Thread: Not a razor but a very interesting old knife

My initial reaction to to first razor in this thread was that it resembled vintage " gentlemens' pocket knives", similar to those French Lagouile pocket knives still sold today.

I don't exactly know... I'd say between 1820 and 1850


The blade is short, but it's still efficient enough to cut dry meat and fruits.


Thanks for your interest.

Originally Posted by Wullie

WOW, it's even prettier than I thought. That scales are works of art.


The "milled" liners are a nice touch as well.


Interesting about the violet and the Bonapartists. That would date the knife to the early 1800's?


It is a beautiful piece of history and the cutler's art.

Originally Posted by stimpy52

My initial reaction to to first razor in this thread was that it resembled vintage " gentlemens' pocket knives", similar to those French Lagouile pocket knives still sold today.

Here ya go. A fairly recent one G. David model.










It has the Laguiole "bee". IIRC Laguiole is a region rather than a maker.

Laguiole is a small village .

This one was made in Thiers not in Laguiole, but G. David is a good mark

Mine





" Calmels " now is just a seller , the real maker is exactly G. David

And a "Laguiole droit" (straight Laguiole) like it was made ​​in the nineteenth century .

I must admit, Mike, that it looked nothing like a medical instrument to me.

I did find a lot of other bowie knives like it on the web, including this rather ornate one, which shares a lot ot the marks found on your knife"






BUT - still no makers name. Then I thought about the "no. 6. England' mark and thought of No.6 Norfolk Street, Sheffield. The two maltese crosses on the knife above weren't exactly right, but after adjusting the search I came up with this:



A Joseph Rodgers model with all the marks you would expect. 'Two asterisks' is said to be on the reverse (no photo, though) so was this really an asterisk (ie 'star') and maltese cross of JR, or really two asterisks? Would be in keeping with the one with two maltese crosses, or might signify a knock-off or counterfeit of some kind, especially as Sheffield is not mentioned, nor one of the variants of cutlers to his/her/their majesties. Pity the dating in the ad is way off...

Who knows?!

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by Thaeris

No, there were a pining issue, the blade wasn't stable enough, so I un-pin it, then I re-pin it like a straight

The problem with that knife can be seen in the first pic, the spring is slightly wider than the tang. I have a Joseph Rodgers with the same issue. Repining won't cure the ailment. Lovely old piece though. .........

Well, I hope it will hold, but with this one, repining made the things to get better

The head of the nail enters the hole, and that made the two parts of the "scales" to open too much.

Now with a proper pining, the blade is much more stable !

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

The problem with that knife can be seen in the first pic, the spring is slightly wider than the tang. I have a Joseph Rodgers with the same issue. Repining won't cure the ailment. Lovely old piece though. .........

Jimmy, I think it looks that way because the blade has shifted due to either the old pin being worn or bent. It's not uncommon for a spring to bell out where the blade contacts it upon opening in some older knives as the blade steel is harder than the spring steel. That can also push the liners apart.

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

I must admit, Mike, that it looked nothing like a medical instrument to me.

I did find a lot of other bowie knives like it on the web, including this rather ornate one, which shares a lot ot the marks found on your knife"






BUT - still no makers name. Then I thought about the "no. 6. England' mark and thought of No.6 Norfolk Street, Sheffield. The two maltese crosses on the knife above weren't exactly right, but after adjusting the search I came up with this:



A Joseph Rodgers model with all the marks you would expect. 'Two asterisks' is said to be on the reverse (no photo, though) so was this really an asterisk (ie 'star') and maltese cross of JR, or really two asterisks? Would be in keeping with the one with two maltese crosses, or might signify a knock-off or counterfeit of some kind, especially as Sheffield is not mentioned, nor one of the variants of cutlers to his/her/their majesties. Pity the dating in the ad is way off...

Who knows?!

Regards,
Neil

I'd bet the farm that the knife pictured in that ad is a knock off.

I've seen several photos and handled a couple of very well made older knives with somewhat "iffy" looking marks. General consensus is that they are vintage and they are knock offs from the mid-east. The markings are all very close to the name or address of a known maker.

Those that I handled were well made, but the fit and finish were not quite up to the standards of the maker that was imitated. I guess "back in the day" even counterfeiters had some pride in their work.

Finally an old Châtellerault knife with an affordable price !