for my wallet at the time I see them.
 
brownshoe said:
What brand of ultrasonic cleaner do you use? I've been looking for one, but the price is usually too high for my wallet at the time I see them.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I don't know :o I have a friend who has one for cleaning brass for reloads, and I use his from time to time when I'm visiting.
 
Wish I had a friend like that. We have one at work, but it's not really correct for me to use it any more.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top