"Old Knives"

That is a one beautiful find r8shell!! Love the sunken joints and it looks like excellent condition ivory. Can't help with the dating but I think you've nailed it with 1873-1988. :)
 
It looks like ivory from here, Rachel.
Sometimes the cutler's initials and year are stamped inside the liners on Ibbersons. Take a look!!
 
redsparrow said:
That is a one beautiful find r8shell!! Love the sunken joints and it looks like excellent condition ivory. Can't help with the dating but I think you've nailed it with 1873-1988. :)
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Thanks, redsparrow. It was a lucky find however old it is. I wonder if there's a clue in the tang stamp. I've been doing a bit of Google-fu, and I keep seeing knives stamped "G. Ibberson & Co." rather than "George Ibberson."



waynorth said:
It looks like ivory from here, Rachel.
Sometimes the cutler's initials and year are stamped inside the liners on Ibbersons. Take a look!!
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Thanks Charlie, I pulled out the close-up reading glasses and the jeweler's loupe, but I can't see any such markings, though there's some verdigris on the liners. I'll try to clean it tomorrow with a wooden coffee stirrer and baking soda and maybe something will show.
 
Congratulations r8shell, that's a very nice find :thumbup:

waynorth said:
It looks like ivory from here, Rachel.
Sometimes the cutler's initials and year are stamped inside the liners on Ibbersons. Take a look!!
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r8shell said:
Thanks Charlie, I pulled out the close-up reading glasses and the jeweler's loupe, but I can't see any such markings, though there's some verdigris on the liners. I'll try to clean it tomorrow with a wooden coffee stirrer and baking soda and maybe something will show.
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Good tip Charlie :thumbup:

I'm not sure how widespread the practice was, Stan Shaw told me they started doing it when he was there, but it may have started earlier. It wasn't official Ibberson's policy, just something the cutlers started themselves, originally to stop their work being pinched off the bench by other cutlers! If you can find a stamp, it's as good a source of information as there is :thumbup:
 
So, assuming Stan Shaw knows whereof he speaks, the knife would be what, 1940s or later? A little early in the morning for math.
 
Here's a few oldies I picked up recently. Blades are mostly shot but they are interesting patterns.

IMG_8774s_zpsljncasto.jpg~original
Both Shapleigh hardware, looks like they were made by Empire.

IMG_8793s_zpsv6fhblzw.jpg~original
[FONT=&quot]Clockwise starting from left: Keen Kutter, Norvell Shapleigh, Challenge, Electric, Utica[/FONT]
 
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Yes, those are some interesting patterns. I especially enjoyed viewing the teardrop's beautiful bone cover, the sleekness of the ebony Electric and that gunstock Wow!! Each one deserving of a good home, thanks for rescuing them Phil. -James
 
Nice finds, Phil. What do you mean by the blades being mostly shot? Can you grind them into a usable shape? If nothing else, you can always use 'em as a leather punch. :D
 
scrteened porch said:
So, assuming Stan Shaw knows whereof he speaks, the knife would be what, 1940s or later? A little early in the morning for math.
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Stan assures me that no civilian penknives were produced during WW2, only "war work" (ie army knives), so post-1945. Ibberson's were still using ivory after the war, so it could be from the 50's, but I'd guess at it being older. Of course, if there's no date, that doesn't necessarily confirm it's pre-war, since not all Ibberson's cutlers (or their outworkers) marked the liners. The only ivory Ibberson I've had is this one (below), which I gifted to Charlie (still has a bit of glue on the covers here).



The tang-stamp on this one, like on most (not all) of my Ibberson knives (I don't have too many) is G.Ibberson. I think that the only Ibberson I have with a 'George Ibberson' mark is a Ham Knife, which I would guess is from the 1950's.

philllll said:
Here's a few oldies I picked up recently. Blades are mostly shot but they are interesting patterns.

IMG_8774s_zpsljncasto.jpg~original
Both Shapleigh hardware, looks like they were made by Empire.

IMG_8793s_zpsv6fhblzw.jpg~original
[FONT="]Clockwise starting from left: Keen Kutter, Norvell Shapleigh, Challenge, Electric, Utica[/FONT]
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They ARE interesting Phil. I can never resist buying old knives, there is always something of interest about them, even if the blades and springs are worn, and the covers damaged. Some real nice ones there :thumbup:
 
Jack Black said:
Stan assures me that no civilian penknives were produced during WW2, only "war work" (ie army knives), so post-1945. Ibberson's were still using ivory after the war, so it could be from the 50's, but I'd guess at it being older. Of course, if there's no date, that doesn't necessarily confirm it's pre-war, since not all Ibberson's cutlers (or their outworkers) marked the liners. The only ivory Ibberson I've had is this one (below), which I gifted to Charlie (still has a bit of glue on the covers here).


The tang-stamp on this one, like on most (not all) of my Ibberson knives (I don't have too many) is G.Ibberson. I think that the only Ibberson I have with a 'George Ibberson' mark is a Ham Knife, which I would guess is from the 1950's.



They ARE interesting Phil. I can never resist buying old knives, there is always something of interest about them, even if the blades and springs are worn, and the covers damaged. Some real nice ones there :thumbup:
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I'm seeing no stamps or engravings on the liners. If this penknife is over 70 years old, it's a marvel that its previous owner treated it so kindly. No prying, no sharpening on a grinder, just some honest use and wear.

Speaking of marvels: Thank you, Jack. I sure appreciate the info and insight regarding Ibberson and Sheffield cutlers of the past. Having grown up in the pre-internet days, I still marvel at the idea of making a friend across the world who can hear and relay the stories directly from one of the last of the Mesters.
 
r8shell said:
I'm seeing no stamps or engravings on the liners. If this penknife is over 70 years old, it's a marvel that its previous owner treated it so kindly. No prying, no sharpening on a grinder, just some honest use and wear.

Speaking of marvels: Thank you, Jack. I sure appreciate the info and insight regarding Ibberson and Sheffield cutlers of the past. Having grown up in the pre-internet days, I still marvel at the idea of making a friend across the world who can hear and relay the stories directly from one of the last of the Mesters.
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It could very well be older still r8shell, and a very nice find, Ibberson knives are far from common :thumbup:

You're more than welcome, just my thoughts. I'm lucky to be able to chat to Stan :) :thumbup:

Edit - I was very interested to ask Stan about the situation during WW2. I had wondered if a small number of civilian penknives were still produced in Sheffield between 1939 and 1945, but Stan was adamant that none were produced then. Cutlers were a 'protected occupation', and exempt from conscription, but most able-bodied men volunteered anyway, and so most of the cutlers were old fellers or young apprentices like Stan. Stan assures me that the only work allowed was for the military, and that was very strictly enforced and adhered to.
 
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I just put this in the Oldest Knife I own thread, and realized that it probably has not been shown in this thread. Cutlers to Her Majesty Joseph Rodgers, clean and square joints. Well worn blades, could probably tell some stories.
 
I had a similar Ibberson to the one above except it was bolsterless. It was dated 35 on the liners and I cannot remember the cutlers initials currently. Mine was most definitely ivory. I gifted it to a Scottish friend at Christmas.
 
Philllll - Oh My there is some absolutely lovely Bone on those old knives my friend- I too buy the Old worn ones just for either the Pattern or the Bone! Nicely done!

Ben, That Peach seed is just lovely Walden!You can See where Charlie had the idea to make these Stunning SFO's - this is a rare one......



Jack - thats a real Nice Ibberson - What a treasure matey!
 
Thanks everyone for the nice comments!


r8shell said:
Nice finds, Phil. What do you mean by the blades being mostly shot? Can you grind them into a usable shape? If nothing else, you can always use 'em as a leather punch. :D
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Yeah You're right I could probably regrind all of 'em into punches! :D The D-E curved jack is already most of the way there, blade ground down to a stub but the action's good and the handle is still solid and I'm designating that one for general punch/poker use. I could certainly do something with the others but I'm going to be taking the easy route and just leaving them as-is.

Jack Black said:
They ARE interesting Phil. I can never resist buying old knives, there is always something of interest about them, even if the blades and springs are worn, and the covers damaged. Some real nice ones there :thumbup:
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Jack we all know you can't pass up on buying an old knife if the price is right. You've got the dining room table to prove it! :D
 
philllll said:
Jack we all know you can't pass up on buying an old knife if the price is right. You've got the dining room table to prove it! :D
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And it's way overdue for another for another clearing session! :eek: :o :D :thumbup:
 
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