Thomas Turner knife info needed

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Paslode152

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Nov 24, 2021
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I am very new to this forum, computers and live in the UK. I am searching for information regarding a knife that my late father gave me 20 years ago, he believed he had been given it by his father who died when my father was 8 years old. It is a folding / locking knife with a 4 1/4" long blade which is approx 3/4" wide and is pointed. At the base of the blade in very small writing it looks like TURNER SUFFOLK WORKS. It may also say SHEFFIELD. It has three small diamonds in a vertical line. The handle looks to be either bone or ivory. The most distinctive part is the "bolster" which is silver in colour, is of a horses head with cannon, anchor and the figure of a kneeling soldier / sailor who may be loading the cannon. The knife is in very good condition apart from a couple of small dents in the "bolster." In the past members of a forum suggested that it may be a commemorative knife surrounding Paul Revere made by Thomas Turner and Co of Sheffield. [
https://imgur.com/a/Lsw1FDD
 
That looks like something you should ask Mark Zalesky at Knife Magazine about. He has a lot of background in those old folding Bowies.
 
Hello & welcome.

Could we have a good photo of the tang stamp please and the blade on its own?

What sort of locking mechanism does this have? Could be bone or even ivory as it appears to have characteristics but hard to see from your picture, close-up needed. I wouldn't call it a folding Bowie or Dirk as it has no cross-guard but it is a large knife if the blade is 4.5"

Levine (1985. p168) states that "Though the knives themselves were hand-made, their fancy nickel silver bolsters were mass produced. Standard designs were stamped out by specialist firms and sold to all the makers.Some of the original dies used to stamp these fancy mounts still exist, which helps account for a certain amount of inept counterfeiting and questionable repair work. "

The forum that gave you information about the knife is right about the maker but how did they make a connexion to the American silversmith Paul Revere from the Revolutionary period?

Thanks, Will
 
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[Just because I can't help doesn't mean I should waste space.]
 
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Just giving a little info on Thomas Turner & Co Sheffield, provided in Tweedale's Directory. I am reducing the 2 full pages of info down to just what seems relevant for this thread.

Beginning in 1802, they utilized a 3 Diamond "Encore" as their corporate mark. By 1822, they were listed in the Sheffield directory. They made a wide variety of cutlery, files, saws, tools, marked with "Suffolk Works". Thomas died in 1845, and his eldest son (also Thomas) took over. Their folding knives, big plain patterns, were marketed heavily to the United States. By 1880s they were claimed to employ over 350 workers. The younger Turner retired in 1893. The company was then sold to the Hobson brothers, who then merged it with other various brands, and manufacturing factories. After WW1 they all became part of Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers Ltd. During the depression, around 1932 the Turner brand was bought by Lee & Crookes. After that, it was bought by Viners, who used the brand on their knives made up through the 1960's.

As said by others, to really nail down the age of this particular knife, good photos of the tang are needed.
 
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