"Old Knives"

Gevonovich said:
The Remy is stunning. A divine piece!
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Thank you Gevo - I am fond of it. ;):)

ADEE said:
I am very impressed by the knives that come up on this forum and I have learned a lot by seeing the pictures. My thanks to the contributors.
Here is a William Rodgers. I am pleased with it as it was in a horrible state when I got it but horn does seem to be able to come back to life.
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Very beautiful Rodgers and you restored it well!!! :thumbup::)
 
Very beautiful Rodgers and you restored it well!!! :thumbup::)[/QUOTE]
Thank you Primble .... here is a "before" picture. It had some serious dints. I think it had been used as a hammer.

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ADEE said:
it as it was in a horrible state when I got it but horn does seem to be able to come back to life.

WmRodgersjack07sm_zpsf21d132f.jpg
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Carried this one forward to show the drastic differences - side by side - if you will. ;)

Hard to believe they are the same knife - and again - well done!!! :thumbup::)
 
Primble said:
Carried this one forward to show the drastic differences - side by side - if you will. ;)

Hard to believe they are the same knife - and again - well done!!! :thumbup::)
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Thanks again Primble. And thanks for bringing the two pictures together.
 
Many thanks for the kind words. I hope to post more soon. I don't always remember to take "before" pictures of distressed knives, I am too keen to apply oil and TLC. regards .. ADEE
 
Very nice EC Simmons P&G

Great Norhtfield Parke

Charles two wonderful knives,I especially like the Wostenholm.I'm kinda partial to them.

Paul that NYK is a very nice specimen.

Jack the KK is super and the Kelly is special. I have some of those(special ones).

Blademan ,I carry a Case 5347 with similar stag,nice.

Beautiful horn ADEE.

All the knives posted are wonderful.
 
Thought I'd post pictures of this Cattaraugus whittler that I recently acquired. If anyone has any ideas about what the blade etch "HENSEL" is referring to, I'd be grateful for the feedback.

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That sure is a beautiful old Cattaraugus Stephen - wish I could help on the "HENSEL". :eek::thumbup::)
 
The kids were given a knife each- what's missing is Gretels knife!

Seriously- that's a lovely looking knife- lovely Bone- that Whittler is in outstanding condition!!!
 
The quotation marks seem to indicate to me that it's a name or term to describe something. Even slang or a nickname of sorts. Nice knife!
 
Thanks for the replies and compliments. My research so far has been interesting if not overly productive. My first thought was that "Hensel" referred to some business interest, perhaps a hardware store or perhaps some other business completely unrelated to the knife industry. The fact that the name is in quotation marks, however, somehow seemed odd to me if used in that context. With that in mind, my best theory to this point is that the knife etching was either commissioned by or perhaps gifted to someone locally within the Cattaraugus community. Hensel seems to be a somewhat common surname in Cattaraugus County, NY and while I haven't found anything remotely close to a direct link, I think I have found a possible suspect.

Charles E. Hensel (1912-1991) was, according to a newspaper account at the time a street was renamed for him in the city of Salamanca, NY, "widely know as a businessman, developer, public servant and visionary, whose hard work and dedication to the community left many enduring marks in the city of Salamanca." Salamanca is only about 7 miles down the road from Little Valley (site of the Cattaraugus Factory). Apparently in addition to operating a family owned commercial real estate business, Charles E. Hensel was also at one time the Common Council President for Salamanca. I also discovered that there is a memorial scholarship named in his honor for "Outstanding Business-Marketing Education Student of the Year" and he even had a locomotive named in his honor by the New York & Lake Eerie line. If he is in fact the "Hensel" that is referred to on the knife etching, it could've possibly been done as a promotional item for his real estate business, or possibly related to a political campaign, or perhaps just as a gift.

In conclusion, nothing definitive yet, but I've learned a lot about Cattaraugus (both the company and the county) while digging through information available on-line. And even if I never discover who or what "Hensel" was, the research has been interesting and informative.

Thanks again for the feedback.
 
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The locomotive could be a clue, especially with the quote marks. They named them that way at times. Also, names of locomotives on various items like pocket watches, even knives happened a lot. Could have been an item made for it's dedicated name. Given to the man himself or a train employee or benefactor.

Actually, looks like the train name thing happened in 1992. Hmmm...
 
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