Old Hawkbill Pruner

[ea42]

And another, Camillus, early 1940's:

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Eric

 

[wellington]

This thing got floated across the bay some years ago -

Sorry Mick, this is all I've got. IIRC, the seller was out of Connecticut and the knife didn't sell (nobody reached the minimum - not for lack of trying). It's really a museum level piece. I've messed about trying to enhance the images enough to see any marks, but while I think there are marks on the blades, I couldn't make them clear enough to be sure - and the seller couldn't tell for sure either. He thought it was a Colonial made piece, but I very much doubt it - those integral iron bolsters and liners scream early Sheffield make.

Cheers Dwight,

I agree, looks like a museum piece to me, surely Sheffield made. Knives with pruner blades were popular in the late 17th C, pretty tough and handy , to accommodate the blade shape the handles were often swept back at the head end, usually they had bone or horn coverings. The two blades working on the single backspring is interesting, I think it's a VERY early knife C 1700- ?

This is a very early Thomas Turner Pruning knife circa 1834-1880.

Integral steel bolsters/liners, steel pins, stag handles. Almost 5" closed.

Dimitri

Great looking pruner Dimitri, :thumbup:

Here's one of my own, marked ROBT T PLUM, St AUGUSTINE'S PARADE, BRISTOL C1840-50, 4 1/2" iron pins and liners with integral bolsters.

Mick

 

[waynorth]

Dwight, Mick, and Dimitri, thanks for showing these very old knives! Eric, not so old, but a wonderfully preserved Camillus! Thanks!!

 

[waynorth]

Here are a couple that are easy to carry in your pocket. At first, many years ago, I thought the Saynor was an amazingly worn Hawkbill, but soon learned they made a nice slim version. So it's worn, but not nearly as much as I'd thought in my early collecting days.

The Case Tested is a scaled down Hawk, only 3 1/2" long. The blades were allowed to corrode, but the beautiful old handles attest to the durability of bone!

 

[waynorth]

Empire made some nice ones in the late 1800s. Check out the wide swedge on the lower of these two butt capped models.

 

[Campbellclanman]

Wow!! This is turning out to be the finest hawk thread ANYWHERE!! Mind boggling!

Here's one more to add, a Schrade Cut. Co. :

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Eric

Eric..I believe you are right...this HAS to be the finest thread on these type of knives..all of them are great knives...and a hell of a lot of them are just magnificent!!
This thread is pure pleasure to go through. Cheeers people for sharing these fantastic knives.

 

[waynorth]

Where would a Hawkbill concert be without some heavy metal??

(My least favorite music, but a pretty cool knife!!)
Heavy cast handles act as the liners also.

I see I've labeled my pictures R2-D2 Stag! I wonder where I got that name from?? Maybe in this case it is best forgotten!

 

[waynorth]

And, another all metal one. Nice substantial Brass.

 

[Will Power]

Here's one of my own, marked ROBT T PLUM, St AUGUSTINE'S PARADE, BRISTOL C1840-50, 4 1/2" iron pins and liners with integral bolsters.

Mick

Many thanks for displaying this one Mick:thumbup:

A real eye-opener with lovely worn scales and the blade has seen time grafting and on the stone too. My fruit trees are begging for the attention of that one

You can see a source of inspiration for the T.Bose Pruner in this knife. Can't beat authentic DNA in a knife.

Regards, W

 

[eccvets]

all of my hawkbills have been from spyderco.

 

[VCM3]

So Eric & I are thinking the tiny hole in the first knife posted here,is from an insect.
Can anyone tell us more about that ?

Thanks for the additions.There seems to be alot of these around,it is a good pattern to collect. With the monster blades,even real old & genuinely worn examples still have unbroken blades.
It's good to see Case bringing a modern version back,too. They won an award in a show in Germany,for it :thumbup:
-Vince

 

[waynorth]

Vince, under magnification, you should be able to tell whether the hole in the OP (Original Post) knife was drilled or chewed. Insects can make a pretty round hole, but usually some slight irregularity will give it away.

 

[waynorth]

Fairly rare; long pull on a pruner. Empire, Winsted, CT.

 

[wellington]

Charlie, you've got an astonishing array of knives :thumbup:.

Those brass Tyne 3 1/2" pruners were known as the 5004 and were made as late as 1970s.

Many thanks for displaying this one Mick:thumbup:

A real eye-opener with lovely worn scales and the blade has seen time grafting and on the stone too. My fruit trees are begging for the attention of that one

Delighted you like the Plumb willgoy , being from Bristol makes it quite rare, plus it's really well made, lovely stag handle, the blade snaps like a trap, damn sharp too !.

Mick

 

[waynorth]

Thanks for the info on the Tyne, Mick.
And I'm flattered my meagre* collection gets your attention!
Yours sure gets mine!!

*Meagre in Britain and Canada; spelt meager in the U.S.A.

 

[wellington]

Thanks for the info on the Tyne, Mick.
And I'm flattered my meagre* collection gets your attention!

You're a VERY modest fellow Charlie ..

I'll post a 1971 Seth Birdwell catalogue on the "Vintage Knife Catalogs" thread later, your Wosty Tyne is in there priced at $5 USD.

Mick

 

[smiling-knife]

This is a most enjoyable thread. Thanks to everyone for posting their fine examples. This one was made in Solingen circa 1920s-30s.

 

[richard j]

here is an old case hawkbill that someone lost fishing at a local lake. luckily it didnt get rained on before being found.

 

[smiling-knife]

Here's one more... made by J. Howarth Sheffield. Looks as though it has seen some honest use.

 

[Will Power]

That's a fine Hawk S-K. Certainly does look like it's been used by some horny-handed son of toil alright That stag must've caused a few callouses
Thank you for showing it, also like the German Rosewood job.