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

[Campbellclanman]

Thanks Mike, I would love to handle that Knife, but I'd be afraid to run my fingers over your file work in case of shredding my fingers. You could use that file to do some fine initial work on each blade too

Seriously though Mike - in the World of Knife Ethics.... 1, Handing a knife over like this beautiful example, you would like to think that person has not only huge respect for the owner and the knife.
If someone handed that Knife to you, would you check with that person on their expectations of handling that knife, for instance Gloves to be worn, or a Softcloth? I have heard its not good to wipe the Knife yourself that you should leave that to the owner, whats your views on this?

 

[Jack Black]

Great info Will and Herder, and pictures.
Along the same lines as JackBlack’s knife, Buck & Hickman didn’t make its own knives so possibly also made in Sheffield. The company has been around in various iterations since 1839. 3 5/8s closed, eased openings, very sunk joints, milled liners front and back. "Oil the joints" on opposite side of main blade. All blades stamped. There are stars or crowns inserted in the ivory scales. Too bright outside for pictures so these will have to do.

Wow Mike, what a beautifully-made 4-blade Penknife, exquisite. Not all the knives Buck & Hickman sold had their stamp, even if the catalogues indicated otherwise, so that is a bonus Your knife is in their 1935 catalogue, not bad for eleven and a half Shillings eh?!

 

[Mike Robuck]

Wow, cool, thanks Jack Black ! I did find a lot of your past posts about this company here on BF.

Duncan, I would not hesitate to hand over a knife to knowledgeable people such as yourself. I did learn my lesson about handing a knife to just anybody the first time I went to Blade. I don't expect someone to wipe my knife down after they're done, but when they offer it's a good indication of the type of collector they are. I showed Rick Menefee and some others guy knives at a hotel during blade. He wiped every one of them down and treated the handles before handing them back without asking.

​

 

[herder]

Thanks Will, Duncan, and Mike. And thanks Will for your comments on the Rodgers Sheep Foot model. That leather pouch was not for the knife, just a nice backdrop.
Will, it does mention in the Olympia catalog for the David Hayden-Wright collection that "some" portion of the sales would go to the Metropolitan museum, but it doesn't state how much?
If I were to guess, I would suggest a slightly more modest amount of maybe 10 to 15 percent. Enclosed is a snippet from that catalog.

 

[herder]

Great info Will and Herder, and pictures.
Along the same lines as JackBlack’s knife, Buck & Hickman didn’t make its own knives so possibly also made in Sheffield. The company has been around in various iterations since 1839. 3 5/8s closed, eased openings, very sunk joints, milled liners front and back. "Oil the joints" on opposite side of main blade. All blades stamped. There are stars or crowns inserted in the ivory scales. Too bright outside for pictures so these will have to do.

That is a stunning example and very neat to see it in the catalog as shown by Jack. A true bit of craftsmanship went into producing that knife.

 

[herder]

Wow Mike, what a beautifully-made 4-blade Penknife, exquisite. Not all the knives Buck & Hickman sold had their stamp, even if the catalogues indicated otherwise, so that is a bonus Your knife is in their 1935 catalogue, not bad for eleven and a half Shillings eh?!

View attachment 2776601

Great catalog illustration showing Mike's knife among others. Certainly not a brand that was common in the United States.

 

[Campbellclanman]

Great find Jack of Mikes Knife!
To me, that just solidifies everything about a very old Knife when you find yourself so lucky to have acquired!

Mike, thank you for your kind words, I remember sitting in front of Charlie when he placed some knives in front of me, having never been in that position before of having such a variety of extremely nice Knives, inside I was crumbling a little ( + ) being very self conscious of my handling with one of the worlds best being present, it was a humbling and learning experience.

Herder, you are so welcome, it's with ease to pass on comments of gratitude towards the knives your are willing to share with us, and that goes for a lot of people here.

So with this being said, I would really like to take my hat off to the amazing people within this community who have taught me so much - ( have a look on this page and those who are mentioned), I owe many, many people my gratitude and thank them for their and your patience as I voice out loud many silly questions. I would hate for anything to happen to this wonderful community that we are in.

 

[WinMag775]

LOT 653 from the auction catalogue drew my attention (you can click on each lot for enlargements and details) This comprised a salesman's display board with the Lockwood Bros. knives still in place and pattern No.s and prices inked in by hand. From the late c19th to early c20th, clearly the author Iain Flemming must have seen these as a child....one knife 8438 is stamped GOLD FINGER an all brass affair with EZ -Open cut out . These were a mere 29 shillings- for a dozen? (1.45 GBP in decimal money) whereas a 2 blade Ivory item commanded 59 shillings a dozen (2.95 GBP) Coco wood one of the cheaper options over Ebony, Horn or Stag. The prices could be for single knives? But I think not....

Some of the Lockwood Bros. knives include the famous blade stamp of a Rhea, Ostrich like bird with 'Real Pampa Knife' introduced according to the notes, as a counter blast to then cheaper German knock-offs. The quality of the Stag is worth zooming in on, unbelievable popcorn to say the least! One of them 8121 1/2 has a very impressive small bolster and looks to be a Lamb Foot yet is stamped 'Etrrick' whereas the Ettrick type knives below it are not.

View attachment 2775101

What a small world. I have that exact Cold Finger EO and 5 other Lockwoods from this display. The board is pictured on page 196 in The Heritage of English Knives.

Here's a picture of the EO I took a while back. I'll post a group picture of the lot tonight if I'm home before dark.

Just a teaser pic.

 

[Jack Black]

Great catalog illustration showing Mike's knife among others. Certainly not a brand that was common in the United States.

Just a big hardware chain here Neal, big enough to have their own tools made up. Their extensive catalogues are very collectible, but contain only a few pages of knives

Great find Jack of Mikes Knife!
To me, that just solidifies everything about a very old Knife when you find yourself so lucky to have acquired!

Mike, thank you for your kind words, I remember sitting in front of Charlie when he placed some knives in front of me, having never been in that position before of having such a variety of extremely nice Knives, inside I was crumbling a little ( + ) being very self conscious of my handling with one of the worlds best being present, it was a humbling and learning experience.

Herder, you are so welcome, it's with ease to pass on comments of gratitude towards the knives your are willing to share with us, and that goes for a lot of people here.

So with this being said, I would really like to take my hat off to the amazing people within this community who have taught me so much - ( have a look on this page and those who are mentioned), I owe many, many people my gratitude and thank them for their and your patience as I voice out loud many silly questions. I would hate for anything to happen to this wonderful community that we are in.

Thank you Duncan That catalogue actually belongs to Tool Man! He has a couple, and leant them to me about a decade ago

 

[WinMag775]

Here's my slice of The Heritage of English Knives page 196.

Top to Bottom:
4 1/4 inch Black Horn Bearhead Jack
4 inch Black Horn Bearhead Jack.
3 7/8 inch Black Horn Serpentine Jack.
3 3/8 inch Black Horn Serpentine Jack.
3 5/8 inch Ebony Swayback.
3 1/2 inch Brass Cold Finger EO.

 

[r8shell]

 

[herder]

Just a big hardware chain here Neal, big enough to have their own tools made up. Their extensive catalogues are very collectible, but contain only a few pages of knives

Thank you Duncan That catalogue actually belongs to Tool Man! He has a couple, and leant them to me about a decade ago

View attachment 2779360

Thanks for the added information Jack. Evidently Lockwood also sold quite a range of hardware along with cutlery.
Here is a fairly large (5 inch horn handle) Lockwood folder sitting on an old catalog which features a wide assortment of hardware beyond cutlery.
It looks like the Buck & Hickman delivery truck just dropped off a fine old (Needham?) Lambfoot.

 

[herder]

Here's my slice of The Heritage of English Knives page 196.

Top to Bottom:
4 1/4 inch Black Horn Bearhead Jack
4 inch Black Horn Bearhead Jack.
3 7/8 inch Black Horn Serpentine Jack.
3 3/8 inch Black Horn Serpentine Jack.
3 5/8 inch Ebony Swayback.
3 1/2 inch Brass Cold Finger EO.

That's a fine group of Lockwood folders.

 

[herder]

Beautiful deep red color on that wood handled model.

 

[WinMag775]

That's a fine group of Lockwood folders.

Thank you Neal.

 

[Old Engineer]

Not real sure of their ages.
View attachment 2769619

Look to see if they have Integral Bolsters . If they do , they may be older than 1895 or so .

Harry

 

[Old Engineer]

Here's something that should be of interest to the serious connoisseur and those simply interested in enlarging their knowledge. The staggering array of this collection; fixed blades, daggers smaller lots of pocket-knives including Sportsman, Coachman,various other patterns, intricate complex multi blades and more ; makes for absorbing viewing. Note that the vast majority of these knives are within the time frame of this thread's rubric Sheffield 1830-1930. Each picture of a lot can be clicked on and enlarged to examine the knives closely for markings.

Englishman David Hayden-Wright 1936-2006 assembled this collection over 40 years and his heirs posthumously published a book by him on English Knives. The collection included catalogues and pattern books from many of the leading Sheffield cutlers and was sold at auction in June 2023 for 387,381 GBP considerably more than expected with 284 lots nearly all of which were sold.

The David Hayden-Wright Collection of Antique Knives

Auction Details View the results of all our latest auctions at Olympia Auctions including lot search

www.olympiaauctions.com

Thanks for the Link Will . The Stag on those Old Pruners are just great .

Harry

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks for the added information Jack. Evidently Lockwood also sold quite a range of hardware along with cutlery.
Here is a fairly large (5 inch horn handle) Lockwood folder sitting on an old catalog which features a wide assortment of hardware beyond cutlery.
It looks like the Buck & Hickman delivery truck just dropped off a fine old (Needham?) Lambfoot.

View attachment 2779884

Nice photo Neal, showing Lockwoods old Spital Hill factory on the catalogue cover. I heard it has been demolished now, after decades of lying in ruins.

 

[Rufus1949]

Look to see if they have Integral Bolsters . If they do , they may be older than 1895 or so .

Harry

Thanks for the suggestion Harry. They do not have the intregal bolsters like my older ones do.

Bob

 

[Will Power]

WinMag775 Appreciate you taking the trouble to show those remarkable knives Mike. Fairly imposing size some of those Horn handled knives, and in a very good state of repair for 125+ years. Similar to the beauty H herder shows with the triple fluted bolster (called Gouttière pattern in French, literally rainwater gutter) Either the quality of Horn or the curing and skill in working in it was different then from now. I discussed this point some years ago with Berhard Levine and he was convinced there were lost skills involved in the curing & working of it which accounts for the stable condition of Antique knives compared to more contemporary ones. Of course, using Horn tip rather than hollow helps matters.

The Ebony Swayback is of particular interest due to its long almost Coping like blade, more often seen with a small Wharncliffe or Peach Pruner type blade, curious variation. Like it a lot. Thanks too for the correction , I idiotically thought it was GOLD Finger due to the brass and the catalogue's name but the COLD Finger would seem to imply easy opening with that notch- pretty cold handle material though....which is also in remarkable condition given brass's tendency to pit and spew verdigris.

Thanks, Will