Guest zorro Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hi 'SH' members this pen knife was my late fathers, the blade appears to be made of silver? And he used to refer to it as a fruit knife, but not sure if that is the correct term. http://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/index.htm here you go, this site has photo's of actual makers marks. As usual, smiling knife is right on the money, looks like Thomas Marples to me. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Smiling-Knife Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hi Zorro... How are you this evening? That's a very useful link. Thanks for posting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zorro Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hi Zorro... How are you this evening? That's a very useful link. Thanks for posting it. I'm very well thankyou, trust you are the same http://www.925-1000.com/british_marks.html This one's got good dating info ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHB Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Thank you for your sharp replies .. Smiling-Knife and zorro, I find the information you have given about the penknife is very interesting. Makes me glad in a way because in my younger days I must have realized, that the knife was not very robust. Otherwise as a kid I would have been throwing it at doors and trees and hacking away at things with it. As I did with other knives, until I finally ruined them. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Smiling-Knife Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hi Steve.... You're welcome. Those do not make good throwing knives but it is a nice piece of history. It looks to be in very good condition for 100+ years. Does the blade still snap? These knives were notorious for weak backsprings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zorro Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hi 'SH' members this pen knife was my late fathers, the blade appears to be made of silver? And he used to refer to it as a fruit knife, but not sure if that is the correct term. This is the first silver bladed fruit knife I collected, known affectionately as "tatty tommy". It is a Thomas Marples like yours, but it also carries queen Victorias head, which indicated duty had been paid to the crown. This can be a useful indication of age if the date mark is worn. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Smiling-Knife Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Great knife zorro. Does the use of the head stamp narrow it down to a particular time during Victoria's reign? maybe early part? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syrup Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hi Syrup. Very interesting knives. I really like that smoker's knife. Do you know the maker of that one? If you have a close-up setting on your digital camera the photos will turn-out clearer. Hi Smiling-knife I don't seem to have a close up setting on my Digital Camera and i cant get a film for my Brownie so I've tried various settings and got these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zorro Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Great knife zorro. Does the use of the head stamp narrow it down to a particular time during Victoria's reign? maybe early part? Thanks. duty marks were used from 1785 to 1890 when they were abolished during Victorias reign. Victorias head was the symbol from 1838 to 1890, which is a broad age range but it is also handy when a date letter style is indistinct, because these letters were repeated over time, and can be awkward to tell apart , but the duty stamp can help to narrow it down. If there is no duty stamp then the blade is probably post 1890, but I have been told there are pre 1890 items without a duty stamp which can be confusing, so its best to use them or their lack as an indication rather than absolute proof of age, eg. if an item carries the sheffield mark and the date letter Y it could be 1866 or 1891, the style of letter for each year is very similar, but if it also carries Victorias duty stamp it must be 1866 as in 1891 the duty stamp had been abandoned. Confusing yet strangely fascinating! :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zorro Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 STILL KNIFE PHOTOGRAPHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh dear :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHB Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hi Steve.... You're welcome. Those do not make good throwing knives but it is a nice piece of history. It looks to be in very good condition for 100+ years. Does the blade still snap? These knives were notorious for weak backsprings. Yes Smiling-Knife, the blade on the penknife still goes back with a 'click' And as the the old saying goes ... 'Clicks Back Like An Elephants Foreskin' lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Smiling-Knife Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 he he he he Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Smiling-Knife Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Hy syrup.... Photo 1 clearly shows the star and maltese cross trademark of Joseph Rodgers and Sons. It looks like another name stamped diagonally across one of the other tangs. This could be the name of a retailer or merchant for whom Rodgers made the knife. Nice mother of pearl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syrup Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Hy syrup.... Photo 1 clearly shows the star and maltese cross trademark of Joseph Rodgers and Sons. It looks like another name stamped diagonally across one of the other tangs. This could be the name of a retailer or merchant for whom Rodgers made the knife. Nice mother of pearl. Hi Smiling-knife Thanks for the information the name you refer to is E.PEARC? I can only guess at the last letter being an E Would that be the customer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Smiling-Knife Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Hi Smiling-knife Thanks for the information the name you refer to is E.PEARC? I can only guess at the last letter being an E Would that be the customer. Hi syrup. You're welcome. Pearce is what I thought too. That would most likely be the name of the 'middleman'. A retailer or merchant that had a batch of knives made with the name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syrup Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Hi syrup. You're welcome. Pearce is what I thought too. That would most likely be the name of the 'middleman'. A retailer or merchant that had a batch of knives made with the name. Hi Smiling-Knife I can just make out the last letters on the blade RS which as you say will be RODGERS which is the middle of three lines of markings but the rest are unreadable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest horaceelam Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 "Are we going fishing this sunday grandad"? I smiled indulgently at my thirteen year old grandson, "Its getting abit cold for my old bones, lets go to the car boot instead if its not raining". Well, it didn't rain so we wrapped up warm and off we went. "Look at that old penknife" "Hold on lad, let me put my glasses on - goodness me, my grandad had one of them when I was a lad, its an army knife!" And thats how it started, last october when we decided it would be fun to start collecting old penknives. Among our rapidly increasing collection are, not surprisingly, a high proportion of sheffield made items. Now, about half of these are RICHARDS brand, which I was aware of having owned (and lost) several when I was a lad, but we have also turned up some names I was unaware of, including COWLISHAW, GEORGE BARNSLEY and SONS, SOUTHERN and RICHARDSON, BUTLER, TAYLOR EYEWITNESS, J HOWARTH, WALKER and HALL, VENTURE SLATER BROS and H M SLATER (any relation?) GEORGE WOSTENHOLM, TRAFALGAR WORKS, ROGERS, WILLIAM ROGERS, JOSEPH ROGERS (again any relation?) and we are trying to research the histories and possible dates of these manufacturers and their products. Unfortunately we can find little information on the internet, and it was while searching I discovered this site, so I would be most greatful if anyone out there reading this could pass on any knowledge regarding books, literature, web sites or personal memories of the industry. Thanks for taking the time to read this, Zorro I worked for FOXON&ROBINSON OF CHARLES STREET ,SHEFFIELD from1950 -1953 They were packing case makers and supplied packing cases to the cutlery trade,these were tin-lined and it was my job to go to the varios customers and seal the packing cases the had filled with there goods for them to be shipped abroad.I worked on sealing these packing cases at nearly all the sheffield based cutlers,silversmiths,penknife makers etc and have many happy memories of my involvement with these masters of their trades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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