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

Everything about the earlier Sheffield days - actually not only Sheffield - is the Old Fonts, Stovepipe Kicks etc Just look at that Scratting on Charlie's very old Barlows- and we get this from Charlie as his love for all of this is why the GEC Ancients came into existence!
 
Some Bowie action:


t1Mq38z.jpg

EvMOmOh.jpg


Left to right: Wragg & Sons, Charles Ibbotson & Co, and unmarked (bot most certainly made in Sheffield too). The Ibbotson is a recent acquisition.
 
Trubetzkoy said:
Some Bowie action:


t1Mq38z.jpg

EvMOmOh.jpg


Left to right: Wragg & Sons, Charles Ibbotson & Co, and unmarked (bot most certainly made in Sheffield too). The Ibbotson is a recent acquisition.
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Lovely collection of desirable Bowies Trubetzkoy. In particular the Ibbotson stands out to me most as I have humble example of a pocketknife of his branded "Slash" iirc. Must dig it out.
As I read on him I remembered the account of his hardship as a youngster and his later success and patents on steel handled bowies he exported to the States to protect the exotic handle materials. Yours has Ivory yes?
 
ed_is_dead said:
Lovely collection of desirable Bowies Trubetzkoy. In particular the Ibbotson stands out to me most as I have humble example of a pocketknife of his branded "Slash" iirc. Must dig it out.
As I read on him I remembered the account of his hardship as a youngster and his later success and patents on steel handled bowies he exported to the States to protect the exotic handle materials. Yours has Ivory yes?
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Looking forward to seeing that pocket knife! This one also has the "Slash" trademark, though there's quite a bit of pitting (nothing deep) on the ricasso.

Yes, I believe it's ivory. The frame, however, I'm not so sure about. It was advertised as nickel silver, and I know of other similar examples using that material. However, it looks more like silver to me (especially with respect to the nickel silver sheath throat), though I see no hallmarks (just the word "patent" on the butt).
 
Trubetzkoy said:
Looking forward to seeing that pocket knife! This one also has the "Slash" trademark, though there's quite a bit of pitting (nothing deep) on the ricasso.

Yes, I believe it's ivory. The frame, however, I'm not so sure about. It was advertised as nickel silver, and I know of other similar examples using that material. However, it looks more like silver to me (especially with respect to the nickel silver sheath throat), though I see no hallmarks (just the word "patent" on the butt).
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Perhaps test it for silver, it certainly looks like a high end bowie knife for export such as he was known for with his wrap around handle. Does the blade say "Hunting Knife"? A photo of the markings would be great. Do you own many Bowies? They really are very collectable and command high prices.

Here is the link to my wee Slasher:)
I've just discovered the search function allows you to narrow the confines to "this thread" which is a hugely helpful tool. I often forget if I've posted a knife to this thread.
 
ed_is_dead said:
Perhaps test it for silver, it certainly looks like a high end bowie knife for export such as he was known for with his wrap around handle. Does the blade say "Hunting Knife"? A photo of the markings would be great. Do you own many Bowies? They really are very collectable and command high prices.

Here is the link to my wee Slasher:)
I've just discovered the search function allows you to narrow the confines to "this thread" which is a hugely helpful tool. I often forget if I've posted a knife to this thread.
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Very nice pocket knife! Yes, mine does say "Hunting Knife," though the etching is pretty faded. Here are some close-ups:

biymLN1.jpeg
SOSymAB.jpeg
NOxW52e.jpeg


As for your other question, I wouldn't say I own many bowies, just a handful. And I have more bowie-hunters than what collectors would (totally arbitrarily) call "true" bowies. In general, I only go for pieces I'd consider bargains (in relative terms, of course).
 
In the last "Catch Bit Show" podcast, Mike had mentioned that Charlie and I were talking about a Sheffield-made Harness Jack with removeable bolts in the handle for primarily repairing leather items such as harnesses.
While that knife will be shown in a future project with Charlie involved, enclosed is another model which also has removeable bolts for repair work.
Note the curved punch blade still folded in the handle which was used to bore a hole through leather for the bolts.
This all metal-handled Horseman's knife is marked "Holtzapffel" of London, but was made in Sheffield in the late 1800s to early 1900s.

Sheffield London Holtzapffel (1800x1204) (2).jpg
 
Beautiful harness knife Neal. Wonder if that one would have been produced during the Boer War? BTW holtzapfel is "crabapple" in German. Literally "woodapple". Seems somewhere along the way the Holtzapffels added an F. Must have had crabby ancestors LOL!

Eric
 
ea42 said:
Beautiful harness knife Neal. Wonder if that one would have been produced during the Boer War? BTW holtzapfel is "crabapple" in German. Literally "woodapple". Seems somewhere along the way the Holtzapffels added an F. Must have had crabby ancestors LOL!

Eric
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Thanks Eric and yes, they were certainly around during the second Boer War of 1899 to 1902. Models like the one shown were made by various Sheffield cutlery companies from around the 1880s through WWI.
Enclosed is a catalog illustration from 1907 which describes the bolts as used for repairing a "trace" which is defined below.

trace
3 of 3
noun (2)
1: either of two straps, chains, or lines of a harness for attaching a draft animal to something (such as a vehicle) to be drawn

Also interesting to note that these models were additionally offered with sterling handles as an option for over twice the cost of the standard nickel silver (German silver) types.

Horseman All Metal 1907 (841x1200).jpg
 
Herder, love the Horsemans knife, I have something similar but different along a theme I must show here.
Got to love that despite it's utilitarian and stout build it was available (at twice the price) in sterling silver scales :) For the landed officers no doubt.

This is not mine but available for all to see on a sales platform. I have not sought permission from the seller to show this here but for the reason above I can't see any harm in posting it. Besides if ever there was a group of individuals who would appreciate this it's definitely us and is a nice slice of cutlery history from a Premier maker.





Fine 3 blades indeed, which is your pick of the bunch? Card 4, where are the others languishing!:)
I wonder do they have scales on the pile side?? Have seen sales man samples without when displayed like this.

Love to note the difference in pricing for scales and pattern presumably.
Can someone better at historic pre decimal interpret the price and suggest an average working mans weekly wage for us garner an idea of relative cost?
 
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ed_is_dead said:
Love to note the difference in pricing for scales and pattern presumably.
Can someone better at historic pre decimal interpret the price and suggest an average working mans weekly wage for us garner an idea of relative cost?
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Quite incredible piece of history Ed. Prices were often given for the dozen, or even for the gross, but if these are prices, they're written kind of strangely. Prior to 1971, in Britain, Shillings were on the left, Pennies on the right. So 2/6 (a Half Crown) was 2 Shillings and sixpence, 10/6 (Ten Bob) was 10 Shillings and sixpence. But there were 20 Shillings to the Pound, and after that, prices were written quite differently. My dad was a skilled manual worker, and in the late 60's, earned about £60 a week. I started work in 1977, as an apprentice mechanic, on £18 a week. A loaf of bread in the late 60's was around 1/6. In the mid 70's, after decimalisation, a pint was about 18 (new) pence, or 3/6 in 'old money'. I don't ever remember paying much for pocket knives in Sheffield, but then a lot of them went home in lunchboxes. Even the poorest Sheffielders had good table cutlery :thumbsup:
 
Thanks Duncan and Ed, the Horseman models are about my favorite pattern.

Ed, That Joseph Elliot set is fantastic!!! As we might assume, those factory boards along with traveling salesman sets are as rare as it gets.
I am fortunate to have acquired a few over the years. Thanks for the pictures of this one.

Enclosed is a pair of old wood handled models by George Wostenholm.
The bottom one is a pruner with a massive blade, and the top model is a larger Lamb foot variation.

Wostenholm Wood Handle Pair (1800x1070).jpg
 
Sorry for the abrupt and short reply but will respond in more detail later. Jack I found a great website that adjusts for inflation and date to compare prices/buying power and weekly wages to that of today from any date you enter. A useful tool to perhaps understand better the cost of these items back then.
Herder that Wostenholm pruner is a serious piece and lesser spotted (at least to me) in horn! Amazing to see the full pristine blade profile and top it off a swedge and matchstrike pull!!





A friend sent me a link for these on auction. Provenance of the above gentleman who I'm sure the more learned here will prob know of, he's news to me but my god, what a collection he had!
Facinating to look over the pristine condition and compare prices not only for different patterns/scale material but now also between different cutlery houses!
When time allows I will be pouring over these:)
 
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Here's an interesting find I just acquired. After chatting with Eric, he agreed that they are likely "skeletons" that are shipped out to jewelry stores and the like, for them to put fancy covers on. See how the springs are proud of the outer liners and the blades sit up proud too. The knives are fully functional (and sharp). One set is a whittler pattern, the other is a 4-blader.

IXL 1.jpg
IXL 2.jpg
IXL 3.jpg




Now what to do with them...do I give them new liners and scales, or leave them as-is for historical value and curiosity?
 
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