The Itchy and Scratty Show!

Lyle, that knife takes my breath away every time I see it. That FJ is all gorgeous!! That budding blade is something else.

On the inside liner in the top photo--is that my name? :D
 
Charlie's already spoke in case of needed bequeath,what a pal. I grin..
 
I'm sure that's a real emotional load off of your mind. What are friends for, right? :D
 
Wow Lyle, you must be really pleased (understatement). The more I look at it, the better it gets.

Russell
 
Now, you take real good care of that knife, Lyle!!
Old pal!!!:D

Scratting, Diamonding and Checkering are all kissing cousins I'd say. In fact any texturing is at least a distant relative. Even sawcut surfaces have a similar purpose, to help add some grip as well as decoration. Here is a group of textures, some quite old;

Scratty%20Bunch%201_zpsdvfqmfmy.jpg


The Barlow at the far left is a bit poor in spirit, but matches side to side!!
The pruner at right is, of course, a much more sophisticated version.

These are the most common patterns, judging from the small sample I have seen. They are almost based on a fish skeleton.

Scratted2_zpsbvylttbj.jpg

Scratted%20bone_zpshosytfcd.jpg


There are a lot more BFers since this thread was first posted!*
Maybe some of you have a picture of scratting or texture you can show??:)







*Wow - 6 years ago!!!:eek:
 
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Thanks for resurrecting this deserving thread, Lyle. Thanks for adding more pics, Charlie! I would love to see* scratted TC Barlows someday.





* And by "see" I really mean "own". :D
 
Hardly anything better Robb and Russell. Except maybe the excitement of having this rare pattern available for a lot of others sharin' the clickin' an clackin',CF,and such.:)

Don't worry CC,the Masterpiece don't get much of that.
 
Great examples Charlie, particularly that beautiful Pruner. A pub conversation with ScruffUK led me to seek out this thread a while back, and I've been back several times to drool! ;)
 
Scratting, Diamonding and Checkering are all kissing cousins I'd say. In fact any texturing is at least a distant relative.

NICE.
Does that include Great Uncle Scrimshaw?;)
He's the king of em all y'all.
 
Yeah, Great Uncle Scrimshaw was the black sheep of the family.

meako said:
Scratting, Diamonding and Checkering are all kissing cousins I'd say. In fact any texturing is at least a distant relative.

NICE.
Does that include Great Uncle Scrimshaw?;)
He's the king of em all y'all.
Click to expand...
 
Great unka Scrimmo is the golden child.
There is a definite connection between scratting and Scrimshaw(notice how I put that to make Scrimshaw seem more important)(although it isn't).
 
Great to see this thread again, I watched the "tobacco knife" on Ebay. This has reinspired me to give it a try.
Think i'll start with the primitive cross hatching :D
That's a heck of a knife Charlie, have always loved it.

Best regards

Robin
 
I have always itched to find a nice example of Scratted Bone. Scratting (I hope I am using the word correctly) is an old, and some say lost, art.
I dream that one of our brave new knifemakers will take up the challenge of bringing back that chapter of the past!
Click to expand...

Charlie, just a fantastic thread and still, a great find on that beautiful big ole' pruner :thumbup:
I couldn't agree with you more on the hopes of seeing this long lost cover treatment resurrected by a maker. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at all of the examples shown, from the three bar cross hatch pattern on the Barlows, to the more elaborate center panel pieces with diamond or parallel line patterns on each side. Hmmm, I wonder how difficult it would be to Scrat some smooth bone on a TC...
 
sitflyer said:
Charlie, just a fantastic thread and still, a great find on that beautiful big ole' pruner :thumbup:
I couldn't agree with you more on the hopes of seeing this long lost cover treatment resurrected by a maker. I thoroughly enjoyed looking at all of the examples shown, from the three bar cross hatch pattern on the Barlows, to the more elaborate center panel pieces with diamond or parallel line patterns on each side. Hmmm, I wonder how difficult it would be to Scrat some smooth bone on a TC...
Click to expand...

I think the only problem would be planning it so the scratts miss the various rivets! It was likely done on bone blanks, but it seems to me a little planning would make it easy to do the simple patterns on a finished knife.

Scrimshaw can be a magnificent addition, if not for texture, certainly for decoration. It is certainly a member of the Scratt family.

Does anyone know the etymology of the term Scrimshaw??


Here's one definition with no backup evidence - probably tongue-in-cheek!:D
"The origin of the word is obscure; one interesting etymology is a Dutch phrase meaning "to waste one's time"! The term "scrimshaw" also applies to carved or pierced bone or ivory, since much of the whalemen's work was carved rather than etched."
 
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There must be a strong connection that Scratting is a cousin of Scrimshaw work - I was surprised to see England on the stamping of your JR - it must be border line of being produced after the law changing of the stamping of knives imported into the USA? as that knife isnt young - so it has to be one of the earlier "England" stamped knives - surely? But what a gorgeous example!!! just plain beautiful, to come across a knife like that is such a great find - so well done Charlie ( be it a few years too late ).
Lyles modern rendition is just plain gob-smacking.
 
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