Posted 8 years ago
RitaSkeeter
(3 items)
What is this!??? Found this when going through family items for an estate sale.
There is a marking on the blade that looks sort of like a vase or a candle lying on it's side. And right beside it looks to me like it says Giordias or Strodias.
Great Grandfather fought in the Civil War... would he have carried it? Anyone know what this is?? Thanks in advance! RitaSkeeter
Girodias is a French knife maker from the mid-late 19th century. That vase-like mark is their trademark. The shape of the handle and the metal fixtures that hold on the scales are also sort of a trademark with them. Yours, while not rare, is certainly scarce, and this size and shape is the one most commonly found with that marker's mark. The handle scales are cattle horn. The ones closest to the blade end are dark horn; the ones at the other end are transparent blonde horn which has been treated with acid to resemble tortoise shell. Your example is in very good condition. They are often found with broken or loose handle parts. I think these knives were more collector pieces even back then and were not carried to be used as weapons. Serious weapons in those days had non-folding blades. A folding blade without a locking mechanism would not have served well as a weapon. It is highly unlikely that it was carried by a Civil War soldier.
Uncle Ron, Thank you so much for taking the time to share all that with us. You are obviously very knowledgeable in this area. Since mom and dad lived in Puerto Rico for a while and also traveled to Spain once- maybe they bought it there? Dad did come home from a vacation in Spain in the 60's with a full size SWORD as his carry-on souvenir (which of course was perfectly legal and normal back then!) Now I guess we'll have to find the sword and post it.
OH- ONE MORE QUESTION! If we were to keep it or to sell it, should I try to clean up the blades with oil and a soft rag or something, or am I better off just leaving everything as is?
A little oil on the blade never hurt anything* but definitely do not try to clean or repair it. There are ways to do that but every collector I know prefers to do it themselves and each of us has our own preferences of how to do it and what the final effect should be. Generally, the less done the better; once you go too far you can not go back. *There are even debates about what kind of oil is best. (I use USP grade mineral oil like you get at a pharmacy; it has no acid/solvents that discolor the steel and it doesn't dry, leaving a waxy film, like household oil.)