"Old Knives"

[Gevonovich]

Duncan

Goodness gracious....I'm gonna need more time to take in all that beauty!! Later tonight I am going to indulge in all that "glory"

 

[Campbellclanman]

Lambertiana, Jack and Gevonovich - thank you for the comments:thumbup:

I don't get to post as much as I would like to.

 

[Augie]

Lucked into a Challenge Cutlery Co, Sheffield. Pretty sure dates before 1915 when the name was bought by a New York company and became the Challenge Cut co in Connecticut.

Pruner is in good condition for its age with almost a full blade and bear trap snap. Not sue what the wood is but it is attractive. I bet Charlie will like the blade stamp

 

[Campbellclanman]

Ooooooooh!

I likeeee!

Augie - that is a real sweet Pruner. Very similar to the Saynors with the shaped handle and Butt Cap.

I too thought if Charlie when I saw the Stamping.
Man that's a honey of a knife!

 

[mike Berkovitch]

WOW Duncan great knives, those cattles are so sweet as well as whittlers and the IXL.

Mike

 

[paulhilborn]

John, what a wonderful Pruner!!! Great blade stamp, blade condition, covers and butt cap:thumbup:

 

[Augie]

Thanks Duncan and Paul, very happy with this one, hard to find the old ones with close to full blade, most of my other capped end pruners have quite a bit of blade loss.

 

[glennbad]

Lucked into a Challenge Cutlery Co, Sheffield. Pretty sure dates before 1915 when the name was bought by a New York company and became the Challenge Cut co in Connecticut.

Pruner is in good condition for its age with almost a full blade and bear trap snap. Not sue what the wood is but it is attractive. I bet Charlie will like the blade stamp

Had to quote those pics, what a beauty! The blade etch, nice warm-looking wood, a lot to love about this knife. And I'm not really into pruners, LOL!

 

[galvanic1882]

That is one nice Hawk and a very rare mark indeed!!

 

[Jack Black]

Nice find Augie, would it be possible to see a close-up of the Challenge tang-stamp? :thumbup:

Tweedale has a lengthy entry for the firm of B.J. Eyre and Company, who began trading in 1861, using the 'CHALLENGE' mark from around 1867. In 1874, New York merchant Frederick Wiebusch acquired the firm, and the 'CHALLENGE' mark. According to the esteemed Prof Geoffrey, Wiebusch intended to use the Sheffield workshops as a source for his best cutlery for shipment to the US, but later decided to transfer 130 Sheffield cutlers to the Frary Cutlery Co at Bridgeport, Connecticut, a company in which he had invested, instead. This was not entirely successful. Wiebusch continued to use the Challenge name, and around the turn of the century, was selling Bowie and hunting knives stamped 'Challenge Cutlery Co, Sheffield, England'. Tweedale cites Goins as saying that all Challenge knives marked 'Sheffield' were imported prior to 1914.

 

[smiling-knife]

That's a beautiful old pruner. Thanks for sharing it with us. The scales looks like cocobolo wood IMO.

 

[Augie]

Glen, Mike, SK, thank you, SK look like cocobolo to me also, very smooth finish.

Jack , thank you very much for the detailed information, appreciate your efforts to supply information on British knives for us. Here is a better shot of the tang stamp, do find it interesting they stamped Sheffield both sides of the tang.

Here is the tang stamp from a later Challenge made in Connecticut. Both knives are very high quality.

 

[Gevonovich]

Super lovely pruner, Augie! I had not seen that stamp to date and find it very interesting. So cool Thanks for the look!

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks for the additional pics Augie, extremely interesting my friend. Certainly two very high quality knives The tang stamp for your Pruner is a later stamp after the firm's acquisition by Wiebusch, but definitely an old knife. Thank you so much for sharing it :thumbup:

 

[mike Berkovitch]

Nice knives Augie, I guess one challenge the other

Mike

 

[huelsdonk]

Here are a couple oldies from Connecticut that I picked up recently: a Miller Brothers dogleg jack and an Empire congress. The MB is bone, and the Empire appears to be stag (I think?). I live in CT and am always trying to learn more about the dozens of makers that used to be in this state.

- John

 

[Campbellclanman]

John
That Empire Congress is a beautiful old knife- awesome Stag, somewhat overshadowed by that absolutely STUNNING Miller Bros.

Quite often if the knife is a Miller Bros you can guarantee that it is going to be pretty darned special.
I don't know just how Miller Bros did it every time - but the Bone on their knives is always breathtaking- as is yours- and the grind on that beautiful Main is just spectacular.
Thank you for sharing with us.

 

[huelsdonk]

John
That Empire Congress is a beautiful old knife- awesome Stag, somewhat overshadowed by that absolutely STUNNING Miller Bros.

Quite often if the knife is a Miller Bros you can guarantee that it is going to be pretty darned special.
I don't know just how Miller Bros did it every time - but the Bone on their knives is always breathtaking- as is yours- and the grind on that beautiful Main is just spectacular.
Thank you for sharing with us.

Absolutely. Thanks so much for the kind words. There are so many beauties posted here - glad I could contribute a little.

 

[Rookie82]

This is one of my only oldies worth showing. A original 1906 Tuna Valley, imported from Germany, and sold by Case during the Case/Platts merger. Both blades have the same tang stamp, it's really small dainty fragile knife.

 

[paulhilborn]

John, I have to echo Duncan in regards to the congress...Wonderful knife but I am smitten by the Miller Bros. It truly is one of the nicer ones I've seen:thumbup:

I never find them anywhere near as nice as yours, thanks for posting it here

Rookie, what a gorgeous little T.V. pen:thumbup: the pearl is amazing as well