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

[Campbellclanman]

Another Great Sheffield landed on my lap the other day, now this is one stonking beast of a knife- Its Huge!

This from what I have seen in some older Sheffield catalogs wasn't a pruner as such, but described as a Plumbers Knife, the Blade has had use but is rather full, wonderfully built, and earlier knife although I don't think it gets to the mid 1800's, but definitely the later I'm thinking, a rather uneducated guess, Integral Bolsters / liners, and the older Wostenholm Tang with the older Font, and no Sheffield, and with the older I*XL on the Blade.

I was delighted to find how nice this knife actually was when it arrived, it had little walk and talk, yet the Blade is far from loose- but not quite the "Bear trap" like these Old Gals tend to be, so I worked it in Mineral Oil, made sure the oil went right along the spring, top up the oil and work it, leave it sitting for a couple of days and repeat, I did this over a week and a half, and it has a nice walk and talk now with a definite half stop and no blade play. Just under 5inches closed.

 

[Jack Black]

Lovely new additions to your wonderful collection Duncan

 

[Campbellclanman]

Thanks Jack

 

[galvanic1882]

Damn Duncan that is a beauty!!!

 

[lambertiana]

Another Great Sheffield landed on my lap the other day, now this is one stonking beast of a knife- Its Huge!

This from what I have seen in some older Sheffield catalogs wasn't a pruner as such, but described as a Plumbers Knife, the Blade has had use but is rather full, wonderfully built, and earlier knife although I don't think it gets to the mid 1800's, but definitely the later I'm thinking, a rather uneducated guess, Integral Bolsters / liners, and the older Wostenholm Tang with the older Font, and no Sheffield, and with the older I*XL on the Blade.

I was delighted to find how nice this knife actually was when it arrived, it had little walk and talk, yet the Blade is far from loose- but not quite the "Bear trap" like these Old Gals tend to be, so I worked it in Mineral Oil, made sure the oil went right along the spring, top up the oil and work it, leave it sitting for a couple of days and repeat, I did this over a week and a half, and it has a nice walk and talk now with a definite half stop and no blade play. Just under 5inches closed.

What a beast! What wood is that? Rosewood?

 

[glennbad]

Another Great Sheffield landed on my lap the other day, now this is one stonking beast of a knife- Its Huge!

This from what I have seen in some older Sheffield catalogs wasn't a pruner as such, but described as a Plumbers Knife, the Blade has had use but is rather full, wonderfully built, and earlier knife although I don't think it gets to the mid 1800's, but definitely the later I'm thinking, a rather uneducated guess, Integral Bolsters / liners, and the older Wostenholm Tang with the older Font, and no Sheffield, and with the older I*XL on the Blade.

I was delighted to find how nice this knife actually was when it arrived, it had little walk and talk, yet the Blade is far from loose- but not quite the "Bear trap" like these Old Gals tend to be, so I worked it in Mineral Oil, made sure the oil went right along the spring, top up the oil and work it, leave it sitting for a couple of days and repeat, I did this over a week and a half, and it has a nice walk and talk now with a definite half stop and no blade play. Just under 5inches closed.

That's a dandy, Duncan! Don't wear that one in your swim trunks pocket, you'll drop straight to the bottom with that tank!

 

[Campbellclanman]

Damn Duncan that is a beauty!!!

Thank you Mike!
It is a beauty for sure , Out of the bunch though - I still keep picking up the Stag Leppington that I posted previous page.

What a beast! What wood is that? Rosewood?

I think a lot of these English Knives are! I could be mistaken but pretty sure it is Rosewood.

That's a dandy, Duncan! Don't wear that one in your swim trunks pocket, you'll drop straight to the bottom with that tank!

Thank you Glenn, I will follow that sound advice.

 

[echoscout]

Another Great Sheffield landed on my lap the other day, now this is one stonking beast of a knife- Its Huge!

This from what I have seen in some older Sheffield catalogs wasn't a pruner as such, but described as a Plumbers Knife, the Blade has had use but is rather full, wonderfully built, and earlier knife although I don't think it gets to the mid 1800's, but definitely the later I'm thinking, a rather uneducated guess, Integral Bolsters / liners, and the older Wostenholm Tang with the older Font, and no Sheffield, and with the older I*XL on the Blade.

I was delighted to find how nice this knife actually was when it arrived, it had little walk and talk, yet the Blade is far from loose- but not quite the "Bear trap" like these Old Gals tend to be, so I worked it in Mineral Oil, made sure the oil went right along the spring, top up the oil and work it, leave it sitting for a couple of days and repeat, I did this over a week and a half, and it has a nice walk and talk now with a definite half stop and no blade play. Just under 5inches closed.

Awesome

 

[galvanic1882]

Here’s a Joseph Elliott, civil war era I believe. Got it from over the pond!

 

[Campbellclanman]

Now THAT'S a Sheffield Mike! Love it!

 

[Mike Robuck]

Great additions to the thread galvanic1882 and Campbellclanman !

 

[Mike Robuck]

J.Bunger &Sons, Celebrated Cutlery. Split backspring wharncliffe whittler. 3 1⁄4 closed. Master blade flat ground. All three blades stamped “J.Bunger & Sons, Celebrated Cutlery” and “XX.” Thin, sharp blades, sunk joints.

Goins says 1875-1900. I asked Mick, who started this thread, if he knew anything about the company and he found the following: I think J Bunger & Sons was the London cutler (retailer) Jakob Bunger his premises was in Billiter Sq (City of London)

I found a post on Bladeforums about this knife by Charles Lamb (Chuko) who is a friend that passed away in 2018. I bought a few of his knives from his son a while back but I’m pleased to own another from his collection.

 

[Campbellclanman]

Congratulations Mike, that is an absolutely outstanding Knife, I regret great not being a lot more focused and instead of buying 20 knives to buy just the one better knifer, mind you its very hard way over here - I would be the happiest guy on Earth with that Knife, I thought I was happy with my last three I posted here

I probably wouldn't be able to take photos of that one because I would be unable to let go of it. What a beauty!

Please do pass our regards onto Mick, I used communicate with earlier on, nice guy!

 

[Mike Robuck]

Thanks Duncan. Will do!

 

[Will Power]

Mike Robuck Such a lot to admire in that Shadow Stag in terms of aesthetics and workmanship, proper sample of the Golden Era . It's gratifying that it has gone to another collector who appreciates its quality

 

[Mike Robuck]

Thanks Will Power . Come for the knives, stay for the friendships!

 

[Oldy]

That's a dandy, Duncan! Don't wear that one in your swim trunks pocket, you'll drop straight to the bottom with

I would definitely not wear that in your swim trunk pocket at the local pool,and not because you would sink.

 

[herder]

I have had a few arrivals - nothing as spectacular as Herders Allen Sportsman, mind you I could chip in $20 or so if Herder wants to do a trade and pocket a cool 20 on one of these, Herder get your people to call my people Sir.
Leppington, Sheffield. Trade mark: Cutlass.
A stamp not often seen, spectacular old Stag. Leppington Sheffield, Eng. with their Trademark CUTLASS stamped on both Tangs.
Castrator Blade which seems nearly full, Iron Pins, Stag beautifully hafted - you pick up more each time you handle the knife, A hefty Knife and although far from mint, this knife I absolutely adore, Herder only gets a tenner with this knife Where I purchased this from, someone made a comment that the blade tip was broken, I thought " No- but thank you for putting others off " This is the way these Blades are shaped.

That's a great example of a classic English pattern. Wonderful condition and beautiful stag on that old fellow.

 

[herder]

A Knife that doesn't leap out at you too much, I saw this locally and just really liked it, I have owned quite a few- probably as most of us have C. Johnstone Flag Knives, or Western Works knives, I haven't though, owned many with the simple /plain tang stamp. C.Johnson & Co, Sheffield, England. No I don't think I have discovered a rare priceless gem that was stolen from the Sheffield museum, but I just thought that with the Blades being full, and some very nice Bone and jig work, for the price of a Burger and chips, I picked it up quickly. This Bone really comes to life in the natural Sun- is fascinating.
Perky Walk and Talk, this wee Vintage is in lovely shape, and who doesn't want a nice Sheffield hanging around the place?

Another nice example of the standard pen knife pattern. Christopher Johnson offered many great knives well beyond WWII.

 

[herder]

Another Great Sheffield landed on my lap the other day, now this is one stonking beast of a knife- Its Huge!

This from what I have seen in some older Sheffield catalogs wasn't a pruner as such, but described as a Plumbers Knife, the Blade has had use but is rather full, wonderfully built, and earlier knife although I don't think it gets to the mid 1800's, but definitely the later I'm thinking, a rather uneducated guess, Integral Bolsters / liners, and the older Wostenholm Tang with the older Font, and no Sheffield, and with the older I*XL on the Blade.

I was delighted to find how nice this knife actually was when it arrived, it had little walk and talk, yet the Blade is far from loose- but not quite the "Bear trap" like these Old Gals tend to be, so I worked it in Mineral Oil, made sure the oil went right along the spring, top up the oil and work it, leave it sitting for a couple of days and repeat, I did this over a week and a half, and it has a nice walk and talk now with a definite half stop and no blade play. Just under 5inches closed.

A fine and quite old model. While a few catalogs exist for Sheffield cutlery companies such as Joseph Rodgers and Mappin that date back to the 1860s, very little paperwork (that I am aware of) older than the early 1880s exists for Wostenholm. That "fancy" Wostenholm blade stamp is not seen in early 1880s paperwork so we can date that stamp style to pre-1880s. My guess is that knife dates from the 1860s to 1870s. That same model was offered for decades beyond, but with a different "block" style blade stamp. Shown are a few Wostenholm pruners with the fist three from the left showing the later blade stamp. The far right example has the same older blade stamp as seen on Campbellclanman's wonderful example.