Posted 12 years ago
BHock45
(807 items)
This is the second of three similar knives that I purchased all at the same time. After I studied this one a little closer I was able to make out the manufacturer's name as shown in image 2. This one says:
"J. WISS & SONS
NEWARK, N.J."
I'd love to learn more about the company or the knife. Thanks everyone.
Stag handle.
http://jwissandsons.com/
http://jwissandsons.com/wiss-building/
http://siris-archives.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?uri=full=3100001~!140088!0#focus
http://www.fadingad.com/fadingadblog/?p=737
mikkochristmas11, thanks for the sources. I remember seeing info. about scissors but not knives. I wonder what the date would be on a knife like this.
Hi, BHock45! Don't know what happened to the Wiss siris archives hypelink - the hyperlink command didn't govern the entire search string. It wouldn't open until I copied the text into google's search string. Anyway, it gave information on holdings in the American Museum of Natural History, which has trade catalogues for J. Wiss & Sons. You'd still have to do the research, but you'd know where to start. As for the fadingad link, its content disappeared too - haven't a clue why. That link works fine, and there was content there yesterday.
Now, I know that Wiss sold stag-handled silver-plated knives by 1908. Here's a link to a newspaper ("Cranford Chronicle", 19 Nov. 1908) that ran a Wiss ad that featured, among other things, carving and table cutlery. Look at the far right column. Right under the "Berry's" large bock ad, you'll see a large block ad entitled "TABLE NEEDS FOR THANKSGIVING". There's a section in this ad entitled "TABLE CUTLERY". See the stag-handled knives.
http://archive.cranfordlibrary.org:8080/CranfordChronicle/1908/1908-11-19/pg_0001.pdf
You might try and polish up the blade with silver polish. This could have been a part of a stag-handled ensemble for carving large joints of meat at table. Looks like it MIGHT once have been silverplated, but with silver-plating in rough shape, with some areas perhaps discolored.
WOW. You guys are amazing here. I am so happy I found this site, and that I finally got the guts to list some of my things. I spent days and days on these few pieces and couldn't find a thing. Maybe I can learn these skills and one day help you back! Thanks a million.
P.S. I did try to polish these up, but i didn't have much luck. Can you recommend a particular silver polish?
Hi, BHock45! Thank much for your kind words! It was a pleasure, and I feel sure that you'll help out many persons on this site! You've already encountered three of the finest researcher - scottvez, ROBinHawaii, and vetraio50. I always pay attention to what they say, and I have learned much from them. They're super! I look forward to learning much from you, too.
I have for years used Wright's paste. The last time I tried to buy it, Weiman Silver Cream was in its place. Tub looks much the same, and so does product. Maybe weiman bought them out. Gentle, but effective. Take care!
Hi, I just found two sites that might interest you. One site references carving knives of 14 inches used for carving large meat dishes. Perhaps most people today use a 10 or 12 inch carving knife, but a 14 inch will come in handy on very large cuts of meat. The second contains photos of vintage/antique table carving cuterly.
http://www.knife-depot.com/knife-information-59.html
http://homedesign.marthastewart.com/2010/11/polishing-your-silver-my-favorite-antique-silverware-and-dessert-servers.html
The art of carving at table in America is a fine skill to have. I was never any good at it, and the task was undertaken by my father or one of my brothers. Takes skill and patience. Take care.
Thanks for the info. again mikkochristmas11. I am learning a lot from your links! Have a nice evening.
You're most welcome, sir! Hope your evening is .splendid, too.