"Made in Sheffield" 1830-1930, A golden age ?

19th century Sheffield was certainly known for the best of the best knives available. And that range covered all types of cutlery from Bowie knives to pocket knives. Another type of cutlery that the cutlers of Sheffield excelled at were those relating to any form of horticulture. The majority of old Sheffield cutlery catalogs often featured several pages of pruning and budding knives. A great many sizes and shapes were available for every possible gardening need.
Enclosed is a classic late 1800s pruner type from "Harrison Brothers & Howson". Tweedale's book provides a nice history of that company which was one of the largest cutlery companies in Sheffield in the mid to late 19th century. Tweedale mentions that Harrison Brothers & Howson were recipients of two Royal Warrants, but they were actually issued three. They were only topped by Joseph Rodgers in the length of Royal Warrants offered over a long period of time. This model is marked "Harrison Brothers & Howson" over "Cutlers to Her Majesty" (Queen Victoria) which places it in the time frame of 1837 to 1901. I would suspect this fine old model dates to around the 1880s. While the Germans offered some wonderful stag on many older knives, Sheffield was well known for its absolute and continuous use of high grade stag on the majority of their knives. This model happens to have a very nice matched set of fine English stag handles, and the overall condition is quite remarkable for a knife that is around 150 years old.
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herder said:
19th century Sheffield was certainly known for the best of the best knives available. And that range covered all types of cutlery from Bowie knives to pocket knives. Another type of cutlery that the cutlers of Sheffield excelled at were those relating to any form of horticulture. The majority of old Sheffield cutlery catalogs often featured several pages of pruning and budding knives. A great many sizes and shapes were available for every possible gardening need.
Enclosed is a classic late 1800s pruner type from "Harrison Brothers & Howson". Tweedale's book provides a nice history of that company which was one of the largest cutlery companies in Sheffield in the mid to late 19th century. Tweedale mentions that Harrison Brothers & Howson were recipients of two Royal Warrants, but they were actually issued three. They were only topped by Joseph Rodgers in the length of Royal Warrants offered over a long period of time. This model is marked "Harrison Brothers & Howson" over "Cutlers to Her Majesty" (Queen Victoria) which places it in the time frame of 1837 to 1901. I would suspect this fine old model dates to around the 1880s. While the Germans offered some wonderful stag on many older knives, Sheffield was well known for its absolute and continuous use of high grade stag on the majority of their knives. This model happens to have a very nice matched set of fine English stag handles, and the overall condition is quite remarkable for a knife that is around 150 years old.
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The serifs in the font, the age of the stag and the wonderful patina draw in for minutes on end. Such an awesome example.
 
herder said:
19th century Sheffield was certainly known for the best of the best knives available. And that range covered all types of cutlery from Bowie knives to pocket knives. Another type of cutlery that the cutlers of Sheffield excelled at were those relating to any form of horticulture. The majority of old Sheffield cutlery catalogs often featured several pages of pruning and budding knives. A great many sizes and shapes were available for every possible gardening need.
Enclosed is a classic late 1800s pruner type from "Harrison Brothers & Howson". Tweedale's book provides a nice history of that company which was one of the largest cutlery companies in Sheffield in the mid to late 19th century. Tweedale mentions that Harrison Brothers & Howson were recipients of two Royal Warrants, but they were actually issued three. They were only topped by Joseph Rodgers in the length of Royal Warrants offered over a long period of time. This model is marked "Harrison Brothers & Howson" over "Cutlers to Her Majesty" (Queen Victoria) which places it in the time frame of 1837 to 1901. I would suspect this fine old model dates to around the 1880s. While the Germans offered some wonderful stag on many older knives, Sheffield was well known for its absolute and continuous use of high grade stag on the majority of their knives. This model happens to have a very nice matched set of fine English stag handles, and the overall condition is quite remarkable for a knife that is around 150 years old.
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Absolutely beautiful, one of my favourite cutlers, and it was nice to walk past their old Alpha Works with you my friend :) :thumbsup:

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H herder People may forget how important horticultural knives were at one time. The Victorian wealthy took immense pride in their gardens, many having lavish glasshouses to grow vines, Peaches and other delicate fruits and employing highly skilled Head Gardeners and legions of men to tend them. Great prestige was attached to this and horticultural tools and knives were important. Quality knives have always been apart from the everyday cutlery and have never been cheap. The Harrison Pruner you show is a remarkable example and I suspect, would not have been a low price item. Rather, a prized knife of a wealthy enthusiast or presented to a Head Gardener.

The way the antler flows with the Swayback frame shows it was cut not only with exceptional skill but also with a very keen eye for getting the most out of the aesthetics of the knife. Then there is the beautiful contrast between the patina of the steel and the ochre of the Stag that time has endowed it with.

Looks like Harrison's well merited the Royal Warrant if this knife is typical of their abilities at the time. A coveted thing but a warrant that could be rescinded due to either a lowering of quality or the capriciousness of the monarchs- who are never slow in looking out for some advantageous freebie.

Any chance of some more shots of this 'regal' Pruner? It passes the Golden Age test for sure!

Thanks, Will
 
herder said:
19th century Sheffield was certainly known for the best of the best knives available. And that range covered all types of cutlery from Bowie knives to pocket knives. Another type of cutlery that the cutlers of Sheffield excelled at were those relating to any form of horticulture. The majority of old Sheffield cutlery catalogs often featured several pages of pruning and budding knives. A great many sizes and shapes were available for every possible gardening need.
Enclosed is a classic late 1800s pruner type from "Harrison Brothers & Howson". Tweedale's book provides a nice history of that company which was one of the largest cutlery companies in Sheffield in the mid to late 19th century. Tweedale mentions that Harrison Brothers & Howson were recipients of two Royal Warrants, but they were actually issued three. They were only topped by Joseph Rodgers in the length of Royal Warrants offered over a long period of time. This model is marked "Harrison Brothers & Howson" over "Cutlers to Her Majesty" (Queen Victoria) which places it in the time frame of 1837 to 1901. I would suspect this fine old model dates to around the 1880s. While the Germans offered some wonderful stag on many older knives, Sheffield was well known for its absolute and continuous use of high grade stag on the majority of their knives. This model happens to have a very nice matched set of fine English stag handles, and the overall condition is quite remarkable for a knife that is around 150 years old.
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Truly some very nice Cutlery work done on that one Mr. Herder . The Lines in the Stag match very closely to the shape of the knife itself . Is it old enough to have Integral Bolsters ???

Harry
 
Thanks, ed, Jack, and Will.

Jack, yes, it was both wonderful and a bit overwhelming to see so many great buildings that once held the best cutlery companies in Sheffield. That "Alpha" stone carving is just stunning.
Thanks for the pictures of some other nice examples from Harrison Brothers & Howson.

Will, absolutely correct on the importance of horticulture in England.
In fact, it was sir Joseph Paxton, a gardener and architect who designed the incredible Crystal Palace for the 1851 London Exhibition.
Thanks for the nice comments towards the knife, and here is a picture of the spine which reveals a few more quality features.

It was fairly common on early English knives to have integral bolsters as this one has (bolsters and liners made from one piece of metal). But this model also has slant cut bolsters to fit slant cut handles. A small detail, but an added cost and another sign of higher quality. And lastly, even after nearly a century and a half, the blade alignment along with the overall fit and finish show exceptional workmanship.

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Old Engineer said:
Truly some very nice Cutlery work done on that one Mr. Herder . The Lines in the Stag match very closely to the shape of the knife itself . Is it old enough to have Integral Bolsters ???

Harry
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Thanks, Old Engineer. Yes it does, I was typing (slowly) as you had already posted.
 
Exceptional old hawkbill, herder!:thumbsup: Beautiful stag.
I love the pictures of Sheffield, Jack.:thumbsup: And a great collection of Harrison Brothers & Howson knives. I have been to England three times, but, never to Sheffield. The last time was still before I was interested in old knives. At the time, Sheffield knives, to me, were the shell handled Richards knives I grew up carrying.
 
herder said:
Thanks, ed, Jack, and Will.

Jack, yes, it was both wonderful and a bit overwhelming to see so many great buildings that once held the best cutlery companies in Sheffield. That "Alpha" stone carving is just stunning.
Thanks for the pictures of some other nice examples from Harrison Brothers & Howson.
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I hope there are still a few left for us to see again my friend :) :thumbsup:

danno50 said:
I love the pictures of Sheffield, Jack.:thumbsup: And a great collection of Harrison Brothers & Howson knives. I have been to England three times, but, never to Sheffield. The last time was still before I was interested in old knives. At the time, Sheffield knives, to me, were the shell handled Richards knives I grew up carrying.
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Thanks Dan, you'll have to let me know if you're ever able to visit again :) :thumbsup:

Campbellclanman said:
Always great seeing what you have in Stock Jack! :thumbsup:
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Thanks pal :) :thumbsup:

I'm afraid it's dark here now, but here's some pics of an old TEW Pruner :thumbsup:

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Thanks, danno50 and Campbellclanman.

Jack, That's a great old Taylor pruner. Aside from the nice condition, I noticed that the two blade stamps are not common styles for Taylor. The "Eye" stamping is a bit different, and I don't recall seeing a curved Taylor blade tang stamp before. Very neat to see other variations of markings!!!
 
herder said:
Jack, That's a great old Taylor pruner. Aside from the nice condition, I noticed that the two blade stamps are not common styles for Taylor. The "Eye" stamping is a bit different, and I don't recall seeing a curved Taylor blade tang stamp before. Very neat to see other variations of markings!!!
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Thanks pal, I do really like the stamps on this one, particularly the tang stamp which is quite different to the stamps on all the other TEW knives I own, which generally feature an 'Eye' :) :thumbsup:
 
herder said:
Thanks, danno50 and Campbellclanman.

Jack, That's a great old Taylor pruner. Aside from the nice condition, I noticed that the two blade stamps are not common styles for Taylor. The "Eye" stamping is a bit different, and I don't recall seeing a curved Taylor blade tang stamp before. Very neat to see other variations of markings!!!
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I have tried find if the Blade Stamping on TEWs could be used to date them and have never been able to come up with anything . These are not the best photos , but they do show some difference in the number of lines under the EYE plus they have the name TAYLOR in a curve .

Then there is this one on a most likely newer one .

Then this Tang Stamp from 2015 with nothing out on the blades

And this Tang Stamp from 2016 with nothing out on the blade


Harry
 
Old Engineer said:
I have tried find if the Blade Stamping on TEWs could be used to date them and have never been able to come up with anything . These are not the best photos , but they do show some difference in the number of lines under the EYE plus they have the name TAYLOR in a curve .

Then there is this one on a most likely newer one .

Then this Tang Stamp from 2015 with nothing out on the blades

And this Tang Stamp from 2016 with nothing out on the blade


Harry
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Would you post pictures of the whole knives with the main blades open.
 
herder said:
Would you post pictures of the whole knives with the main blades open.
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The Top Lambfoot in the upper photos is either lost or given away to a nephew however I did find another one and included it with the photos that I took today . It is not a good day to take pictures today though .

Arranged in what I believe would be Oldest to Youngest
Handle Material from the Top Down
BONE /// BONE /// GUM FUDDY /// MOP /// OXHORN /// RAMS HORN /// RAMS HORN
Blade Material = Top 3 are Carbon and the others are Stainless



Jack Black Jack Black : I forgot to mention how much I like that Old TEW Pruner .:)
:):):thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
Harry
 
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