Photos W.Mount & Son Sheffield ?

K

kwackster

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Dec 23, 2005
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Anyone here familiar with Sheffield maker W.Mount & Son ?
There doesn't seem to be much info about them on the internet, or i'm looking in the wrong places.
The knife itself is definitely a quality piece, with especially the handle construction being strikingly similar to my Wade & Butcher model.
My educated guess would be that the W.Mount & Son is from about the same time frame (1920's - 1930's), and was made with boy scouts and/or hunters in mind.







 
The knife is one of the Sheffield 'Town Pattern's, made by hundreds of firms, and still made in Sheffield today. It is one of the patterns described in Sheffield as a 'Whittle-Tang Bowie'. Tens of thousands were sold to Boy Scouts, and so they were sometimes referred to as 'Scout Knives', with at least one early maker (Maleham & Yeoman) etching the blade 'Scouts Woodcraft Knife'. W.Mount also made Girl Guide Knives, a small folder with a Sheepsfoot blade and Marlin Spike, of which I have an example, but they seem to have been an obscure company.
 
Thank you Jack Black, i was already hoping you could help out, :)
What do you think of my estimation of the timeframe ?

Just finished with a bit of TLC and hand regrinding the blade to it's original full convex zero edge shape again.
Based on this i suspect it's also crucible steel (much more wear resistant than comparable German blades), and i wouldn't be surprised if the steel has a certain amount of tungsten carbides in it, or something similar.
It definitely wants to be sharp. (like reverse chest hair whittling sharp with an 800 grit SiC finish)











 
I'm very sorry not to be of greater help :( Bearing in mind that I know almost nothing about the company, and the stamp may well have been bought by another Sheffield cutler, dating the knife is harder than ever, particularly since it is a pattern that has been made continually (and in large quantities) since around the dates you suggest to the present day. At least two Sheffield cutlery firms still make that pattern, and may well be using the original dies. Your knife may very well be made from crucible steel, but that was still being used in Sheffield in the 1960's! An unusual feature, however, is the jimping on the back of the blade, which Sheffield cutlers seem to have dispensed with at some point, and which I've only seen before on earlier examples (though other cutlers may have added it later at customer request). Apart from that, there is nothing really to differentiate the knife from those I carried as a boy or ones I've purchased a few months ago (I'm sorry for not posting pics, but my internet connection is terrible today). Your photos are great, and really help a lot. Are you able to read the writing scratched into the leather of the sheath? Also, is the press-stud painted metal or plastic-covered metal?

Just as an aside, your Wade & Butcher is known locally as a 'Blood-Hollow Bowie', pronounced 'Blood Holler' :thumbsup:
 
Here's a quick low-resolution pic of 3 contemporary A.Wright & Son knives (they do the full range), the sheaths are the same as your own K kwackster , but currently the press-stud is brass. Jack Adams produces knives of the same pattern :thumbsup:

eIAogPX.jpg
 
Jack Black Jack Black : the press stud is made from brown plastic covered metal with this writing on the backside: Newey pat.201430 - 22

On the sheath it shows an inscription of a lobster, and what looks to be the words "MONSANYA" "24 M &" "LEO"

Between the belt cut-outs is inscribed the name "Y.MAHIEU"
 
Here's a link relating to the manufacturer of the press-stud: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Newey_Brothers

The patent number relates to the press-stud itself, irrespective of the plastic covering. You may be able to find out when Newey started using plastic-covered studs.

I had a lot of these style of knives when I was a kid, as did a lot of my friends, and I still see an awful lot of them about, though I think that is a particularly nice example you have. They all came with the same cheap leather sheaths, and that is still the case today. The press-studs were either brass or painted or unpainted white metal in the 60's, and I don't recall seeing plastic-coated press-studs on these knives until the 1970's. That's not to say they weren't used before that, these knives were made by scores of Sheffield companies, but I don't recall seeing any until then.

I'm afraid the words etched on the sheath, intriguing though they are, don't mean much to me, but these knives were widely exported.
 
Jack Black Jack Black : i appreciate your help in providing this information about my knife, :)
The last few years i've really started to appreciate the older Sheffield made knives, especially the ones made in crucible steel as it really takes a fantastic edge, even for today's standards.
It seems that it used to be the preferred steel of woodworking tool manufacturers Stanley and Rekord, until they could no longer get it when production halted.
 
kwackster said:
Jack Black Jack Black : i appreciate your help in providing this information about my knife, :)
The last few years i've really started to appreciate the older Sheffield made knives, especially the ones made in crucible steel as it really takes a fantastic edge, even for today's standards.
It seems that it used to be the preferred steel of woodworking tool manufacturers Stanley and Rekord, until they could no longer get it when production halted.
Click to expand...

You're welcome, I'm very sorry I can't tell you any information about W.Mount & Son (though it's possible that they weren't actually the manufacturer in any case). That old steel sharpens up like a dream doesn't it :) :thumbsup:
 
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