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

[herder]

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.

View attachment 2780081

Thanks Jack, and thanks for the picture of the old Lockwood building even though it's sad to see it in such a poor state.
Did you ever walk around any old cutlery buildings to see if any interesting things were laying about?

 

[Campbellclanman]

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.

WinMag775 What a great grouping of some very fine knives ! Outstanding!

R8Shell, Love that Ettrick, what a shame about that gorgeous Lockwood Jack- yet it still deserves some time to look at it, i get it as to why you gather these because theres so much in these great Ol' Knives that we can learn and appreciate.

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

Herder Sir, thats one VERY nice Lockwood right there

 

[Campbellclanman]

This Lockwood Bros. Cold Finger Knife I have always appreciated an slightly older knife when they go all out with their Markings, I do like the manufacturer as well

 

[waynorth]

This Lockwood Bros. Cold Finger Knife I have always appreciated an slightly older knife when they go all out with their Markings, I do like the manufacturer as well

Interesting Lockwood, Duncan!! Here is it's Brass brother!!

 

[Rufus1949]

This Lockwood Bros. Cold Finger Knife I have always appreciated an slightly older knife when they go all out with their Markings, I do like the manufacturer as well

Interesting Lockwood, Duncan!! Here is it's Brass brother!!View attachment 2780461View attachment 2780462

Two interesting variations Duncan and Charlie.

 

[Rufus1949]

Staying with Lockwood.

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks Jack, and thanks for the picture of the old Lockwood building even though it's sad to see it in such a poor state.
Did you ever walk around any old cutlery buildings to see if any interesting things were laying about?

I went in a lot of bombed buildings as a young boy, and some of them would have been small cutlery factories. I would have certainly picked up any knives lying around, but what I neglected was all the scattered paperwork! The time I should have gone round them was in the late 70's and early 80's. I had a friend who did so, but he never found anything of note. Bands used to rehearse in some of the old buildings, and I've seen the inside of a few of those. I was once exploring an old building with the friend I just mentioned, and we found a sack of fanmail, and loads of bottles of fancy liquor. The downstairs was derelict, but upstairs was where a local band called 'The Human League' used to practice, and they had clearly had a party when they got signed, and bought far too much booze! Online I have come across posts by 'urban explorers', going round old cutlery factories. In more recent years, I've had a look around one or two of the old ones, but could never get very far inside. I did find a post about a load of Sambar still inside one of the factories near Wright's. It was locked-up when I visited, but I told them about it. It's possible the stag for my Hartshead Barlows came from there!

Two interesting variations Duncan and Charlie.

+1 I'm waiting to see the Goldfinger!

 

[r8shell]

Beautiful deep red color on that wood handled model.

Thanks. Rosewood, I presume.

R8Shell, Love that Ettrick, what a shame about that gorgeous Lockwood Jack- yet it still deserves some time to look at it, i get it as to why you gather these because theres so much in these great Ol' Knives that we can learn and appreciate.

Even in poor condition, it's a pleasure to hold an object that someone carried and used 100 years ago.

That Lockwood Jack (a gift from Jack Black ) with its broken and misshapen blade, still walks, talks, and slices perfectly well . It still gets the chance to open letters and trim string from time to time. In fact, it may be the perfect shape for peeling apples.

This Lockwood Bros. Cold Finger Knife I have always appreciated an slightly older knife when they go all out with their Markings, I do like the manufacturer as well

Staying with Lockwood.
View attachment 2780472

I love the deeply stamped blade markings.

 

[herder]

Great Cold Finger examples shown from WinMag, Duncan, and Charlie.
In keeping with the Lockwood theme, here are a few more.

 

[herder]

I went in a lot of bombed buildings as a young boy, and some of them would have been small cutlery factories. I would have certainly picked up any knives lying around, but what I neglected was all the scattered paperwork! The time I should have gone round them was in the late 70's and early 80's. I had a friend who did so, but he never found anything of note. Bands used to rehearse in some of the old buildings, and I've seen the inside of a few of those. I was once exploring an old building with the friend I just mentioned, and we found a sack of fanmail, and loads of bottles of fancy liquor. The downstairs was derelict, but upstairs was where a local band called 'The Human League' used to practice, and they had clearly had a party when they got signed, and bought far too much booze! Online I have come across posts by 'urban explorers', going round old cutlery factories. In more recent years, I've had a look around one or two of the old ones, but could never get very far inside. I did find a post about a load of Sambar still inside one of the factories near Wright's. It was locked-up when I visited, but I told them about it. It's possible the stag for my Hartshead Barlows came from there!

+1 I'm waiting to see the Goldfinger!

Jack, thanks for that interesting story, and I still have a vinyl record of "The Human League".
As they always say, "If only we knew better when we were younger". The things we could have studied or searched for...
But glad to hear that you able to do some exploring back in the day.

 

[Will Power]

Great Cold Finger examples shown from WinMag, Duncan, and Charlie.
In keeping with the Lockwood theme, here are a few more.

View attachment 2781257

More astounding treasure. The Horn on the Swayback is extraordinary , what is that pattern 3rd down please with the long Spear? Anglo-Saxon? As for the Barehead Spear with Rat-Tail and Stag, this is what this thread should be about, Golden indeed.

Early on in the thread some contributors mooted the possibility of a different race of Stag for the exemplary Antler of the age. Parallel with the specialist skills in hafting and bending. Select Deer Parks in India whose inhabitants may have vanished leaving no descendants with the same antler traits. Chital Deer were mentioned together with Sambar & Scottish Red Deer. Somebody noted that some of it is close together in bark texture, which Bonestag tried to emulate, quite unlike Grooved or Popcorn -beautiful as they are. Possibly the origins of Pressed Stag?

 

[Jiki]

J. Fenton and sons.

 

[Campbellclanman]

Interesting Lockwood, Duncan!! Here is it's Brass brother!!View attachment 2780461View attachment 2780462

A much better preserved sibling to mine Charlie! Fantastic!

 

[herder]

More astounding treasure. The Horn on the Swayback is extraordinary , what is that pattern 3rd down please with the long Spear? Anglo-Saxon? As for the Barehead Spear with Rat-Tail and Stag, this is what this thread should be about, Golden indeed.

Early on in the thread some contributors mooted the possibility of a different race of Stag for the exemplary Antler of the age. Parallel with the specialist skills in hafting and bending. Select Deer Parks in India whose inhabitants may have vanished leaving no descendants with the same antler traits. Chital Deer were mentioned together with Sambar & Scottish Red Deer. Somebody noted that some of it is close together in bark texture, which Bonestag tried to emulate, quite unlike Grooved or Popcorn -beautiful as they are. Possibly the origins of Pressed Stag?

View attachment 2781441

Thanks Will, it's odd pattern that I would call a sleeve board serpentine jack with blades at either end. And I'm a sucker for pinched bolsters.

Stag is my favorite handle material not just because of its beauty, but also because it is found in endless types and colors.
That is a fantastic example shown from the "Sheffield Exhibition Knives" book which also shows how small and fine natural stag can look.
The words "pressed stag" have been repeatedly used and is simply not true. Stag is bone which is in all practically, not pressable.
Could someone soften bone enough to press? Possibly, but certainly not economically or reasonably to use for knife handles.
Horn is made of keratin which is similar to human hair and fingernails, and is softer and able to be pressed into patterns.
Enclosed are some quotes from two of the most respected knife collectors on the AAPK forum, and one from one of the most respected fellows on this forum.

"As easy as it is to dye and jig bone why would anyone want to go to all the trouble, expense and time it would take to try to press bone? Could you possibly press bone isn't the point, the point is why would anyone even try? Pressing horn was done to get horn to look like something other than horn, typically bone or stag. Would you go to all the trouble of trying to press bone to make it look like pressed horn? I don't think so. The idea itself is unreasonable."

If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Wayne




Ridgegrass wrote: ↑Wed Jan 22, 2025 6:37 pm. Pressed bone or horn,or worn stag (?).Only American-made knife I've ever seen or had in pressed bone if it is, J.O'.

"No such thing as pressed bone, pressed horn yes"

AAPK Janitor
369



"I'm convinced it's Stag, Lyle. I don't think bone can get "fluid" (with heat or chemicals) enough to reshape - it's too tough and firm. Horn can be pressed with heat, but the fibers are even larger than Stag, and we'd see them!!"

 

[herder]

J. Fenton and sons.

That's a good looking Fenton model, what is the handle length?

 

[Jiki]

That's a good looking Fenton model, what is the handle length?

3⅝ inch, 92cm.

 

[Oldy]

J. Fenton and sons.

I would think a j.fenton would be a whittler ,or did whittling Evolve in the Fenton clan.

 

[Jiki]

I would think a j.fenton would be a whittler ,or did whittling Evolve in the Fenton clan.

I don't think this J. Fenton is related to that J. Fenton. However, I am researching it.

 

[Will Power]

H herder Much appreciate your reply, it is an odd but very good-looking pattern.

Pressed Stag has always puzzled me, I've even heard people claim that inferior antler was ground up mixed with liquids and then 'cast' into forms, dyed and cut to size! The outlandish process and expense of it all. Seems like it must be a type or grade of Stag no longer seen, or else, evenly worn down old handles.

Thanks, Will

 

[glennbad]

I don't think I've shared this one here before. Can't quite make out the name, maybe Jack or another brother across the pond can help with the maker.

It's not a museum piece, but nice enough I guess. It does need some work, the center pin is sheared in the middle...those blades have no snap, but the other ones on either side do, LOL.