Sheffield Museum Knives

I'm just catching this thread now, Jack. Fantastic thread and info! It's interesting to see such a wide variety, from the extremely basic to the very ornate.

Thanks for posting the information.

Glenn
 
This has been a fantastic read Jack, thank you!
It never ceases to amaze me, how ingenious these makers were, especially under the poor conditions they had. Its a wonder they made anything at all really!

I spent the weekend in bed, with a rotten cough and temperature, but this post really cheered me up:thumbup:

All the best

Paul
 
Mason Knives said:
This has been a fantastic read Jack, thank you!
It never ceases to amaze me, how ingenious these makers were, especially under the poor conditions they had. Its a wonder they made anything at all really!

I spent the weekend in bed, with a rotten cough and temperature, but this post really cheered me up:thumbup:
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Thanks Paul, me too :thumbup: Sorry to hear about the cold mate, hope you're feeling better soon :thumbup:
 
This tread has been very inspiring. I have spent some time looking at these two knives in particular:



The blades on both knives are without nail nicks. It is possible that the amount of exposed blade makes them somewhat pinchable?
The knife with pearl covers has a silver blade. The engraving may offer some texture allowing a thumbnail some grip. As well, with the blade being made of silver, I think it possible that the pull is kept to a minimum. I have several silver fruit knives with silver blades and steel springs. All show some wear. Many of the ones I have seen display considerable wear.

I would guess that the knife with the tortoise covers is a locking design? This again would permit a very light pull. But I think it would still be a bit of a challenge to open either one of these knives.

It is also interesting that the pivot pin on the tortoise knife and the centre spring pin on the spring knife are hidden under the covers. This would mean that the covers were installed after the knife had been pinned. A nice touch, it also keeps some of the stress off the covers.

Any thoughts on this?

Wolfe
 
I'm glad this thread has been of interest, and as always, it's very interesting to read your perspective :thumbup:

I come across a lot of silver fruit knives, and my experiences match your own. Most show some wear of the spring, often it is considerable. Most of the knives I've examined are from the 19th century, but some are older, and the pull has always been minimal. They often don't have nail-nicks, and of course these were only introduced around 1790, the same period when these two knives have been dated to.

You may be interested to read about the French Couteau sans clou of the later 17th century. These had rivets which were cunningly blended into the haft or covered by the scale material, such as pearl or tortoiseshell, which was held in place by scalloped borders of engraved silver. A knife of this type was purportedly given by Charles II to his favourite mistress Nell Gwynne.

The small lever on the lower knife is interesting. French cutlers of this period invented a spring lever to lock the blade open or closed. The small independently sprung piece was apparently fitted with a tooth mechanism at the front end, which clicked into a notch cut into either side of the tang. Possibly this is an example?

Beautifully-made knives :)
 
What a great tour. Makes me thankful that you took the time to post it and greatful for those who keep the art alive.
 
Many thanks Gus, glad you enjoyed it :thumbup:
 
Thanks for your reply Jack. I did a Google search, looks like the book by Moore would be a great resource. Placed an order for one, can't wait for it to arrive. Hoping it will provide some answers to the mechanics in early knives. I find the early history of the folding knife fascinating.The attention to detail in the finer examples is mostly forgotten, but worth keeping alive.

Wolfe
 
wolfeknives said:
Thanks for your reply Jack. I did a Google search, looks like the book by Moore would be a great resource. Placed an order for one, can't wait for it to arrive. Hoping it will provide some answers to the mechanics in early knives. I find the early history of the folding knife fascinating.The attention to detail in the finer examples is mostly forgotten, but worth keeping alive.
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It's always a pleasure for me discussing these things. I think you will find Moore's book fascinating, and it's beautifully illustrated. I managed to get hold of a copy of Sheffield Museum Knives the other week, but it was rather pricey.
 
Blake the Blade said:
Fascinating! The kind of thread you just cant help returning to. Many thanks Jack. :thumbup:
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+1 Blake.

I never would have noticed on my own what Wolfe pointed out. It takes my appreciation of the artistry in these tools to another level. :thumbup:
 
Are the pictures missing for everyone or is it because of my fire wall ?

Reading the descriptions is painful without the pictures :)
 
Jaydar said:
Are the pictures missing for everyone or is it because of my fire wall ?

Reading the descriptions is painful without the pictures :)
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That's rather killed the thread, might be a victim of the last BF software change :(

The software changes prior to that killed so many of these threads that I stopped posting them :(
 
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