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

smiling-knife said:
My oldest Sheffield knife... Stanfield, Newbould and Co made circa 1845.

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Wonderful Knife SK, It's on my list of must have knives.

Best regards

Robin
 
Nice knife SK!!! Lovely combo of stag and ivory ;-)

Here’s an old Sheffield quill – I believe based on what I have found it is approx. 1820-30 timeframe – GcrownR stamp (and not a straight line stamp but offset & hand punched) and the best I can make of the name is Fatery (? – the 1st 2 letters FA are clear but not as much in photo - probably due to wear) – if anybody has any info or is seeing the name differently than me please kick in…. Tortoise shell with a sterling silver band on both mark and pile sides… Integrated iron liner and bolster and I believe the bolster is gilt (gold)… and after almost 200 years this knife still snaps both ways with a half stop to boot ;-)

Thanks for looking… (BTW – I overlook some of its age spots and imagine this knife when it left the cutlery ;-)…..







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LongBlade said:
This thread has no doubt been one of my favorites to go through page by page... just some awesome knives!!

I have a few to add today and some more as I get the pics.. and thanks to Campbellclanman for suggesting I post the Wostenholm English Jack here which I recently posted in the Stag Saturday thread :thumbup:

Here are 2 Wostenholms that I believe both date to the turn of the 19th century and no doubt after 1890...

Wostenholm English Jack (1531) - 4 & 9/16" - lockback - stag and a very lightly (if at all) sharpened blade



Thanks for looking...
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That's awesome!
Darcy:)
 
Some wonderful recent additions to this outstanding thread :) :thumbup:
 
Thanks again!

Kicking this cool thread back to the top ;-)

George Butler & Co Trinity Works Sheffield Swayback Stag Jack – (3 & ¾”) – Integrated iron liners and bolsters puts this pre-1860… I’m guessing 1830-50 time frame based on company history in Tweedale… just a lovely knife in hand with that old stag and a heavily curved & tapered back spring (from pivot bolster to end of spring) that wraps so nicely around the end… blade was a lambsfoot though has seen some honest sharpening – and a stovepipe kick to boot! It almost looks above the nail nick that the spine had some wear from somebody putting their finger on that area when cutting… or it was made with that gentle slope above nick… either way I just have a real affinity for swayback jacks ;-) Thanks for looking...









 
That's a beautiful knife. The tapered and wrapped around spring is definitely old. I think it is a pruning knife with the blade narrowed and shortened a little over the years. Thanks for posting it.
 
smiling-knife said:
That's a beautiful knife. The tapered and wrapped around spring is definitely old. I think it is a pruning knife with the blade narrowed and shortened a little over the years. Thanks for posting it.
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Thanks S-K!! Yes I believe it may have been a pruner with a lambsfoot but given the size of the knife in terms of depth within the liner my guess is that it wasn't a hawkbill.... Were lambsfoot knives always associated with pruning or did they have other uses in the 1800s? I think today folks like lambsfoot and sheepsfoot blades as EDCs for multiple uses... just curious... Also as an aside and maybe I should have noted it but the where the blade tip ends it is interesting that the inside liner also had an angular transition... so I am thinking that while it may have been shortened it wasn't by too much... thanks again!
 
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Super pruner LongBlade
Now is this of mine similar ? The shape is the same but the bolster is slightly different and the backspring does not wrap round in the same way. Mine has no name.
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Longblade One could really say that knife is a work of art, the amazing curve of the spring, the butter colour to the stag, and that integral bolster! Deeply impressive, is it a recent find or has it been with you long? Could you show us the tang-stamp please?

Thanks, Will
 
Thanks ADEE and Will :thumbup:

ADEE - Hard to tell but believe yours was a hawkbill pruner (hard to tell - maybe a sheepsfoot??) and while indeed a swaybacks it looks to have more girth... my knife from a side view goes from 3/8" at the pivot bolster to about 5/8" at the back end.... the width from the top down view is about 13/16" from one end to the other giving it a really nice shape to handle...

Will - Here's the tang stamp - meant to post it before... not all entirely legible but easy to decipher ;-)



Thanks again!
 
Cool pruner Ken... You can see Butler in both knives - similar color stag and design of bolster... even the stovepipe kick :thumbup:
 
There's a sleekness and fine taper on those that is not evident in most pruners. The slimmer pruners,aka peach pruners,were more genteel, a less robust or harsh pruning blade.

As evidenced in the description in this cut from 1915 Holley catalog ( notice peach pruner ..slim):

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mmmmm Man these knives are just fantastic! Lyle - thanks for posting the Brochure for the Holley Pruner - what a stunning looking knife! ( adjusting dials of time machine to 1915 to buy a couple of dozen @$5.75!! :cool::thumbup:
 
LongBlade Thanks for your comments on my stag pruner. here are a few more pictures with dimensions. They are certainly good in the hand these things. Any idea of its age ? I seem to think that no end cap means "old".
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Thanks Campbellclanman and Lyle :thumbup:

Lyle - Thanks for posting that Holley catalog cut!! I would assume though (& I may be wrong) that the smaller pruner in the Holley cut would also sport a hawkbill blade? Were lambsfoot blades also peach pruners - or perhaps simple gardening pruners for flowers? or both?

ADEE - Your pruner is no doubt of the larger size... certainly shows some age to me (but that is not related to no end cap) - through the 1800s and into the 1900s some had end caps and some did not... However it does appear that your liners and bolster are one piece and with all iron pins etc I would guess your knife is also pre-1860 but more of a classic pruner at the size indicated by the ruler... I just can't tell if your blade was a hawkbill (like that in the Holley catalog) that has received a good bit of sharpening ... but that is my guess....
 
Thank you for your thoughts LongBlade. Most interesting. It looks like the knife is older than I thought. I think the liners / bolsters are one-piece.
 
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