Printable View
I was looking through some online auctions and came across this item. Seller claims 16th century razor but I'm not really buying it. Anyone have any idea about this item?
Scales apparently are brass.
Attachment 55725
Attachment 55726
Funny looking fella, what ever it was intended for.
I have no idea but i suppose it could be a razor.
Just by it's shape it doesn't look like a straight to me. But that opinion and 2 bucks will get me on the bus.
I think it's supposed to look like an alligator or a sea horse. I have no idea if it's intended to be used as a razor or not.
It's a cheese knife.[1]
[1]Maybe.
It's a cheese knife.[2]
[2]Maybe not.
c'mon gents, quite obviously a majigger or a do-hickey!
but I'd go with a pocket knife before I'd say razor
D
After doing serious research on this matter... I would have to say that it's...
1. A knife
2. A Butter Knife
3. A Cheese Knife or
4. It's a...
Interesting item! Like the scales a lot. It looks a bit like one of those things they use on animals - a fleam?
Regards,
Neil
Given the location and orientation of the finger placement it would appear to be drawn rather then pushed like a cheese knife.
Is it just me or does there appear to be only one scale as if the other side is missing? It looks like the pins would indicate that there was another at some point.
Yesterday, one good man asked me about this subject.:)
I couldn't answer for sure.
I've never seen such razors in any sources.
But I've found something similar (for me). Razors in 10 century:
http://manah.strazors.com/X_razors_1.jpg
How about a barbers blood letting tool.
I thought it my be a tool for some religious ceremony like a Bris. Further research revealed that the knife used in that ceremony looks more like a letter opener or an oyster knife.
I suppose it could be used for animal sacrifices or some other bizarre hoodoo kinda thing.
It seems to bear a very close resemblance to the shape of a skinning knife. Whatever its intended use, it certainly has quite the smile......:)
See, this just shows you how out of touch we are with our past. Here's a tool that is really not that old and we don't know what it's for. Now imagine finding a tools thousands of years old and trying to figure out it's intended purpose.
Perhaps a tool a moil would use:cry:
There is a similar item here.
Not quite the same as it does not have that bulbous bit at the end, and it looks like the blade could take more rough work as the tail part also appears to act like a stabiliser, assuming it goes between the scales.
The fact that the OPs pic shows that the blade only pivots tends to go against any use as a hand-held knife - the rivet bit looks a bit flimsy (the scales might be very meaty, though).
I have also discounted the fleam idea - a fleam is sharpened around the bulbous part and is hit with a small mallet on the straight part of the blade - this design would leave the sharpened fleam part unprotected.
There are crescent shaped knives used by leatherworkers to cut and shave leather that look a little bit the same, but the handle for this one would be in the wrong place.
A mystery!
Regards,
Neil
My money says its a knife, i would love to use that as a gutting knife for deer or hogs when we butcher, but even if you dont use it it would be cool just to have on display,probly a good bit of history with that old bugger.
To me it looks like some kind of farrier's tool, but the brass handles knock that out since farrier's tools tend to wooden handles.
I don't think the blade is quite the right design for a fleam. Uncomfortably, I think barber-surgeons used fleams on human animals.Quote:
Originally Posted by Neil Miller
Maybe someone just made it as a one-off , to do a particular job, long since forgotten.
Was watching a programme on TV this evening where something similar was described as a letter opener. Didn't pivot like this one but…? Also, kudos to thebigspendur, in archaeology, we have this problem all the time (however much we like to imply that we don't).
I'd already discounted my fleam idea in post 17, above. A great many fleams were (and still are) used for animals however - just google 'veterinary fleam.'Quote:
Originally Posted by welshwizard
It seems that blood-letting was all the rage once, what with cupping jars, fleams, scarificators, lancets, leeches and so on. It is less in evidence today among humans (proper surgeons still use it for the treatment of a few rare illnesses) , but vets still routinely practice it.
Regards,
Neil
I would tend to agree. Something used to cape and skin the hide off an animal with a gut hook so as not to cut to deep when zipping open the belly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Deerhunter1995
Mike:hmmm:
trust me if you punch the guts open on a deer or animal large animal once you will never do it again. that knife would work to open a deer up or to cape a fox or coon so u can cut without damaging the fur.
And I just cringed............:eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by 1OldGI
i'd say it's a razor i've seen photo's of similar but with long wooden handles used to shave heads in small villages in what looked like in eurasia somewhere
How thick is the spine?
Maybe it was used for castrating livestock :eek: . That handle looks too dainty for any kind of serious butchering , or other work .
Castrating isn't serious butchering ?! Tell that to the cow! And I just cringed again.:eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by dave5225
Good point ! :roflmaoQuote:
Originally Posted by Nightblade
It looks like navaja, traditional folding Spanish knife
The seller has now updated his auction description with some new information. He says a customer has informer him is is not a razor, it is a "guest knife" (really not sure how to translate it into english, "gästabudskniv" in swedish).
The history might be interesting. In earlier days (we are talking some hundred years, 1600-1700) silverware was not common, and ppl would use folding or sheathed knives during meals. Each person would naturally have their own. When invited to parties it was common for guests to bring their own eating utilities, and this knife apparently was used both as a knife and a spoon (!)
Another anecdote: the round point might come from a french government representative that found it unappetizing to see guests use their sharp pointed knives to pick their teeth after the meal, so he decided all "guest knives" must have round points. This would also reduce the chance that the guests would stab each other as the party progressed.
A link to a sample photo page with some of these old knives, along with some folding knives: more ancient weird knives here, and a swedish pdf article about them here.
Thanks for all your inputs guys, there is no lack of neither helpfulness nor imagination here :beer1:
Wow....So that puts a whole new meaning to table manners.Pass the gravy or I'll stab yeh !!:gaah::rofl2::beer1:
Tweed banana collection, c.1960s | migration history timeline at NSW Migration Heritage Centre
http://www.6of1.biz/USERIMAGES/STUTT...NG%20RAZOR.JPG
These give some interesting clues as to what it could have been. Given the number of hardware stores in those days I am sure that a "worked" piece of metal had to serve more than one purpose.
Str8fencer got it!
