The horn of plenty

[meako]

I took possession of this today.
I think I got a pretty good deal with off ebuy.
It was "maybe horn" and that piqued my interest.
I knew from the pics that it was in fact horn and so I pounced .

Whether or not I got a venerable old Italian La Vespa or not I'm not sure.
Its got beautiful horn scales I hope a bit of TLC will rejuvenate them.
At first glance they are about as healthy as a junkies fingernails.
There is also a discrepancy between the state of the blades that makes me want to run up to my castle lab during a thunderstorm and shout "IT'S ALIIIVE, Ihhht'S ALIIIIVVE!!"
The saw and scissors look made of different metal to the main blade. They are stainless looking where the rest are to put it nicely -heavily patina-ered and frankly rusty. Who knows?
Your thoughts and opinions are welcome.

 

[screened porch]

Will you use the old mineral oil ploy on the horn?
No idea on the mix of steels, unless they thought stainless was more suitable for some uses.

 

[jackknife]

Do you have any idea of the age of the knife?

The sharpening notch back by the kick looks a bit shallow, making me think there's some blade loss due to use and sharpening. The knife looks like it was someones companion for a long time.

 

[John A. Larsen]

I have a French made knife with mixed steel blades. What is stamped on the blade tang? John

 

[meako]

John it has "La Vespa MADE ITALY".
the ebuy pics also showed a closeup with "Solingen Germany" but I can't see it and have a sneaking suspicion it is a pic of another knife.
We know that Germany outsources knife parts and so it would be reasonable to think that it was made in Italy of German blades. The saw blade and scissors are unlikely pre 1970. The reamer looks older and both the reamer/punch and corkscrew are not well fitted-that could be due to the wear and tear of daily use and the levering action has bent the liners.
Or Igor pulled the lever before the storm was at its height.
Anyway I deployed some orange oil on the scales and they are looking a little better for it.The 3 in 1 oil went in the blades and lots of crud and black glurg is emerging .

 

[meako]

Do you have any idea of the age of the knife?

The sharpening notch back by the kick looks a bit shallow, making me think there's some blade loss due to use and sharpening. The knife looks like it was someones companion for a long time.

Thank you Carl -lengthways the blade is quite full but may have lost a bit of belly over the years -unlike me
It interesting to say the least.
cheers.