"Old Knives"

Thank you Duncan, when I first saw it that was the first thing that came to mind, WOW.
 
Wow, Augie. That Roger's is a nice find. Beautiful stag!

I went to a few shops today, and found this little Miller Bros.



It's missing the original bail, and someone made a new one that works, though not in the original style. I need to clean it up some, but it looks like it had green and pink gold plating, most of which is worn off.

I don't know how old it is, but I couldn't resist also picking up this knife someone made out of a band saw and broom handle. I think I'll sharpen it up, and see how it works on filleting fish :D It's very springy, and the saw back might make a nifty descaler.




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Campbellclanman said:
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Interesting knife, you've been very helpful Duncan, as always :)

supratentorial said:
I haven't received it yet but I'm hoping that it still has some of the original finish on the blades. That's becoming more and more difficult to find these days. If some original finish survived 100 years, I would not want to polish or buff it off. (see quote below)
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:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

supratentorial said:
Neat old coke bottle, Mike. Good luck with the repairs!
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+1 :thumbup:

Augie said:
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Very nice find, I'm with Duncan on that stag :thumbup: The lack of a centre scale is interesting isn't it? :thumbup:

r8shell said:
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Nice Miller Bros r8shell, and I wouldn't have been able to resist this one either :)
 
r8shell, Neat little Miller Bros. I wonder if the homemade blade might be made out of a carpentry saw. It seems unusually large and sturdy for a band saw blade. ...You could use a saw set to fine tune the "fish scaler". ;)
 
I agree with suprat.(above tentorium), those are carpentry saw teeth, which, if properly set & sharpened and if blade edge can hold sharpness, then you have a most useful knife because it is also a good saw.
There are people who sharpen saws for a fee. Difficult on one's own if you have never done it before. You would have a neat & unique knife.
kj
 
Ah, I believe I was using the wrong word. Thanks guys. The blade is 2 inches from edge to spine, so wood saw it is. I sanded the handle a bit, and am trying to decide if I want to seal it with something. I don't know if wax would be good enough. I think it could be a fun camping/cooking knife, but the wood is pretty soft, and it might get pretty nasty after cleaning fish, etc.


Also, I forgot to take a pic of the other side of the Miller Bros. It's a little hard to see, but I bet the two tone plating was really pretty back in the day.
 
kootenay joe said:
I agree with suprat.(above tentorium), those are carpentry saw teeth, which, if properly set & sharpened and if blade edge can hold sharpness, then you have a most useful knife because it is also a good saw.
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Jimmy Lyle eat your heart out! ;) :thumbup:
 
The joint on the Valley Forge Wharncliffe Jack is mostly sunk. The knife looks like it was never used... maybe it was forgotten all these years.

It looks like it got a little hot when they were grinding the swedges on the clip blade. ;)

 
So so close to sunken Jake - not quite eh! they look good - I want to see them after an oiling session my friend!
I wonder what was going on with the Swedge- has some one re-introduced the Swedge?
 
There are a LOT of knives on eBay that have been resurfaced/polished/buffed. It seems to be very popular. Some buyers will even pass over some knives in original condition and then happily spend much more money on the same knives after they've been fluffed and buffed (ruined imho) and flipped back on eBay. Fluffing and buffing old knives has become a hobby industry. And some collectors will resurface the knives themselves. It's become so common that it's necessary to be VERY skeptical. And the condition is often not accurately described. Original old knives are becoming fewer and fewer.

.......It seems strange to me that the first thing someone would do when they get an old knife is remove all the original finish! And the first thing they do when they get a new knife is stick it in a potato!........

But I believe the knife has never been messed with and it is completely original. The inside of the well and the tang is even tidier than the outside and the knife has not been taken apart. It's very well preserved.

I'll put some more photos up later.
 
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Picked up this interesting little peanut sized Utica with a small coping blade added at the back end. Dosen't look like the knife ever got used.
Utica%20Peanut.JPG
 
Nice knife. I'm pretty sure most (all?) of that seller's knives have been cleaned. Some aren't authentic. There has been some discussion elsewhere. I believe that one is authentic and it seems to be in good condition. Probably not used much and didn't need much cleaning. But it has been at least polished. It's a neat pattern.
 
pistonsandgears said:
...Dosen't look like the knife ever got used...
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Just to make sure it's clear... I think it's a neat knife. I only mention the condition since you said that you thought it had not been used. I hope that my comments were helpful. It's still a neat old knife to use or collect.
 
supratentorial said:
Just to make sure it's clear... I think it's a neat knife. I only mention the condition since you said that you thought it had not been used. I hope that my comments were helpful. It's still a neat old knife to use or collect.
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Thanks Jake, I know the seller does clean most of his knives, this particular one looks like it could have been lightly cleaned. The blades do have some pepper spots which leads me to believe they were not buffed much if at all, and the edges appear original. Perhaps I should have said it doesn't look like it has been used much. I thought it was interesting they crammed 3 blades on such a small frame, and with all the nail nicks on the same side.
 
Good to hear. As a fan of stock knives, I also like this unusual little pattern. And it has some very nice jigged bone covers.
 
Jake. I too - from what I can see - think it looks original. I just always wonder( out loud) when seeing marks like that. I think those are two neat knives. 👍
Thank you for your nice comment Jack my friend. 😄
 
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