Southington Cutlery Company "1867-1905" and Gardner Cutlery "1876"

[blademan 13]

Joe, awesome knife. Love the slender pen and the stamped blade. She's a beaut!

 

[Primble]

Really like the stamped blade Joe !! :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[MrBitters]

I love reading Professor Primble's posts on the history of the cutlery industry.

It would be great if they were collected in a History 101 sticky.

 

[lambertiana]

Here are four of the five Southington knives that I have...I need to get pics of the last one. First, two in ebony




And two in cocobolo

 

[Mike Robuck]

Joe, awesome knife. Love the slender pen and the stamped blade. She's a beaut!

I agree!

Barlow that has since moved on to a friend's house:

Here's a Southington jack. It's got really strong springs on it and a real fine matchstrike on the pen.

Ken Erickson did a version of this Southington in bone for me a while back:

This jack is nicely rounded on the scales:

 

[Primble]

Here are four of the five Southington knives that I have...I need to get pics of the last one. First, two in ebony

I agree!

Barlow that has since moved on to a friend's house:

Thank you for the pictures of the very nice Southington knives guys !!! :thumbup:

 

[RobbW]

Thanks for the history and pics, Primble. This is really interesting history. I'm amazed that I live in what was once a cutlery-rich part of the country, but I never see any of it come to light. Maybe all the Southingtons, Northfields and Russells migrated south to Primble's neck of the woods.

 

[Will Power]

Absorbing read, excellent pictures to enhance the impressive text giving us illumination to a lost world. Thank you.

The stamping on the bolsters is really very aesthetic!

Regards, Will

 

[mike Berkovitch]

Another fantastic thread that reveal old treasures

Mike

 

[Primble]

Thanks for the history and pics, Primble. This is really interesting history. I'm amazed that I live in what was once a cutlery-rich part of the country, but I never see any of it come to light. Maybe all the Southingtons, Northfields and Russells migrated south to Primble's neck of the woods.

Another fantastic thread that reveal old treasures

Mike

Absorbing read, excellent pictures to enhance the impressive text giving us illumination to a lost world. Thank you.

The stamping on the bolsters is really very aesthetic!

Regards, Will

Very much appreciated guys and I also appreciate the participation in the thread. :thumbup::thumbup:

I wonder if any of you wondered about the Barlow logo used by Mr. Gardner on his Barlow and it's likeness to the Lamson & Goodnow logo. I wonder who owned the rights to the logo and if anyone really cared, back then? I suppose that Mr. Gardner could have had it designed during the years that he was managing Lamson & Goodnow and thought it to be his property. The logo is still used today by Lamson & Goodnow, bankrupt in the year 2014, however, remaining in business.

 

[Primble]

Some other things which I ran across while researching the Gardner Barlow, from Google Images.

A Shelburne Falls Illustration, back in the day:

Lamson & Goodnow Factory:

Lamson & Goodnow Factory (a different view):

Production machinery at Lamson & Goodnow:

Mr. Gardner's patent :

Current day clip of Google maps at Shelburne Falls, Massachucetts - notice Lamson & Goodnow at the bottom and a street name of Gardner Avenue on the upper right:

Shelburne Falls Bridge of Flowers:

 

[Primble]

Thanks for the history and pics, Primble. This is really interesting history. I'm amazed that I live in what was once a cutlery-rich part of the country, but I never see any of it come to light. Maybe all the Southingtons, Northfields and Russells migrated south to Primble's neck of the woods.

I sincerely wish you luck Robb - I sometimes offer incentives for those old knives to come to Pleasant Hill.

 

[kootenay joe]

Mr. Gardner's one piece liner/bolster makes a lot of sense. I wonder why it never caught on ?
I would think that with modern stainless steel it would make a very fine Traditional style folder.
There must be some drawback to this invention. Only one i can think of is that more handle material is required.
Any thoughts on this ?
kj

 

[Primble]

Mr. Gardner's one piece liner/bolster makes a lot of sense. I wonder why it never caught on ?
Any thoughts on this ?
kj

My best guess is that it was not "traditional".

 

[wlfryjr]

This is a 4 " Southington farmers jack.Very similar jigging and frames to early Ulsters.This jigging looks to me as an early form of the famous Schrade peach seed.

I am fortunate to have gotten an example in this shape.

Here it is with one of the Ulsters:

 

[waynorth]

Mr. Gardner's one piece liner/bolster makes a lot of sense. I wonder why it never caught on ?
I would think that with modern stainless steel it would make a very fine Traditional style folder.
There must be some drawback to this invention. Only one i can think of is that more handle material is required.
Any thoughts on this ?
kj

Like a lot of cutlery inventions, efficiency often compromised aesthetics.
While clever and useful, Gardner's one-piece knife would be about as desirable as a box cutter.:grumpy:
The knives we most like to collect today are almost always prized for their beauty and craftsmanship. And those qualities are what sell knives now, and sold them then.:thumbup:
I suspect a thread on ugly, old knives could run a few pages, but how many of us have knives we think are ugly, that come from the time of past generations??

 

[Primble]

This is a 4 " Southington farmers jack.Very similar jigging and frames to early Ulsters.This jigging looks to me as an early form of the famous Schrade peach seed.

I am fortunate to have gotten an example in this shape.

I would think that is one rare Southington. Your FJ collection continues to amaze me Lyle !! :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Primble]

Some of my old post card pictures from Southington:

I thought the post cards would be nice to have with my old Barlow.

 

[Gevonovich]

I think they will compliment the knife very well! Looks like a wonderful place to live your life:thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Primble]

Thank you Gevo. I agree with you, as well.