Posted 10 years ago
Scottj3134
(1 item)
Approx 3.5 inches long it appears to be made out of whale bone.Has (AST.STEEL )on the blade that is approx 2.75" long.The pins are exposed on the back edge ,I have no clue how old or what kind of knife this is ?Any ideas?
It appears to be a folding "Hawkbill" knife, with a company name on it used for advertisement. Also, double check the ivory scales theory, as they could also be made of epoxy, or resin. These knives were/are used in the carpet/linoleum trade, as well as for cutting rope, twine for packing etc., to name a few.
Wayne
EDIT: When i said "a company name on it" in my first post, i was not referring to the company that actually made the knife. Look at, and enlarge the "COIN" picture in the link i'm sending you, as it also has your AST.STEEL stamp on it. I think AST was/is a steel company started in the 1960's. Good Luck!
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?58,1877060,1877060
Wayne
knife is a sailors knife Sheffield Eng. have one like it about 1800 mine has the royal crown of king William stamp on blade very rare 3 in whaling museum in Salem Mass.
Nice knife, but i believe that should read "cast steel".
Looks pretty old and these handles were referred to as scratted bone handles. The sailors or persons owning the knife would get it new, in smooth bone, cow mainly, or what was referred to as parchment bone. Later the sailors would cut into the bone and this was called scratting the bone. "Scratting" is about 150 year old process, much like trench or folk art. Nice piece!