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

Until recently I had no clue, nor the appreciation for the skill that went into making these diminutive four blade knives. For example, if you look at the little Wolstenholm, keeping in mind the closed length is only 2 1/2 inches,think how small the blades are! The long nail pulls can not be much wider than the thickness of a thumbnail. To think these knives were built day in and day out with equipment that today we would consider so very crude is amazing to me.

As always, thanks for posting pictures and commentary highlighting Sheffield made knives.:thumbup:

Ken
 
Mick, how are you Sir?...I have posted a few photos in "old knives"...but I realy wanted you to eyeball this one-ok, its far from mint...but I love it, cwhat can you tell me about this kind Sir?...its one hell of a heavy knife, the spine is twice as thick as most knives I have seen, and the snap is still the meanest on the streets ...here it is warts and all..
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Thank you for taking the time Mick to view this, please...I know its not up to your standards...but I think this is a beaut!
 
Having a look back in this fantastic Thread..there are some absolute stunning knives in here..guys...take some time to have a wonder through here...just awesome.
Mick,
Here is a T.Turner Rope knife? Im hoping you can tell me about the knife itself, and around the era it came from please .
Mick...this blade seems to have a slight blueing process done to it...was this ever done by factory...I am in doubt, but would like to know anyway, apart from some blade loss through sharpening its pretty intact..could I have your thoughts please Sir?
All I have done to this is soap and warm water..and worked all the crud out until it was clean...WD40'd it...and blew it out with compressed air, and then I am just about to Mineral oil it.As you can see some has also tried to scrape off a wee spot of rust :(...sigh...they should just leave things alone.
Mick I apologize for putting up these old clunkers, but I think they are pretty darn neat old knives, and deserve to be looked at still-thats for sure!
I think the old Stag is just great, and the actions of the knife are just amazing....as good as any of my production knives :thumbup:

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2bux at swapmeet
best part not even my 2bux.
E.Blyde&Son
Sheffield
could that be ebony?
 
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Hi Duncan, great pictures, your Thos Turner rope knife looks very decent its blade is pretty full, clean and tidy, the copper shackle perhaps a replacement ?. These old Turner rope knives were very popular and most I've seen have had hard use and have been re-pinned and sometimes rebladed. I doubt if these knives were originally supplied with dull/blued blades ?....

Mick
 
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Can not thank everyone enough, especially Mick, for their contribution to this thread. It is quite a gift to be able to see these incredible knives.
 
Bastid said:
Can not thank everyone enough, especially Mick, for their contribution to this thread. It is quite a gift to be able to see these incredible knives.
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You are dead right Gus, this is just fantastic, and Mick seems to be a hell of a nice guy.
Mick..thank you for the reply, you confirmed my suspicions that someone has blued the blade...I believe the blade to be original, and have looked closely at the pins, they seem to be correct, but if you see different..please I am here to learn Sir!
 
Hi folks, what I have here is farfrom a mint knife - I know this, but compared to what it was before...its just amazing. I know...I know, she sure aint purdy...but....
No actions on this knife worked - at all!, I couldnt open any blades, the ( remainder of ) corkscrew, or the spike...I only bought it as it cost next to nothing, and I wanted to have a closer look.
The neat old yellow bone just sort of glows now..this was many nights once I finally sat down at night - and mineral oiled and worked and worked and worked that knife, soaked it, and came back to it the next night.

Now all blades, spike and remaints of the corkscrew open, and the walk and talk and snap is amazing.everything works again, the blades are fairly full, the pen has the stamping...
HARTLEY & SONS
SHEFFIELD
the main blade has a very neat matchstrike long pull, along with double sided swedges, now forgive me guys if I am wrong here, the top is a hoof blade that also doubles as a nutcracker? - its actually a joy to pick up and go through all the uses of the knife - as they are all working beautifully, the snap is so crisp, half stops on both blades, with a very crisp snap when closing.
Mick, once again :rolleyes: I apologize for putting up a clunker, but I think its a tribute to the makers of these great older knives that they can be resurrected to be a working tool again.
From what era would this have come from Mick?, and what is the model name of such a knife, thank you for having a look at this.
Duncan.
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Duncan, nice old workhorse ! Horseman's knife; nearly all the ones i see on ebay have been used. I think the mintier ones rarely emerge from collections to become available.
roland
 
Thanks Roland, Thank you for that my friend, as much as this looks rough, the actions are just like a new one!
 
^^^ That's a fine old sportsman's knife Duncan, nice and tidy, those bone scales look great. Not sure about the maker ?, looking through 'Tweedale's Directory' there is a cutler 'William Hartley' mentioned 1894-99..The stone hooks on this type of knife were used for cracking hazelnuts, those on knives measuring under 4 3/4" were too small to be practical though. All these sportsman's knives were made to common 'town' patterns their parts, bolsters, liners, scales, blades, articles etc sourced from factors.

Mick
 
Mick, would you please explain the terms " 'town' patterns" and "factor".
Thanks. To a knife knut, properly understanding what you have posted is important.
roland
 
Hi Roland,

The vast majority of factory made (Sheffield) pen and pocket knives were made to standard patterns, senators, wharncliffes, lobsters, sportsmans etc etc in all the sizes. When a 'maker' or little mester wanted to manufacture a certain batch of knives the parts, springs, blades, articles, liners, scales, bolsters, shackles, escutcheon plates etc would usually sourced from an outside supplier (factor), the factor supplied many different makers with virtually identical parts.

Firms (factors) such as Lygo's, Henry Innocence & J Dewsnapp, Bowler produced enormous quantities of parts for the Sheffield trade, Bowler's had over 5000 sets of dies and tools, all known by different names, smokers, equal-ends, senators etc.

Mick
 
Mick, I just want to sincerely thank you for this thread. It's been a revelation.
Threads of this caliber are like a free education, and help me justify my knife purchases as money not spent for tuition at Blade University:D
 
Mick, thank you for the above explanation. Did even the larger well known knife manufacturers like Jos. Rodgers and Wostenholm outsource their parts to these "Factors" ? I have always assumed that they made all their own parts.
roland
 
rprocter said:
Mick, thank you for the above explanation. Did even the larger well known knife manufacturers like Jos. Rodgers and Wostenholm outsource their parts to these "Factors" ? I have always assumed that they made all their own parts.
roland
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Hi Roland,

I'm not sure to what extent the likes of Rodgers and Wostenholms bought in parts.

I remember reading a very interesting article written by Jim Taylor (The Slaters Of Sheffield) in which Denis Slater, who was one of the last old time cutlery 'bosses' (I think his family owned J Dewsnapp, Bowler Ltd amongst others companies ?) reminisces and gives his thoughts..he clearly mentioned supplying "every company in Sheffield with parts, even the likes of Rodgers and Wostenholms right down to the smallest little mester" (in the pre and post WW2 era).

I have some good John Watts Ltd ref materiel, including a large cost book that dates 1892-1930s in which their suppliers, goods and prices paid are listed, they certainly outsourced a lot of work.

Mick
 
Thanks Mick. Your fine knives and indepth knowledge are such a treat for all of us. You are Greatly Appreciated !
roland
 
rprocter said:
Thanks Mick. Your fine knives and indepth knowledge are such a treat for all of us. You are Greatly Appreciated !
roland
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I second that Roland, and thank you for your questions that have feed us some more knowledge from Mick, Fantastic Thread Mick. :thumbup:
 
Mick, Thank you for the wealth of knowledge you share with all of us. I'm wondering what the vintage of this knife is? It's stamped WILLIAM ROGERS SHEFFIELD on the master blade and I CUT MY WAY on the pen blade. It's 3 3/4" closed with horn handles. I'm thinking because it's not marked England, that either it was made before 1892 or it was not intended for import into the US. Thanks, Barry
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