"Old Knives"

[Gevonovich]

Campbell
That is a classic!

 

[Campbellclanman]

Wow, Campbell....how did I miss that if you have posted it before??
Simply amazing knife!

 

[bakerg2g]

Campbell, that Remington looks GREAT!

Jason

 

[supratentorial]

That's a nice lookin' Farmer's Jack! I haven't seen many of those... especially in that condition!

 

[kurec]

Magnificent George Wostenholms pruner flea market find.

The following markings appear on the blade:

I*XL George Wostenholms Celebrated

George Wolstenholme and Son company acquired the I*XL trade mark in 1826. In 1890, the US McKinly Tariff Act required all imported goods to be marked with their country of origin .

There is no Eng., England or *Sheffield mark, so the knife should be produced between 1826-1890.

The stag [?] scales and kicks are very similar to the knives from steamboat Arabia sunk in 1856:


http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv263/dwightwh/SteamboatArabiaknives1856.jpg


The knife is in very good condition for its age. The blade additionally locks at 90 degrees for pruning small branches [?]

I would appreciate any extra information about the knife

 

[supratentorial]

Welcome, kurec! Beautiful sambar stag covers on that Pruner!

The blade additionally locks at 90 degrees for pruning small branches [?]

Sounds like a "half stop" http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/799363-Half-stop?p=8999759#post8999759

 

[lambertiana]

There is no Eng., England or *Sheffield mark, so the knife should be produced between 1826-1890.

That is not a valid assumption for most knives, although for Wostenholm it might be reasonable because the US was their primary market. For most Sheffield brands, the lack of England in the tang stamp could indicate that the knife was made after 1891 for a market outside the US, such as Canada, Europe, South America, Australia, etc. The sans serif typeface in the tang stamp looks more recent than 1891.

Otherwise, a nice old pruner.

 

[Tony Bose]

The joint looks flush and clean, is it??

 

[kurec]

A "half stop" with square tang self cleaning feature makes perfect sense for yard work .

It looks like early and mid 19 century Wostenholms were using Serif fonts for markings, and later [mid 1800s] switched to Sans Serif, but Sans Serif style markings with Sheffield (after 1890) look thinner than the one on the pruner. lambertiana, do you have a link to Wostenholms San Serif tang stamps before 1890, or your comment was based on general typesetting fonts history?

The joint looks original and works perfectly.



This is a great place to learn something new.

Thanks supratentorial, lambertiana, Tony Bose for your comments.

 

[Tony Bose]

With the joint flush and as short as that bolster is it looks earlier to me. Great knife, I love it.

 

[Tony Bose]

See what Bernie has to say about it.

 

[lambertiana]

My comment was based more on a general font history, sans serif did not see much use on earlier knives. Bernard would know for sure. Just remember that the lack of England does not guarantee pre-1891.

The clean and square construction would argue an earlier date, though. Ask Bernard, he knows a lot more about this than I do.

 

[Gevonovich]

Ames Cutlery Co.
Germany
c. 1860-1890

 

[Miller Bro`s]

Here is another old Wostenholm pruner................

 

[supratentorial]

Nice knives, guys!

Here's a Remington R4274 Sowbelly c 1924-1933 Listed in catalog C-5. Sunk joints. Threaded bolster. Coined scale. Fiery pearl. I showed this one to Bernard Levine to make sure it is correct.

 

[supratentorial]

By the way, I found an original ad for that two-blade Remington:

Here's a two-blade Remington Sowbelly

Nothing like Remington jigged bone. Nice dogleg, Jason!

 

[Gevonovich]

Way cool, Jake! That Sowbelly is one of my all time favorites. You new one is gorgeous as well.

 

[supratentorial]

Thank you, Gevonovich. I'm pretty excited about these knives!

 

[waynorth]

Nice Remingtons, Jake!! They are truly a timeless design!!

 

[Campbellclanman]

Agreed guys...Jake is a pretty lucky guy!...I like the new addition the Jakes collection, I would still give me lefty for the two bladed Sowbelly though!