- Joined
- Dec 2, 2005
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- 71,364
Ive had a few interesting finds this week, nothing spectacular, but all inexpensive. The large Butchers knife has a 10 blade, to give an idea of scale.
First up is this William Rodgers clasp-knife. It has just the single blade, originally a Sheepsfoot, now almost Lambsfoot! Theres no screwdriver either. Because of the lack of the can-opener, its very light, and despite a lot of use, is still pretty solid.
The William Rodgers name goes back to 1830, but the business was acquired by Sheffield cutlers John Clarke in the 1870s. Clarkes ceased trading in 1983, with the Clarke and William Rodgers names being acquired by the Eggington Group, who also own the right to use the Wostenholm-IXL and Joseph Rodgers names.
This must be one of numerous attempts by Sheffield cutlery firms to emulate the Swiss Army Knife, which ranged from the poor to the pathetic. While this is quite an interesting find, Id put it in the lower end of the spectrum. All but one of the blades are carbon steel. Both knife blades are sharp enough, but the carbon one has to be dug out as the nick sits below the liner. Presumably, it once rested on the belly of the blade, which has since been ground away. The knife has seen plenty of use, so perhaps it was a good companion. However, any attempt by Sheffield cutlers to compete with the big Swiss manufacturers on price was bound to result in an inferior product. The longer knife blade has some very feint etched lettering, but Im unable to make out what it says. The tang stamp of the stainless blade says, simply: Stainless above Sheffield above England. Im not surprised nobody wanted their name on this one.
A step-up in terms of quality is this scout knife, which bears the name of the German cutler Kaufmann, producer of the legendary Mercator K55, and indeed K55 is incorporated into the etched logo on the tang. Despite a small amount of rust and wear to the covers, the blades appear to have seen little, if any use. Some form of logo once adorned the mark side, but this has either worn off, or been deliberately erased by sanding. Bearing in mind the uneven wear to the covers, I suspect the latter. Even with the help of a strong magnifying glass, I am unable to make out the name, which sits within a border, MOLLER possibly. In the centre of this word, within a separate border, and in much smaller writing, is the word KIPPER. The pile side of the knife is more heavily worn or sanded, also unevenly, so perhaps there was some form of logo here once as well.
Ive not seen a folder bearing the name of Tramontina before. This large stainless hawkbill appears to have seen plenty of use, but is still nice and solid. Clearly an inexpensive knife, but nice enough for what it is, and an interesting find in my opinion.
This old wreck has seen better days, with one of the covers completely missing. The tangs are completely unstamped, and the spine of the clip-blade is unusually shaped. I dont think its been manufactured in England. The spine of the clip reminds me a bit of the Douk-Douk. The nick of the secondary blade now rests inside the liner. Might make a good project for someone!
This knife came in the same job-lot as the wreck above, and also lacks any form of tang stamp. The covers are OK, but one of the blades is broken right back at the tang. The other blade sits proud of the covers.
This early Richards lacks the bright or garish covers often seen on such knives, its actually very plain. Despite a lot of use, the blade is solid, and sharp. Not bad for a Richards knife.
Only a little smaller is this Richards Pen-knife, which appears to be unused.
I regularly come across Richards knives in this pattern, either in carbon-steel or (later) in stainless. Like the last of the knives pictured in the first post in this thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1097217-A-Few-Recent-Finds though, this older knife, does not bear the Richards logo. It is marked, very simply, Sheffield above England.
I used to come across these Richards pipe-tools regularly, but as soon as I offered to get one for one of our members, they seemed to dry up! This is the first Ive seen in months. My dad had one when I was a kid, but Im not sure he ever carried it. It lived with his pipe-cleaners in a box under the mantelpiece. Looks like another old boy either kept his in the house or in his baccy pouch, and slipped a nut over the poker to make opening it easier.
This cheap stainless Penknife was clearly made in Sheffield as a promotional item for the old Glasgow firm of Donaldson & Filer Ltd. It does not bear the name of the Sheffield firm which manufactured the knife, possibly at the request of the customer, The tangs are simply stamped Stainless over Sheffield over England.
Far better in terms of quality is this gents knife made by Humphreys Radiant for Thornycroft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornycroft ). Its seen plenty of use, and made at least one trip to the grinder unfortunately, but is still solid. The nail file appears to have been used as a match-sriker or pipe scraper.
This common key-ring pattern has been produced in Sheffield for decades, also sometimes as an advertising knife. Its a cheap stainless knife, but this is as good an example as Ive ever found.
Sadly, theres no blade to accompany this folding button-hook, but I thought it might be of interest anyway.
I was pleased to find this old Joseph Eliot & Sons Butchers knife. A classic blade.
Last is what I think is a Bakers knife, The Incorrodible made by J Gregory & Sons from Spanish Silver.
The Hunt Continues!
Jack
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