What folding knife did Sherlock Holmes have?

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waynorth said:
Thanks for your "honorable" suggestion Raymond. Of course I agree with it!
I may have concentrated more on the Great Man's foibles than his strengths, leading to different conclusions. Who can really say what state he was in, volatile as he was, when he shopped for cutlery. I'm quite sure today he could be diagnosed with manic depression!
But Bruce, I think, has hit upon a very important possibility, nay probability; multiple folding knives.
I recall that Remington's market studies, ca. 1919, revealed the average life of a pocketknife to be three years. Since most everyone had at least one both in Holmes' and Remington's times, we could be dealing with several examples!
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Waynorth, talking about an honorable agreement sounds flowery in this day and age. But it fits so well with our subject of discussion. At their core the Holmes stories are nothing if not Victorian.

I always assumed the jackknife on the mantle did permanent duty organizing correspondence and opening letters. Sort of a cadet branch of the desk knife family.
 
Raymond, flowery or not there's a lot to be said for spirited and fair discussion. It takes more effort, and produces infinitely better results.
One must indeed be honorable, but it only works if all sides agree that honor is paramount.
All here have argued from their best possible perception of the given clues, I believe, and have listened to the others' arguments!
I haven't had this much fun on these forums, in a coon's age!!!
I'm also sure there is more to be said!
 
Going off topic for a minute but who is it on the forums with a decent corkscew collection?
 
Thinking of his collection brings a smile to my face!!
 
"Let me take you on a trip in history down the same by-lanes in London and up the steps of 221B Baker Street in the living room by the fireplace where Holmes and Watson are seated by that table marked by that Swiss knife that Holmes used to pin notes with, reminiscing about the good old days…"

This quote gleaned from a Sherlock Holmes trivia site in the UK. Quote not attributed as the author is unknown. Information request sent.

Still holding to the bespoke knife idea. As is likely his clothing was from Savile Row so is it likely his knife would be bespoke.
 
This has definitely been one of the more entertaining, and possibly educational, threads I've seen on BF for quite some time.

I'm a big fan of Sherlock and, strangely enough, knives :) so it's great to see the two combined.


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Hi Raymond. Thanks for the clarification. Holmes must have had a similar knife on him at the time. Reading it again, it does suggest a longer corkscrew was also available at the scene. Being a fan of corkscrews, as well as knives, I would have liked more information on the 'long screw' Anyway, a very entertaining thread. Thanks everyone.
 
Okay, guys, here's a quandary ..... Say Sherlock Holmes and Watson got into H.G. Wells' time machine and traveled to the year 2010, but forget his knife. What would he buy?
 
mnblade said:
Okay, guys, here's a quandary ..... Say Sherlock Holmes and Watson got into H.G. Wells' time machine and traveled to the year 2010, but forget his knife. What would he buy?
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The existence of MacGyver would cause a paradox ripping Holmes and Watson apart :D
 
Now Bruce; See what you've started??:eek:

Paradox - - - -Oy Vey!!!

:D:D:D
 
Thinking about it a bit more, Holmes may have been the archetype(in some ways) of the Victorian gent and well-heeled amateur, but he was also an innovator and very interested in the up to date.

This leads me to think that he may well have had some type of flick-knife(auto)secreted about his well-dressed person-in waistcoat pocket or even in the boot! I think flick-knives were made in Sheffield from around 1860 although likely rare&costly, yet I feel he would find it necessary to have some lightning opener to match his lightning intellect. If he were in action today, he'd be carrying something very contemporary- Ken Onion etc.
 
waynorth said:
Now Bruce; See what you've started??:eek:

Paradox - - - -Oy Vey!!!

:D:D:D
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I knew You guys would explore all possibilities, leave no stone unturned so to speak. This is a unique forum due to the masterminds that frequent it. Sherlocke must have had several knives in his lifetime as they do wear out. I cant see him losing one but just being practical he must have had one that worked for his daily job. Not an all out pocket tool but just a few handy blades like a large and small blade of sorts, a pull out tweezer, pipe pick and long enough corkscrew. Long front bolters would look good and a bail for easy access from a vest pocket. About 4 1/2" long closed.
I love the checkered ebony scales shown here by Wellington too. If I do make one I think the damascus is better kept for another project knife someday. D2 would be nice. I have a friend that does killer checkering too.
 
Many interesting thoughts and ideas for Bruce to ponder over for sure :D.

London in the later Victorian era had many well known "high class" cutlers, such as W Thornhill (Bond St), Weiss (Oxford St), Holzapffel (Charing Cross), Preist (Oxford St), Lund (Cornhill), Asprey (New Bond St) etc etc, all only a short stroll from 221B, Sherlock would have perhaps visited one of these establishments and had something bespoke made up ?.

The London makers loved to use chequered ebony, horn and ivory to handle their products and they tended to favour the leaf/spring locking method to secure the main blades.

(Correction; the Thornhill sportsman's I posted earlier in this thread was made by W Thornhill & Co (not Sons), the knife is the "DARROCK" (not Dorroch) and was listed as a stalking knife in the firm's Victorian catalogue, many apologies.)

Mick
 
A rose by any other name would look as sweet!:)
 
When we see a corkscrew we think wine. The tool was not always so limited. Once upon a time you needed your corkscrew to open a beer bottle. Corked beer bottles were the only option until William Painter invented the crown cap 1891. A standardized cap works better with a standardized bottle. Painter’s invention didn’t see widespread use until the invention of an automatic bottle blowing machine in 1899.

I trust Mr. Holmes won’t object if I invoke another English detective to demonstrate the point. This is from a Lord Peter Whimsy storey. Note that Hector provisions himself to open both styles of bottle, and this was in the nineteen thirties.

“What do you keep in that pocket?”
“Odds and ends,” said Hector. He dipped into the pocket and drew out a mixed collection—a pencil, a box of matches, a pair of nail-scissors, some string, a thing for opening beer-bottles with patent caps, a corkscrew for opening ordinary beer bottles, a very dirty handkerchief and some crumbs."

[Dorthy L. Sayers, Murder Must Advertise, 1933]
 
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At one time, corkscrews were needed to open medicine and scent bottles as well.
I have a tiny one that was apparently used to open certain perfume bottles.
Here is a pic, along with a full sized pocket screw. The screw on the small one is 3/4" long. The regular one is 1 3/4", which could be what Hector had in his pocket!.
CorkscrewsFolding1.jpg
 
Raymond1000 said:
Really Waynorth? Had The Master said, “one of those multiplex knives,” I would agree with you. Instead he said, “one of these multiplex knives”. That phrasing suggests inclusive familiarity to me.
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I disagree. He uses the word "these" because he's just been referring to the object in question in the previous sentence(s), and NOT because he's in possession of some convoluted pocket toolbox with a hodge-podge of weenie little pretend tools. I think Holmes would have had something traditionally English in his pocket, or at least something simple and elegant (yet high quality, even if it came from Solingen or elsewhere), and not a gimmicky "multiplex" knife.
 
Holmes seem to be fond of disguises, and I think a single knife would not be sufficient.
A common stable hand would probably not be able to afford a expensive pocketknife, just as a distinguished gentleman would probably not carry a rusty worn down stump of a knife.
 
puukkoman said:
I disagree. He uses the word "these" because he's just been referring to the object in question in the previous sentence(s), and NOT because he's in possession of some convoluted pocket toolbox with a hodge-podge of weenie little pretend tools. I think Holmes would have had something traditionally English in his pocket, or at least something simple and elegant (yet high quality, even if it came from Solingen or elsewhere), and not a gimmicky "multiplex" knife.
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It’s been many years since I read through the stories. But I do remember Holmes saying this: It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. All of us are doing exactly that, because the necessary evidence isn’t available. Unless somebody comes up with canonical statement to advance the discussion, one opinion is as good as another.
 
Thanks for posting the corkscrews waynorth. The one on the right may well have been similar to the one in Hector's pocket.
 
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