Treasures From Jack's Virtual Table

[donn]

Thanks David, that's is in superb condition My grandfather gave me a later Rodgers with the broad arrow. I can't remember if it was date-stamped or not, as they often are

Here's something quite different, another one from the large job-lot I bought. It's a Black Cat-type lock knife, with a tang-stamp which just says 'Solingen, W. Germany'.

The edge has taken a few dings

Cheers Jack, I got it from one of the antique shops in York years ago.
That Black Cat knife looks like it's earned it's stripes. I have a modern slipjoint version of it which is a decent knife.

 

[Jack Black]

Cheers Jack, I got it from one of the antique shops in York years ago.
That Black Cat knife looks like it's earned it's stripes. I have a modern slipjoint version of it which is a decent knife.

Very nice find my friend, I don't see many in that condition these days, and certainly not at a reasonable price Yeah, I guess the steel must be decent, it hasn't chipped despite some hammer. I don't think I've seen the slipjoint version, have to look out for that. The lock wasn't engaging on this one at first, and I briefly wondered if it had been sabotaged (like a few other knives I've seen), but it was just gummed up

 

[donn]

I don't think I've seen the slipjoint version, have to look out for that.

There decent little knives; though I seem to recall I bought this off a European website which I'm not sure I'd be able to do nowadays given those new laws.

 

[Jack Black]

There decent little knives; though I seem to recall I bought this off a European website which I'm not sure I'd be able to do nowadays given those new laws.

That looks good mate I'm still buying off European sites, but not sure how long that'll last

 

[r8shell]

This is a WW2 era British Royal Navy Clasp Knife by Joseph Allen of Sheffield. It's an earlier model with a copper bail, rather than the later steel bail, which was issued into the 1980's.

They're a heavy knife, designed to be worn on a lanyard. This sailor must have been a thin chap as he has his knife secured on a lanyard round his waist.

After their owner's naval service was complete, many of these knives were pressed into use as tool-box knives on Civvie Street, and used just as hard. Sadly, despite their extremely robust build, many are found with damaged blades. The point is particularly vulnerable if the knife is dropped, because of the sheer weight of the knife.

Joseph Allen were established in Sheffield in the latter half of the 19th century, acquiring the 'Non-XXL' mark in 1883 (for the use of which Adolph Kastor later paid a royalty). The firm made clasp knives for the British Army and Navy in both World Wars.

I'd be afraid of wearing the lanyard that way. Fall overboard, and that knife would drag you down like an anchor.
Do you know any reason they were issued with copper bails? Easier/cheaper to produce than steel, or perhaps some functional reason?

 

[Jack Black]

I'd be afraid of wearing the lanyard that way. Fall overboard, and that knife would drag you down like an anchor.
Do you know any reason they were issued with copper bails? Easier/cheaper to produce than steel, or perhaps some functional reason?

I think it would, it's a heavy knife! Copper was more expensive, easier to work I guess, but it's not as if that would have been an issue I think, certainly not in the 20th century. The reason may simply be tradition, all the previous British Army and Navy knives, going back to the 19th century, had copper bails. Something I've noticed with the heavy WW1 Army pattern is that a lot of the copper bails are twisted, like the one below.

I think this would have happened during action, because the knives were carried on the belt, or it may have been done deliberately to stop the knife sticking out so much and catching on things. That wasn't done at the factory though, and I don't think it was a design feature either. The original copper bails, like on this Admiralty Pattern 301 are a little fancier, and it could be that it was easier to cast the copper like that than to forge the steel.

Of course there's always the fact that a copper bail was originally chosen purely for aesthetic reasons (subsequently becoming traditional on British army and navy knives)

 

[Jack Black]

This unusual knife is a Hook Knife. It was probably manufactured in Sheffield, but has an etch on the blade for the firm of Nairn of Kirkaldy in Scotland, who manufactured traditional floor coverings, oil-cloth, and later linoleum.

 

[Jack Black]

This simple Cracked Ice William Rodgers Fruit Knife with stainless blade didn't take long to clean up. Nice enough little knife

 

[Jack Black]

A bunch of all-metal folders on my table this morning

This Chinese-made Fish Knife is the only one that isn't made in Sheffield. It's a mint example of a pattern I have an enduring affection for, having owned one as a boy My pal's lad already has his eye on it

Made by Richards of Sheffield, this useful 3-blade Key-Ring Knife was produced with and without advertising.

Thomas Turner was one of Sheffield's best established cutlery firms with a glorious history, but it went into decline in the early 20th century, with the post-bankruptcy name being picked up by Sheffield firm Viner's in the 1930's. They used the name until the 1960's.

I'm quite fond of John Watts, their works were located on the edge of 'Cutler's Hill', where my grandfather grew up, and I remember him pointing out the factory to me. Their knives aren't high-end, but for a relatively small firm, they produced so many patterns, as well as a range of other items, even ice-skates. Founded in 1765, the company survived to the end of the 20th century, and their old factory still stands, having been converted to apartments.

The firm produced a lot of advertising knives, including both of these very different folders. The first is this Easifold Knife.

The Bar-Keeper's Knife is clearly older, and a pattern I quite like

 

[screened porch]

The Bar-Keeper's Knife is clearly older, and a pattern I quite like

That is nice.

 

[JohnDF]

Very nice.
I was just thinking the other day, I wish Victorinox made an Alox SAK with just those exact same three tools... nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Jack Black]

That is nice.

Thanks Jer

Very nice.
I was just thinking the other day, I wish Victorinox made an Alox SAK with just those exact same three tools... nothing more, nothing less.

Thanks John It's a handy little tool, but I'm afraid it's only about an inch long

 

[Jack Black]

This large (9" overall) Victorian Harrison Brothers & Howson Leather-worker's Knife is in very good condition, considering its age. Nice stamp I think

 

[Jack Black]

I had a little spare time this Sunday morning, enough to clean up a few more from the pile

Harrison Fisher made lots of these knives, and a similar pattern in a Jack configuration. I've seen them without advertising, but mostly they were Advertising Knives. They had a big contract to produce 'Double Diamond' knives, and also 'Skol'. Both were heavily advertised beers, available on draught and bottled, which probably had their heyday in the 1970's, though Double Diamond was first brewed in 1876. Skol was a British lager brewed by the same company, I last had a pint of it in early 1977 during a school lunch-break. Bearing in mind how common these knives are, I imagine they were given away in some form. This one is completely unused.

This older Letter-Opener Knife was also made by Harrison Fisher. The edge has a few dings, but I quite like this one. It has an advertising stamp for Jute Industries Ltd. This was an amalgamation of several producers of jute twine, formed in Dundee, Scotland in 1920. They changed their name to Sidlaw Industries in 1971.

Even with the once prestigious Joseph Rodgers mark, this would simply be a low quality Pruning Knife, but the other stamp makes it more interesting to me. Joseph Rodgers produced knives for the General Post Office (GPO) here, which were issued to telephone engineer's (linesmen). They were made in two patterns, and stamped with the year of manufacture. In 1981, telecommunications was split from the rest of the GPO, and in 1984, it was privatised. This is the first of these knives I've found with the Telecom, rather than the GPO mark, and it was also made in 1983, after the Joseph Rodgers mark was acquired by Eggington, who also bought up a lot of old Sheffield marks, such as IXL and Ibberson. The older knives are nicer.

Here's a Serpentine Jack, made by Taylor's Eye Witness of Sheffield.

Also by TEW is this Comet Hawkbill, which you can read more about in this thread here

Almost all of the Swiss Army Knives I pick up have never been sharpened, and many have barely been used. Unfortunately, this Victorinox Explorer has been very incompetently sharpened. I think I know a small explorer to pass it onto after I clean the edge up a bit.

 

[screened porch]

Love the Skol knife.

 

[Jack Black]

Love the Skol knife.

Thanks Jer, the lager was pretty rotten if I remember! Hoping to get time to clean up a few more knives from the pile in a day or two

 

[Jack Black]

My friend @ADEE gave me this knife when I went over to see him earlier in the week. I think it's one of a series of patterns produced in Sheffield, post-WW2, which the military knife historian Ron Flook, has categorised as NAAFI Knives, since they were sold to National Servicemen. The knives originally appear to have been made up, at least in part, from parts left over from the British Army Clasp Knives, which were produced in huge quantities during WW2. The knives were certainly sold more widely than the NAAFI though, and in fact knives with the same blades are still produced in Sheffield (though the cutlers don't know their history). It could be that the NAAFI were the first customers for the knives, since steel rationing would not have been lifted immediately after VE Day, or perhaps because the Army had already contracted for the clasp knives.

This knife is one of two Sheepsfoot patterns made in this style, in this case without a Pen blade. It has an unusually angular blade, which I have only seen on clasp knives produced during WW2 by Sheffield Steel Products (SSP). Like many other firms, they put their mark on the secondary tin-opener blade on the Army Clasp Knife, rather than on the blade itself. The blade on this knife is clearly Clasp Knife stock, as the nick is on the reverse side of the blade. It has been very lightly stamped 'Sheffield' over 'England'.

Since I need my table back, I won't be posting more in this thread until after Christmas now, so I hope everyone has a good one, and may the coming year be kind to all of us

 

[Jack Black]

I had a good tidy up before Christmas, and my big box of knives got tidied away! I haven't had a chance to have another fettling session since, but I did find ANOTHER box of knives lurking in a dark corner of a spare bedroom It mainly contains kitchen cutlery and fixed blades, like this Dirk-sized forged Victorian carving knife by Harrison Brothers & Howson

Hoping to be able to post more in this thread soon

 

[Jack Black]

Having to spend more time at usual this weekend, I decided to scoop a couple of handfuls of folders out of the big knife box, and clean them up some

Folding fruit knives were once popular with the monied classes, and examples with ornate silver blades and delicately-tooled mother-of-pearl covers are very collectible. After the invention of stainless steel, in 1913, the production of such knives rapidly went into decline, and we then see specialist small fruit knives produced with stainless blades. This Fruit Knife, with both the 'Bonsa' and 'leg and football' marks of Bontgen & Sabin, however, has a carbon-steel blade. This famous Solingen company was founded in by Louis Sabin and August Bontgen around 1870, with their marks being registered in 1876.

As with Sheffield knives, many Solingen-made knives do not carry a maker's mark (indeed many carry even less information). This is one such example, which merely tells us 'Garantie Solingen', so maybe it was made for the French market? There's a bit of a chip out of the still-sharp blade, but there's still plenty of useful life in this one.

The first time I found a penknife with the simple A.C. mark, I seem to remember having considerable difficulty finding out what it stood for, and foolishly I failed to keep a record of what I eventually found (not that it was much, so far as I recall). Nice little MOP Penknife anyway

Judging by the number of these knives I've seen over the years, this Serpentine Jack must have been a common pattern for George Wostenholm & Son, one of Sheffield's best known, and best respected, cutlery firms. They made it, at least, since the 1930's.

Wostenholm would eventually be acquired by their long-term rival Joseph Rodgers, but not until both firms had been in decline for decades. This is a Pruner by Joseph Rodgers & Sons from that period.

The Rodgers-Wostenholm group would eventually be acquired by Richards, and sadly the Joseph Rodgers name meant nothing after that. I like advertising knives, but it is shameful that such a once-great name should have ever been put on the tangs of machine-ground junk like this, which was made post-1985, by which time the Rodgers and Wostenholm names had been acquired by the Eggington Group. The Calor Gas company still own that 'Freephone' number, so it's production may be more recent.

Richards themselves were best-known for the mass-production of cheap and cheerful shell-handle knives like these.

My dad worked for Richards in the 1960's, and while he had no great interest in knives, I remember him carrying a knife of this pattern in the mid 70's, possibly because it had the 'royal blue' of his beloved Sheffield Wednesday Football Club He didn't carry it long, and I ended up with it

This is a typical Richards penknife, which were often sold in souvenir shops.

Another design, one of a series.

Very few Richards designs had a picture on the pilee side, they are almost always left plain.

A more traditional Sheffield penknife from Joseph Elliott & Sons.

Hopping across the Irish sea to Listowel in County Kerry, we finish with this Jowika Hobo Knife. Jowika used the same patented technology as Richards. The tools are plated carbon steel, rather than stainless.

 

[JohnDF]

Having to spend more time at usual this weekend, I decided to scoop a couple of handfuls of folders out of the big knife box, and clean them up some

Folding fruit knives were once popular with the monied classes, and examples with ornate silver blades and delicately-tooled mother-of-pearl covers are very collectible. After the invention of stainless steel, in 1913, the production of such knives rapidly went into decline, and we then see specialist small fruit knives produced with stainless blades. This Fruit Knife, with both the 'Bonsa' and 'leg and football' marks of Bontgen & Sabin, however, has a carbon-steel blade. This famous Solingen company was founded in by Louis Sabin and August Bontgen around 1870, with their marks being registered in 1876.

As with Sheffield knives, many Solingen-made knives do not carry a maker's mark (indeed many carry even less information). This is one such example, which merely tells us 'Garantie Solingen', so maybe it was made for the French market? There's a bit of a chip out of the still-sharp blade, but there's still plenty of useful life in this one.

The first time I found a penknife with the simple A.C. mark, I seem to remember having considerable difficulty finding out what it stood for, and foolishly I failed to keep a record of what I eventually found (not that it was much, so far as I recall). Nice little MOP Penknife anyway

Judging by the number of these knives I've seen over the years, this Serpentine Jack must have been a common pattern for George Wostenholm & Son, one of Sheffield's best known, and best respected, cutlery firms. They made it, at least, since the 1930's.

Wostenholm would eventually be acquired by their long-term rival Joseph Rodgers, but not until both firms had been in decline for decades. This is a Pruner by Joseph Rodgers & Sons from that period.

The Rodgers-Wostenholm group would eventually be acquired by Richards, and sadly the Joseph Rodgers name meant nothing after that. I like advertising knives, but it is shameful that such a once-great name should have ever been put on the tangs of machine-ground junk like this, which was made post-1985, by which time the Rodgers and Wostenholm names had been acquired by the Eggington Group. The Calor Gas company still own that 'Freephone' number, so it's production may be more recent.

Richards themselves were best-known for the mass-production of cheap and cheerful shell-handle knives like these.

My dad worked for Richards in the 1960's, and while he had no great interest in knives, I remember him carrying a knife of this pattern in the mid 70's, possibly because it had the 'royal blue' of his beloved Sheffield Wednesday Football Club He didn't carry it long, and I ended up with it

This is a typical Richards penknife, which were often sold in souvenir shops.

Another design, one of a series.

Very few Richards designs had a picture on the pilee side, they are almost always left plain.

A more traditional Sheffield penknife from Joseph Elliott & Sons.

Hopping across the Irish sea to Listowel in County Kerry, we finish with this Jowika Hobo Knife. Jowika used the same patented technology as Richards. The tools are plated carbon steel, rather than stainless.

What a fun bunch of knives.