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"Old Knives"
- Thread starter VCM3
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2005
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- 17,241
Gardener's knife with pruners
"5 1/2" oal, all steel including bail, nickle silver bolsters, composition handles. Glaze finished hawkbill, crocus polished pruners. A brute of a knife, 7/8" thick 1 " wide handle. Pruners are spring loaded as would be a pair of Felco's you use in the yard today. The spring on the pruner side simply bears against the pivoting handle and when it is released from the locked position the handle springs open to the battery position. The oval hole you see in the pruner handle snaps over a large " tooth" that protrudes from the inside edge of the liner on that side. To open the pruner, one engages the nail nick in the pruner handle but instead of pulling up on it as to open the blade, you push the pruner handle towards the blade until the oval slot in the handle clears the tooth on the liner and the pruners snap full open.To lock it closed you simply push the handle all the way down into the trough until a loud, satisfying click is heard. Another utilitarian tool of the period, most of these were heavily used and are all but worn out when found. This example is unused, unsharpened and was built between 1910-1936."
Pretty cool,huh ?
-Vince
"5 1/2" oal, all steel including bail, nickle silver bolsters, composition handles. Glaze finished hawkbill, crocus polished pruners. A brute of a knife, 7/8" thick 1 " wide handle. Pruners are spring loaded as would be a pair of Felco's you use in the yard today. The spring on the pruner side simply bears against the pivoting handle and when it is released from the locked position the handle springs open to the battery position. The oval hole you see in the pruner handle snaps over a large " tooth" that protrudes from the inside edge of the liner on that side. To open the pruner, one engages the nail nick in the pruner handle but instead of pulling up on it as to open the blade, you push the pruner handle towards the blade until the oval slot in the handle clears the tooth on the liner and the pruners snap full open.To lock it closed you simply push the handle all the way down into the trough until a loud, satisfying click is heard. Another utilitarian tool of the period, most of these were heavily used and are all but worn out when found. This example is unused, unsharpened and was built between 1910-1936."
Pretty cool,huh ?
-Vince
Last edited:
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2006
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- 2,697
Excellent knives guys. Thanks for sharing them
This is Wostenholm's version similar to Vince's pruner knife circa 1930s.
This is Wostenholm's version similar to Vince's pruner knife circa 1930s.
lambertiana
Gold Member
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A 3" Ellenville pen
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- Jan 14, 2008
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- 1,576
love that M2.
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2005
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This is an old one.
Quote,
"3 1/2 " closed, well used since birth up to and including today. Sheffield approx. 1875 - 1890 , perfect mechanics, smooth ivory,sunken joints, extremely pocket friendly, just disappears in there"
Quote,
"3 1/2 " closed, well used since birth up to and including today. Sheffield approx. 1875 - 1890 , perfect mechanics, smooth ivory,sunken joints, extremely pocket friendly, just disappears in there"
I'd say it was most likely made by the George Wostenholm company. From the quality and the finesse shown with swedges and graceful blade profiles it could be either Wostenholm or Joseph Rodgers and Sons, but the CONGRESS KNIFE stamp gives it away as George Wostenholm. I don't think Joseph Rodgers ever used this stamp -- they would sometimes use J. Rodgers & Sons or Joseph Rodgers & Sons on the master blade of their congress knives - but normally there was no stamp at all (they would often stamp a secondary sheepsfoot blade in a congress knife (usually shorter than the master sheepsfoot) as a TOBACCO BLADE). Actually, I might have seen it on a J. Rodgers knife once, but IIRC, it was quite a bit smaller (in relation to the blade size) and they put it inside a little "banner" outline.
-- Dwight
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2007
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- 1,379
LOOKS LIKE CHARLIE...just sayin'Has anyone else seen this type of celluloid handle before? Any idea what it is called?
Um, "Hey! That doesn't go in that batch!" celluloid? Nope, never seen this sort of pattern. I'm fairly serious though that it may have been a batch that didn't turn out quite like planned -- maker probably got it on the cheap. I kinda like it though -- at least it's not garish, explosion in a carnival cel.
Is the smaller of the two doglegs 3" long (or just over)? I love 3" doglegs -- they're often called peanuts nowadays, but they're not - they're a bit heavier, a bit more solid, with a thicker, nicely swedged master blade - really sweet in the hand and in the pocket. They're precisely scaled down doglegs. They were made by a number of the old firms - there was even a Case Tested XX version - but none of them came thru into modern times. And no, a Case peanut is not really a good substitute for one IMO.