Posted 8 years ago
Shanedoherty
(5 items)
Very early" horsemans"knife
Two blades/ two picks, they are removable on the sides.
Also has a fleam and hoof knife.
Mid 19th century pocket knife | ||
| Shanedoherty's items2 of 5 |  |  |
Mid 19th century pocket knife | ||
| Shanedoherty's items2 of 5 | | |
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Posted 8 years ago
Shanedoherty
(5 items)
Very early" horsemans"knife
Two blades/ two picks, they are removable on the sides.
Also has a fleam and hoof knife.
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Who made this?
Small diamond makers mark
This is an unusual construction. This knife is probably German but we're going to need a much better picture of the tang mark (positioned with the blade vertical, please) to try to identify it. Try holding a magnifying lens immediately in front of the camera lens.
In knife collecting this is called a "horseman's" knife (a subset of "sportsman's" knives). A farrier's (in English) knife is a fixed-blade tool that is only the hoof scraper.
I have included a close up picture of tang stamp.
This is the only stamp on entire knife
This knife was with other items of civil war era, buttons, brass eagle with shield and two rifles. Brass eagle came off of the front of a Dragoons infantry military hat,1860's.
Great pic but still no help. It's just too defaced. I checked a book of pictured knife logos but to no avail. The "diamond" may be something else, such as the top of a ship's sail, etc. Of course being in a box with other CW stuff is no indication of the age of the knife. I still think it's German and COULD be that old or fifty years later. It's an "excelsior" pattern handle but there are many odd aspects to it, e.g. a major blade at the end without a bolster; the offset hoof pick; even a folder with a fleam is unusual outside of the English style horseman's knives with a "hooked" hoof pick pivoted on the back. There seems to be letters stamped in a diagonal across the tang(?). There appears to be a crack across the blade about 1/4" out from the tang (?) Does it appear on the other side? It almost looks as though a replacement blade was welded onto the stub of a previous blade (?) Interesting.
The offset of the base of tang is consistent on both blades. I don't think it was a weld, the pitting and patina is consistent on all blades. No crack on blade.
You definitely know your knives though.
Do think it's possibly a Sheffield?
I can't find any like it, not even close
It could be Sheffield; there's just something about the whole construction that says "Germany" to me. It's hard to see potential tell-tale details in pictures. I've often seen several of its construction details together in one knife, but never all of them together. I don't know if I've ever seen a folding hoof pick like that. That looks like a timber scribe but along with the fleam it has to be for a horse. English hoof picks are curved like a hook, hinged on the outside of the back of the knife, and have no spring. They simply "hook around" the curvature of the bottom end of the handle and stay put by friction.
I believe the knife is a (Wade Wingman Robotham Scheffield)
The "A" or pyramid appearing hallmark is part of the "wAde"
What do you think Ron?