The venerable Hawkbill!

Picked this up on e-bay over the weekend, Can anyone tell me what era this model was made.

ixlhawkbillnp6.jpg


Thanks Rusty1
 
The handle material is pressed horn, I have been told.

There is nothing stamped on the reverse side of the tang.

Rusty1
 
Ahhh, pressed horn, molded to look like popcorn stag! Koooool!! Interesting piece of history. Apparently pressing horn is a lost art!!
 
The presence of the word "England" in the tang stamp means that it was probably made for the US market after 1891.
 
Here is a little excerpt re pressed horn taken from the supplement to The Penny Magazine, April, 1844 entitled A Day at the Sheffield Cutlery Works

"Horn handles have a peculiarity in their mode of manufacture, which places them in a distinct rank. When horn is made hot, it becomes so soft and ductile that it may be pressed into moulds; and this circumstance is taken advantage of to give an ornamental device to horn handles....The mould for pressing is in two halves which close together like a pair of pincers. The mould is heated in a fire; the piece of horn is cut nearly to the requisite size, and put into it; and the mould is pressed in a powerful vice, whereby the horn receives the impress of the device. "
 
Great old description s-k! Makes one want to try it out!
 
Excellent info! I recall reading about making a horn press from wood for shaping horn walking stick handles. Also, in one of the volumes of The Book of Buckskinning there is a section on heating and shaping horn for cups, spoons, and naturally, powder horns, and the like. Of course in these cases the horn is heated by various means until shapable.

I think a knife scaled in pressed horn would be just too cool.
 
A beauty! What character! This is what this knife collecting is all about. Safe queens have their place, but when you can enjoy a grizzled old veteran like this, life is good!!
Nice find, s-k. Needless to say, I'm envious of your location (and your knife); where else can you find great Sheffield cutlery of such stature??!!
 
Thanks for the kind feedback waynorth. :) I agree. Some of the new knives are great looking but I have a fondness for the older ones myself.
 
S-K, I like the worn stag on some of your knives. I didn't know hawkbills came with two-blades until this thread.
 
Nice knife s-k, I bet that knife could tell a story or two, or maybe not because of the condition, it is certainly worth while waiting, for something like that to come along, excellent catch.

Rusty1
 
SK my friend your Sheffields are stealing the show, wow the character drips off of them...You just keep on getting these beauties as long you are willing to share them with us...:rolleyes:

Sunburst
 
Very nice, S-K! I never thought of hawkbills as being so classy, but those certainly show the old pattern used to be thought of a whole lot better than it is today. Great to see.
 
My P.O. Box is a pleasant place sometimes. A friend from Winsted, Connecticut is shipping me an antique Empire collection a dozen knives at a time, and this week, these fine old Hawkbills came! Here for our ogling pleasure;
EmpireHawks.jpg
 
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