Question about what to do with some old knives

T. Erdelyi said:
Fantastic find, some people are so lucky. :)

Like everyone else said DON"T CLEAN THEM, we have some UK residents who may be able to shed more light on the origin of these knives. To be honest my reply is just so I'm subscribed in order to follow your story. If you can find answers, this'll be the place to find 'em.
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Yes in this case my mum was lucky, but I can assure you she doesn't usually have that sort of luck. I'm so pleased for her though as her car needs replacing and I'm hoping this will help.
As for me, I've only once (15 years ago at least now) come across my own 'treasure' which was a small bag of Victorian gold jewellery which had been stuffed inside an old couch which had been dumped! I saw it sticking out (all I could see was a bit of paper in a bag but my curiosity got the better of me. Anyway, turns out lucky I grabbed it as it could be quite valuable. The night before I'd had a dream I would find treasure. How freaky is that? But anyway, not knife related lol. I'll have to join an old jewellery forum I think).
 
So here's a bombshell.... there were several boxes found :) so bet that will get you all wondering even more! I've speculated that perhaps they were hidden there by the previous owners who had worked at Young's Sheep Dips when they were younger? The lady mum purchased the house off had moved into a retirement home and by the time we found the knives had passed away so we couldn't ask for any history there unfortunately. But depending on how old they turn out to be, I guess it could've been even the owners prior to her that put them there. It'll probably remain a mystery.

My brother in law said they look like the types of knives that farmers use to dock sheep's tails with. So perhaps that is what they were sold as by the company, with Young's Sheep Dips written on there as advertising for the product? I've saved some pictures of online news articles from back in the day that mention this product which I had hoped might help with dating the knives. I'll post them below :)


Just saw your post :) this above might be of interest to you then...

neal70 said:
I'm a little surprised that the ettrick pattern would have been chosen for a sheep dip company. That being said, I need to read the ettrick thread, to see if it will shed some light. I had thought them more a light pruner style, but again, ignorant of their general usage. What a great find Iris! So interesting, and why were they hidden/placed where they were to begin with? Do you have any knowledge of the previous occupants of the house?, perhaps that would "shed" some light on this wonderful find! Very nifty, I will keep track of this for sure. :D
Thanks, Neal
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This was found online and is of a sign in Australia of the company.
Youngs_Sheep_Dip-14378-4015_zpsbh8qqhl2.jpg
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I'm not sure if the next two will be too small to read. They are both advertisements from May 1945 in an NZ Newspaper of the day.


 
This next picture is from: STATE CONTROL Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 237, 7 October 1938

STATE%20CONTROL%20Auckland%20Star%20Volume%20LXIX%20Issue%20237%207%20October%201938_zpszr2ty4ej.gif
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And the last one is from: New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 123 Wilson & Horton 1971 (so according to the article, that means that Young's was being sold there already in the late 19th Century. Not to say that is how old the knives are but there is a tiny possibility :)

 
neal70 said:
I'm a little surprised that the ettrick pattern would have been chosen for a sheep dip company. l
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The Ettrick knife was originally popular with Scottish shepherd's :thumbup:

Iris said:
Thank you Jack there is some interesting facts there I had not found in my searches :) I will try find the info I saved somewhere about 'Young's Sheep Dips' and paste it to give us a better indication of age. From what I found they were very actively selling sheep dips in the early 20th Century (20s-40s) so perhaps the knives could be that old! But you are the expert so if you think later, who am I to argue. ;)
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Lockwood knives were only produced at Sylvester Works after 1927. They would have not been produced during WW2 (1939-1945), and probably not for a few years after. So that means 1930's or 1950's. My guess would be the latter, but hard to say without examining them.

Iris said:
Thanks so much. I am still trying to figure out how it all works. What is the best way to stay on top of reply's? Is there a place where it shows new reply's to a thread? I just keep clicking on my activity and trying to enter the thread that way.
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Gary, one of our two moderators, has kindly amalgamated your various duplicate posts into this one thread Iris, and Frank, our other moderator, tidied up your other thread previously. So you only have to check this one (though you can, of course, read any of the threads here). It's better if you don't post multiple times about the same thing, not least because it causes unnecessary work for our already overworked mods :thumbup:

Iris said:
Yes in this case my mum was lucky, but I can assure you she doesn't usually have that sort of luck. I'm so pleased for her though as her car needs replacing and I'm hoping this will help.
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The value of these items is not something we can discuss here Iris (VM left) :thumbup:
 
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One of your very knowledgeable members told me this: "Your knives are called "Ettricks", named after a river and valley in Scotland. The pattern was developed for Farmers who raised Sheep. I have been told they were useful for skinning Lambs, and for trimming smaller hooves. Larger Lambfoot and Sheepfoot knives were used for more mature animals. The Ettricks were also popular for floral pruning, and budding and grafting fruit trees and the like. The pins could be nickel or steel. You can tell on the rusty knives. If they rust, they are steel. If they darken, or turn coppery, they are nickel. Hammered pins are distinctly different from turned pins which are domed and smooth.
Levine's guide says that the name Lockwood was last used ca. 1933 by the owner (as of 1919) of the Lockwood name, Joseph Elliot & Sons."
 
Thanks Jack :) But another person told me the name Lockwood was last used ca. 1933 (see above)... so now I'm totally confused lol

Oh no wait... I get it now... lol... "last used by the owner"... and I also re-read your prior statement too which made sense: :"By WW1, Lockwood's were in decline, and in 1919, the firm became part of the Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers Ltd, a group led by Needham, Neall, & Tyzack. This venture did not fare well though, and by 1927, Lockwood's marks and assets had been acquired by Joseph Elliot, who ran Lockwood Brothers as a stand-alone brand from their Sylvester Works.. Elliot's was wound up in 1998".

I was having a blonde moment!
 
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Iris said:
Thanks Jack :) But another person told me the name Lockwood was last used ca. 1933 (see above)... so now I'm totally confused lol
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If they told you that, they are wrong. You'll find a lot of information about Ettrick knives in the Ettrick thread. Sheffield knives can be very difficult to date, but less so in this case because of the established dates for the transfer of marks, etc.
 
As has been said above, leave them as is and sell them as a set. You have a really nice find. If I were you I would be climbing back up into rafters to see what other treasures may have been left laying about.

n2s
 
Jack Black said:
If they told you that, they are wrong. You'll find a lot of information about Ettrick knives in the Ettrick thread. Sheffield knives can be very difficult to date, but less so in this case because of the established dates for the transfer of marks, etc.
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Please read my edit of that post :) I was having a blonde moment and didn't read the info properly. I apologise!
 
not2sharp said:
As has been said above, leave them as is and sell them as a set. You have a really nice find. If I were you I would be climbing back up into rafters to see what other treasures may have been left laying about.

n2s
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Haha! Great minds think alike! I said to mum the same thing yesterday... lets go thoroughly investigate your garage... every nook and cranny lol :)
 
Iris said:
Please read my edit of that post :) I was having a blonde moment and didn't read the info properly. I apologise!
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No need to apologise :thumbup:

It's common for people to think Sheffield knives are older than they actually are - not least because they're still using 19th century techniques there today! :D
 
Jigged Stag is unusual.
Hawkes Bay ay? I think thats where former regular Fes lives .
 
Iris said:
Thanks Jack :) But another person told me the name Lockwood was last used ca. 1933 (see above)... so now I'm totally confused lol

Oh no wait... I get it now... lol... "last used by the owner"... and I also re-read your prior statement too which made sense: :"By WW1, Lockwood's were in decline, and in 1919, the firm became part of the Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers Ltd, a group led by Needham, Neall, & Tyzack. This venture did not fare well though, and by 1927, Lockwood's marks and assets had been acquired by Joseph Elliot, who ran Lockwood Brothers as a stand-alone brand from their Sylvester Works.. Elliot's was wound up in 1998".

I was having a blonde moment!
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That quote about 1933 was poorly stated by me - sorry! It came direct from Bernie Levine's Guide, and I am sure meant last used by the earlier owner.
I'll go back and look!
 
Would it be worth my while becoming a gold member to be able to discuss selling? And if so where would I then be able to 'discuss' these matters?

re: "The value of these items is not something we can discuss here Iris"
 
meako said:
Jigged Stag is unusual.
Hawkes Bay ay? I think thats where former regular Fes lives .
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Could they be hand carved? or is there such a term as 'hand jigged'? lol... OR is jigging specific to the type of machinery used? I tried to look up Jigged as I hadn't heard the term before and it said that it was a process used on cow bone, not so much on stag.
 
Iris said:
Would it be worth my while becoming a gold member to be able to discuss selling? And if so where would I then be able to 'discuss' these matters?

re: "The value of these items is not something we can discuss here Iris"
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The ettrick pattern is generally not a well known pattern in the US. It is quite possible that the large majority of Americans who are familiar with the pattern are forum members who read Charlies post. ;) Plus all the cool kids have gold memberships. :p

There's a post at the top of the forum labeled "NEW MEMBERS :: Please read this :: WHAT IS MY KNIFE WORTH?" :http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...MBERS-Please-read-this-WHAT-IS-MY-KNIFE-WORTH

From Bladeforums rules:

WHAT IS MY KNIFE / GADGET / SPATULA / TUNING FORK WORTH ?!?!?!?!

In order to curtail potential abuse of membership privileges associated with the forums, questions regarding valuation of knives and collections are limited to those with a membership level which permits selling on this site. Accordingly, registered and basic members may not start or post in threads with such requests whether with the intent to sell or for informational purposes only. This rule applies throughout the site.

In other words, without a paid Gold membership, you don't get to ask about sale values. Too many people abused this question to hint they had a knife for sale, which you need that membership for.
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It's my understanding that you would need a gold membership to discuss value. You would also need a gold membership to sell on the Exchange. The rules are all posted up at the top of each forum.

Hope that helps.
 
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