Tabled Out!

Jack Black

Jack Black

Seize the Lambsfoot! Seize the Day!
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Dec 2, 2005
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Longstanding Porch members may recall the time, in the past, when I would go out ‘hunting’ one or two days a week, sometimes more. That’s no longer the case, which is perhaps just as well, but I do still pick up the odd knife or two when I get a chance ;) Pickings have been a little thin lately, so I just toss them in a shoe-box (rather than leaving them out on my kitchen table, as in the past), and let them accumulate. Since the box is now full, I thought I’d better do something with this lot! :eek:



My apologies for the poor quality of the pics :(

Since the new software doesn’t allow for anything more than the most basic of posts, this may be the last time I’ll be doing a thread like this unfortunately, and I really wish I hadn’t started :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown:
 
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Thanks for your patience folks, what a way to have to post! :(
 
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First up are the Pruners. I’m yet to get fully bitten by the Pruner bug, but still can’t resist picking them up when I come across them. The one on the Top Left in the first photo, with the unusual form, and the synthetic covers is marked ‘Bretton’ over ‘Sheffield’ over ‘England’. I’m not familiar with this maker, if it is a maker. Knife appears unused. It’s also the smallest of the four at 3 7/8” closed. The knife at the Bottom Right, with the wooden handle, is unmarked, and the stainless blade has had a run-in with a Dremel :rolleyes: It measures 4 ½”.






The oldest knife is this Samuel Hibbert & Son Pruner, with stag scales, and brass end-cap. It has a lot of gaps, and has lost the tip of the blade, but is still quite a nice knife I think. 4 ½”.

Sadly, nobody put their name to this one. It’s simply marked ‘Sheffield’ over ‘England’ on the reverse of the tang. 4 ¼”.
 
Croisdale were a high-class cutlers in Leeds. They originally made their own knives, but I suspect that later, they may have had them made in Sheffield. This is a very similar knife to one I have by Joseph Rodgers, but the Rodgers is a little older I think, and the Croisdale is better made. A really nice (Fruit) knife I think this one. Tight as a drum, perfectly centred blade, semi-sunken joint, ivory covers. 3 3/8”.






This one is from Solingen, rather than Sheffield. Beautifully-made knife though. Stocken & Co. 3 ¼”.


 
Towards the end of WW2, jungle fighting in the Far East, led to the introduction of the all-stainless ‘Burma Knife’, a direct descendent of the British Army Knife of today.



This one is by J H Thompson, and made after WW2, in 1955. 3 7/8”.



I don’t know what happened to ruin the blade of this 1945 Harrison Fisher Burma Knife, looks like a series of electricians blew themselves up with it, or someone hacked through a lot of barbed wire. I only have it because Big Paul on the tool stall forced it into my hands, and It’ll need a lot of steel removing to put it right. It has ‘Leeds Army Stores’ scratched onto the pile side.



At 3 ¼”, this small clasp knife by Nowill is similar to the old Girl Guide knife (if you want to know what happened to the American Girl Guides it’s an interesting story), but the pattern wasn’t exclusive to them, and they were popular with yachtsmen and sailors. Stainless.

 
This small (2 ½”) Sheffield-made Quill Knife isn’t giving up its maker. Unfortunately, there’s a small chip out of the MOP on the pile side. I picked up another one in better condition, but seem to have mislaid it.



This shadow Penknife is even smaller than the Quill Knife, and the tangs are devoid of any info at all. The ivory is chipped unfortunately. Nicely made little knife



Very slightly smaller again, and again unmarked...

 
I don’t always buy Richards knives, but these were all in good shape. Most came from the same vendor and it’s a shame he didn’t have the display card.



This pattern is 3 5/16”.



This pattern is the same as the very first knife I bought as a kid, aged 9 or 10, on a school trip. Measures 4”.

 
 
Too many watch tinkerers don’t seem to be happy with having JUST ONE specialist blade! I rarely come across these knives, where the main blade hasn’t been ruined :mad:



In the early 1990’s, I did quite a bit with the Norwegian cutlery firm Brusletto, including acting as a consultant to their UK distributor, and turning Ray Mears onto them. Both their carbon and stainless steel is good. Don’t remember this knife being in the range back then, but I’m sure it’d make for a reasonable user. 4” stainless blade.



Mr Hayhurst must have liked this one, he put his name on the handle (boxwood I think) three times in all! :D Picked up yet another Chesterman ruler. No ‘cheating inches’ on this ‘un! ;)

 
Couple of old bread knives.



One by Lockwood Brothers, with the Firth-Brearley stamp, achieved after Harry Brearley, the inventor of stainless steel, managed to get Firth’s to comply with their contractual obligations, which they did only after a protracted fight, and only briefly. It’s a story worth reading.




Anyone who read my Wizard’s Quest series may possibly remember the cut-down Nutbrown Utility Knife – Meako will I’m sure! Well, the other breadknife is by Mr Nutbrown :)


Picked these up at a ‘car-boot sale’ (you may have to look that up ;) ) last weekend, from a guy who makes them for a hobby.
 
 
As usual, you've got some treasure there, Jack! The Farthing Knife is very neat, and the Pipe Tool Knife is something I wish were more common.

The Richards' African knife: is that printed or scrimshawed? I'm assuming printed based off of the handle material of the other Richards'.

Thank you for taking the time. It's a bummer that the new software doesn't take kindly to long-form posts. I will miss your table.
 
Thanks for making the effort, Jack. It's well worth it to us. :D
Handsome Brusletto.
 
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Hi Jack.
I love the gold and grey acrylic handled knives, they take me back to the 70s, when every newsagent had them
Ahh, childhood memories
I think I bought one of the really small ones (about Peanut sized)
It's long gone though!
Thanks for sharing
Take care
Graham
 
Wurrwulf said:
As usual, you've got some treasure there, Jack! The Farthing Knife is very neat, and the Pipe Tool Knife is something I wish were more common.

The Richards' African knife: is that printed or scrimshawed? I'm assuming printed based off of the handle material of the other Richards'.

Thank you for taking the time. It's a bummer that the new software doesn't take kindly to long-form posts. I will miss your table.
Click to expand...

Thanks Shawn. Yeah, the African knife is just like the other Richards knives. I hadn't realised just how short posts have to be now :( I've spent quite a lot of time lately doing research and taking photos for a long thread on the history of the Sheffield cutlers on the River Rivelin, but that's just wasted now :(

scrteened porch said:
Thanks for making the effort, Jack. It's well worth it to us. :D
Handsome Brusletto.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jer :thumbsup:
 
Great stuff, as always, Jack! I particularly like this one.

Jack Black said:
What a shame that this knife by Walter and Joseph Albert Baxter has a broken pen blade, because otherwise I think it’s a really nice jack knife, and matches a Lambsfoot I have. I’m sure I’ll carry it anyway :) Measures 3 5/8”.






Click to expand...

It is a bit of a shame about the broken pen blade, but that still seems like a perfectly useable knife. As-is, that pen blade might at least be good for cutting tape and opening packages (which is what I use a small secondary pen for most of the time anyways).

I also really like the "OIL THE JOINTS" stamps on those Burma knives. :thumbsup:
 
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