Posted 8 years ago
Frizzen
(2 items)
I am 74 years old and bought this knife about 30 years ago in Annapolis, MD when I was very active in historical reenactment and carried genuine period gear as much as possible. I know little about it, am in the process of passing some of my knives along to my three sons and would like to find out a little more about this one if possible.
The handle is made of antler and is capped on both ends. Folded length: 4.5"; blade length: 3.5"; overall length: 8.0"; diameter of large cap:1.0"
The info on the blade is as follows as best as I can make out:
"Robt Sorry (or perhaps Sopry) & Sons Limited"
There is also a small cross, probably a Templars Cross, above the makers name. Hope someone out there can help me out. Thanks in advance.
I can't locate anything like either of the names you mention. The closest thing is that there are several Sorbys but no Robert. A close-up of the actual stamp might help (set the blade at half-open). It's English. This pattern was a gardener's knife called a "pruner." Originally the blade was wider and the cutting edge and spine of the blade arced downward about twice the length of the blade to meet in a sharp point like an eagle's beak. That shape is called a "hawkbill" for obvious reasons. This overall design has been made for a century and a half, and still is.
The above should read "twice the WIDTH" of the blade. :-)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Joseph-Rodgers-Folding-Knife-No-Reserve-/282083635904?hash=item41ad7eb2c0:g:YS4AAOSwmtJXXAKm
Thanks for your interest. Sounds like you are very knowledgeable and I'm hoping we can find out more. As I said in my query, most all the gear I carried during my 20+ years as a fur trade reenactor was genuine period from about 1780 to 1850 or high quality reproduction. My initial reaction when I found this knife was it was right and I never ran across anyone who saw it that thought otherwise–or at least they didn't say so–so I was amazed that I was unable to find anything about the maker.
Because of the quality, I have personal doubts this knife is a gardening tool. It is very heavy and extremely well crafted. I think it is likely c1850 or earlier. I was surprised that I could not find the maker listed when I Googled it on both the US and English sites. This could be an early American or Canadian maker. I'm still betting on English. But then, I'm certainly no expert.
One of the features that caught my eye when I bought it was the curve and width of the blade which looks to me like it would have been used as a skinning knife in place of the more common sheathed, belt-type blade. I have several fur trade skinning blades, mostly English, and the curve on many of them is similar.
I will try to get a better image of the makers name and mark and send it to you either later today or tomorrow. The knife has a VERY strong two-stop spring so perhaps I can get a good closeup.
Thanks again for your interest and comments.
Frizzen
really nice. you can tell its been around the blade seems worn down much shorter than the slot . you say its a heavy knife, so if it was/is a hawk bill type , then its seen a lot of use and/or been broken at the tip at some point.
some of your similar knives mayve been this hawk bill type at some time or another. but that's a different subject entirely.
It is absolutely a hawkbill knife which has seen heavy wear. This is not unusual for these knives as they were only bought to be used, not as an every-day carry knife used infrequently. As time progressed they found use as linoleum knives and later for rough-cutting sheetrock. These knives are all over ebay. You can find dozens every day (12 ending in the next four hours) and several that look like yours each week. Except for exceptional examples they are not expensive with newer ones selling under $20. Better old ones are $40- $60, rare examples go a bit higher. Your knife is most likely 1890-1910. The English made this pattern in exactly the same way, with the same materials, into the 1930's.
OK guys ... you've convinced me! Thanks for your comments. I really do appreciate the response. The day I bought the knife was obviously one of those times where I took somebody's word about something and simply screwed up. The bright side is that now, 30 years later, the truth has set me free. I'm sure my son will enjoy having it around to pass on to his son 30 or 40 years from now.
Thanks again guys. Glad you're out there and willing to jump in and help people like me even if it means hearing something that is not at all what we expect.
Have a great 4th of July wherever you may be on this weekend, the 140th anniversary of our great nation.
Frizzen
We'd still like to see that tang stamp. This is still a mystery.
I'll try to get a good shot and post it today. Let me know if you find anything on it. I'm still very curious about that part. I've written three non-fiction books and done thousands of searches to track down very obscure information and never had a case where I couldn't find a single reference. Hope you can shed some light on that.
Thanks.
Just sent another picture of the makers mark on the knife but since I'm new to this website I am still a little befuddled by the way the site works. Hope you can find it.
Frizzen