- Joined
- Dec 2, 2005
- Messages
- 69,254
For one reason and another, its been some time since I was last able to have a proper fettling session and come to grips with the stuff accumulating on my kitchen table. It had overspilled into various boxes and bookshelves, and some items never even got recorded since I passed them onto friends here or elsewhere, or SWMBO took a liking to them 
I found some nice old knives in a Sheffield antique shop, which didnt need much seeing to, if any, including the three below from Christopher Johnson, John Petty, and Harrison Fisher.
This one came with the three above. Some of you can probably guess where it went
:thumbup:
I picked up this unmarked English Jack last week, and as many of you will know Ive become quite enamoured with it, despite the lack of a tang stamp. Its well made, and in great condition, with a forged Spearpoint blade of excellent steel, and lovely old Stag covers, which are well-matched I think. I just wish I knew who had made it
Back to the table though, and heres how it was looking a few days ago
Ive not had a chance to deal with everything on it Im afraid, but I think I did make a decent impression on the pile. Ive picked up quite a few SAKS recently, heres some of them, all in good shape, mostly like new.
Duncan in New Zealand, generous as ever, recently sent me a surprise package, containing these three knives. First of which is an ivory penknife by Christopher Johnson, shown here with a fancy old Sheffield Fish Knife I picked up, also has an ivory handle.
Duncan has added quite a few clasp knives to my collection, and this one is a hybrid pattern, with what is essentially a British WW1 pattern blade, and a WW2 pattern tin-opener. Made by George Wostenholm of Sheffield. I think of these knives as the Kalashnikovs of folders, theyll really take a beating, so this one must have been used real hard (or hit a live cable) to lose a piece out of the edge. Plenty of life left though
Its shown here with a Bakelite pocket compass I found recently.
When Duncan and his lovely wife Sue, met up with me in Sheffield a few years back, we had a look round the outside of the historic Taylors Eye Witness factory. Knowing my love of the Lambsfoot pattern, Duncan included one of TEWs more recent Lambsfoot designs. The spring is inside the synthetic covers, as can be seen in the second pic. The knife is shown here together with two cast Crown Cork Openers which Ive not got round to cleaning yet. Thanks again Duncan, youre a very generous chap, and a great friend :thumbup:
Very close to the TEW factory, on Bath Street, once stood the works of James Howarth. Bath Street is long gone, demolished in the post WW2 slum clearance programme, but prior to that, my grandparents lived there, and my mother grew up there during the war. Indeed, for the first year of their marriage, whilst saving to buy a house of their own, my parents rented a small house on Bath Street. This horn-handled Slim Jack is beautifully-made, as many of the old Howarth knives are, and I was very pleased to acquire it a couple of weeks ago. Youll certainly be seeing more of this one Its shown here with a Vesta matchbook cover I couldnt resist buying.
I recently acquired these two knives, which are of the same pattern, though one has seen considerably more use. They bear the Unity mark, which was used by a succession of co-operative cutlery businesses, beginning with the Sheffield Cutlery Co-operative Productive Society, formed by three trades union branches in 1866.
This old knife, by John Wigfall, has seen a lot of love I think, and is still sharp. The stag covers are worn almost smooth, and the blade...well you can see. I might carry it sometime though. The other item shown is a Sheffield-made Ink Eraser.
Not sure theres anything I can do with this one though
Theres something I very much admire about the slim all-metal penknives which many Sheffield firms once produced. This one bears the Kumfi-Kut mark of scissor manufacturer Thomas Champion, and appears to be unused. The glass dish here, like the others shown in the photo of my table above, is a Victorian salt, an open table-salt dish. I bought about a dozen of these recently, and have given most of them away. They vary in both size, and design.
I was also very pleased to find this IXL Serpentine Jack in fantastic condition. Its a bit bigger than a Peanut. The collar studs were given to me by a market-trader, who insisted they were cufflinks. I still have my grandfathers, though no longer own any shirts with separate collars.
Another all-metal Sheffield knife is this Sleeveboard. It is marked Cresta, which is a name the Sheffield firm Spear & Jackson used for cutlery. And in keeping with the frothy theme ( ), its pictured with a couple of bottle-openers, not as old as the cast ones, but theres still a good few years on them. I once worked at the Whitbreads brewery in Sheffield
Older is this slim Sheepsfoot, made by Thomas Turner. It still has a great snap to it. The rule is made by Chesterman, where several members of my family, going back at least to my Great Grandmother worked. They usually carry advertising for long defunct firms on the reverse.
I found some nice old knives in a Sheffield antique shop, which didnt need much seeing to, if any, including the three below from Christopher Johnson, John Petty, and Harrison Fisher.
This one came with the three above. Some of you can probably guess where it went
:thumbup:
I picked up this unmarked English Jack last week, and as many of you will know Ive become quite enamoured with it, despite the lack of a tang stamp. Its well made, and in great condition, with a forged Spearpoint blade of excellent steel, and lovely old Stag covers, which are well-matched I think. I just wish I knew who had made it
Back to the table though, and heres how it was looking a few days ago
Ive not had a chance to deal with everything on it Im afraid, but I think I did make a decent impression on the pile. Ive picked up quite a few SAKS recently, heres some of them, all in good shape, mostly like new.
Duncan in New Zealand, generous as ever, recently sent me a surprise package, containing these three knives. First of which is an ivory penknife by Christopher Johnson, shown here with a fancy old Sheffield Fish Knife I picked up, also has an ivory handle.
Duncan has added quite a few clasp knives to my collection, and this one is a hybrid pattern, with what is essentially a British WW1 pattern blade, and a WW2 pattern tin-opener. Made by George Wostenholm of Sheffield. I think of these knives as the Kalashnikovs of folders, theyll really take a beating, so this one must have been used real hard (or hit a live cable) to lose a piece out of the edge. Plenty of life left though
Its shown here with a Bakelite pocket compass I found recently.
When Duncan and his lovely wife Sue, met up with me in Sheffield a few years back, we had a look round the outside of the historic Taylors Eye Witness factory. Knowing my love of the Lambsfoot pattern, Duncan included one of TEWs more recent Lambsfoot designs. The spring is inside the synthetic covers, as can be seen in the second pic. The knife is shown here together with two cast Crown Cork Openers which Ive not got round to cleaning yet. Thanks again Duncan, youre a very generous chap, and a great friend :thumbup:
Very close to the TEW factory, on Bath Street, once stood the works of James Howarth. Bath Street is long gone, demolished in the post WW2 slum clearance programme, but prior to that, my grandparents lived there, and my mother grew up there during the war. Indeed, for the first year of their marriage, whilst saving to buy a house of their own, my parents rented a small house on Bath Street. This horn-handled Slim Jack is beautifully-made, as many of the old Howarth knives are, and I was very pleased to acquire it a couple of weeks ago. Youll certainly be seeing more of this one
Its shown here with a Vesta matchbook cover I couldnt resist buying.
I recently acquired these two knives, which are of the same pattern, though one has seen considerably more use. They bear the Unity mark, which was used by a succession of co-operative cutlery businesses, beginning with the Sheffield Cutlery Co-operative Productive Society, formed by three trades union branches in 1866.
This old knife, by John Wigfall, has seen a lot of love I think, and is still sharp. The stag covers are worn almost smooth, and the blade...well you can see. I might carry it sometime though. The other item shown is a Sheffield-made Ink Eraser.
Not sure theres anything I can do with this one though
Theres something I very much admire about the slim all-metal penknives which many Sheffield firms once produced. This one bears the Kumfi-Kut mark of scissor manufacturer Thomas Champion, and appears to be unused. The glass dish here, like the others shown in the photo of my table above, is a Victorian salt, an open table-salt dish. I bought about a dozen of these recently, and have given most of them away. They vary in both size, and design.
I was also very pleased to find this IXL Serpentine Jack in fantastic condition. Its a bit bigger than a Peanut. The collar studs were given to me by a market-trader, who insisted they were cufflinks. I still have my grandfathers, though no longer own any shirts with separate collars.
Another all-metal Sheffield knife is this Sleeveboard. It is marked Cresta, which is a name the Sheffield firm Spear & Jackson used for cutlery. And in keeping with the frothy theme (
), its pictured with a couple of bottle-openers, not as old as the cast ones, but theres still a good few years on them. I once worked at the Whitbreads brewery in Sheffield 
Older is this slim Sheepsfoot, made by Thomas Turner. It still has a great snap to it. The rule is made by Chesterman, where several members of my family, going back at least to my Great Grandmother worked. They usually carry advertising for long defunct firms on the reverse.
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