R . F Mosely - Shefield

harronek

harronek

Joined
Nov 29, 2013
Messages
2,493
I just received this today in the post .
I bought it unseen on the interweb .

Can anyone ( I suspect Jack might have an idea :) ) give me some background on R F Mosely ?









Sorry about all the pics , but Hey a guys got to get excited sometimes :)


Ken
 
All Levine has is, Sheffield, Manufacturor 1860s till 1968 and that they introduced a trademark "Rustnorstain" in 1914.

Neat little pen.

Best regards

Robin
 
Ken, I was just admiring that beautiful knife in the EDC thread. Tweedale's second edition arrived on my doorstep this morning, so when I get back home I'll see what he has to say, and if I can add anything else. Thanks for the pics :)
 
Jack Black said:
Ken, I was just admiring that beautiful knife in the EDC thread. Tweedale's second edition arrived on my doorstep this morning, so when I get back home I'll see what he has to say, and if I can add anything else. Thanks for the pics :)
Click to expand...

Not to criticize Goin's or Levine's 4th they are among the best but when it comes to Sheffield knives Tweedale's is the definitive work and a must have reference. Sorry if a bit off topic.

BTW, nice pen you found there!
 
Nothing intelligent to add, other than that is a sweet looking knife!
 
Thanks for the comments and compliments .
This really is a beauty of a knife , and has been a revelation , it has shown me how light and simple a pen - pocket knife can be , but still perform little everyday jobs .
I carried it yesterday in my button down shirt pocket as I've started to do lately with my smaller Traditional's and a couple of times I panicked because I thought it wasn't there . It really is a knife that " you don't know your carrying it " .
I'm still very interested in finding out more about the maker , so if anyone has anything to add please do .
Also , any ideas what the handle scales would be made of ?
I have no idea about these things , would it be bone or Ivory ?

Ken
 
Too much info to copy and quote all from Tweedale's but I will give you this as I found it to be of interest as well. Learn something new everyday!

From Tweedale's Directory Of Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers 1740-2010 - Geoffrey Tweedale

"R.F. Mosley and his company have a special place in cutlery history, because metallurgist Harry Brearly turned to them in the Summer of 1914, when he wished to make a trial with his new 'rustless' steel. The manager of Mosley's, Ernest Stuart, helped Brearly forge a dozen or so knife blades from the new material - a milestone in cutlery history. Consequently, Mosley's were the first firm to predict a future for stainless steel and the first to order supplies of the revolutionary alloy. They marked their knives 'RUSNORSTAIN', the only mark (apart from silver marks) the firm apparently used."


Hard to tell the cover material from your pictures. Also, under Sheffield on the tang stamp, or the pile side possibly, either tang, does it say England? Good possibility if it does not it was made before 1890.
 
Last edited:
ptradeco said:
Too much info to copy and quote all from Tweedale's but I will give you this as I found it to be of interest as well. Learn something new everyday!

From Tweedale's Directory Of Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers 1740-2010 - Geoffrey Tweedale

"R.F. Mosley and his company have a special place in cutlery history, because metallurgist Harry Brearly turned to them in the Summer of 1914, when he wished to make a trial with his new 'rustless' steel. The manager of Mosley's, Ernest Stuart, helped Brearly forge a dozen or so knife blades from the new material - a milestone in cutlery history. Consequently, Mosley's were the first firm to predict a future for stainless steel and the first to order supplies of the revolutionary alloy. They marked their knives 'RUSNORSTAIN', the only mark (apart from silver marks) the firm apparently used."


Hard to tell the cover material from your pictures. Also, under Sheffield on the tang stamp, or the pile side possibly, either tang, does it say England? Good possibility if it does not it was made before 1890.
Click to expand...


I just had a look and yes it does say England under the Sheffield . It is very small and I had to get my sons young eyes to confirm it , but it is there .
That's really interesting about the RUSNORSTAIN , there is nothing like that stamped on it .

Thanks for that info , very much appreciated .

Ken
 
Better photos of the scales would be good. Looking at those I don't see the tell tale lines that would suggest Ivorine or french ivory (synthetic).
 
meako said:
Better photos of the scales would be good. Looking at those I don't see the tell tale lines that would suggest Ivorine or french ivory (synthetic).
Click to expand...

The scales have me confused as to what they are made of .
The first photos make them look paler than they really are . Ive attached a couple taken outside in sunlight , but even they aren't exactly lifelike . They are more yellow than they appear .
There are no visible lines or grains in them and the only real imperfections are around the pins where there is some discoloration and minute cracks or fractures for want of a better word .





Ken
 
Its got to be either faux bone like on all those old Sheffield butter knives and dinner knives or bone or ivory.There thats my trifecta of completely unresearched theory.
 
Jack Black said:
Ken, I was just admiring that beautiful knife in the EDC thread. Tweedale's second edition arrived on my doorstep this morning, so when I get back home I'll see what he has to say, and if I can add anything else. Thanks for the pics :)
Click to expand...

I must apologise for the stupidity of this post! I was in the small West Yorkshire town of Otley, where I decided to call in at a local hostelry to use their wi-fi. Unfortunately, I had some idiot braying in my ear about the size of the portion of fish he was eating, until I gave up in the end. I think I must have absorbed some of the man's stupidity!

Ken, I have a small book about R.F. Mosely which I'd be happy to send you if you PM me an address. I'm quite familiar with their old works as I ran my Jack Black Knives business from there for 18 months in the early 1990's. The cover material might be xylonite, which was widely used in Sheffield as an ivory substitute from the end of the 19th century.

Here's a link here too: http://www.hawleytoolcollection.com...hort History of R F Mosley by Jeff Warner.pdf
 
Last edited:
Jack Black said:
I must apologise for the stupidity of this post! I was in the small West Yorkshire town of Otley, where I decided to call in at a local hostelry to use their wi-fi. Unfortunately, I had some idiot braying in my ear about the size of the portion of fish he was eating, until I gave up in the end. I think I must have absorbed some of the man's stupidity!

Ken, I have a small book about R.F. Mosely which I'd be happy to send you if you PM me an address. I'm quite familiar with their old works as I ran my Jack Black Knives business from there for 18 months in the early 1990's. The cover material might be xylonite, which was widely used in Sheffield as an ivory substitute from the end of the 19th century.

Here's a link here too: http://www.hawleytoolcollection.com...hort History of R F Mosley by Jeff Warner.pdf
Click to expand...

Thanks Jack :thumbup:
Do you have any R F Mosely knives that you could post up some pictures of ?
I really like this knife , it just has a vibe I cant explain :)


Ken
 
Xylonite? it sounds like something off Dr. Who.:p
meanwhile here is Ivorine on an old Sheffield penknife.you can clearly see the lines.
DSCN6474.jpg

by 'eck ye dornt get mooch 'addock t' the pahnd these deerz.N chips 'aint wot thee used to be neither!
 
harronek said:
Thanks Jack :thumbup:
Do you have any R F Mosely knives that you could post up some pictures of ?
I really like this knife , it just has a vibe I cant explain :)
Click to expand...

No worries Ken. I think I might have one, but I'll to have a look. I really think everybody should own at least one of these small penknives, they're a much underrated pattern in my opinion, but disappear in the pocket, and can look beautiful.

I particularly like this Howarth, which I passed onto ScruffUK :thumbup:

 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top