Info on Green River knives please

[robrinay]

I’ve got a couple of Green River knives. One is Sheffield made by J Nowill and Sons and the other was made by J Russell & Co Green River Works. Can anyone tell me which is earlier plus anything else of interest about them? Thank you Rob
http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/r...-441E-A1F0-D3745AF9D788_zpssxygzkes.jpeg.html

 

[GronK]

I can't help you but you might want to move this to "Traditional" forum. There are smart fellers over there who probably can.

 

[robrinay]

Thank you for the advice but I think only the moderators can do that?

 

[Deinos]

If you report your own post and let them know what happened, they’ll move it for you.

 

[robrinay]

Thank you for your advice

 

[afishhunter]

Hard to say which is earlier.
The Green River fixed blades are still in production, and are identical to those made in the 1800's.

 

[robrinay]

Thank you - I’d hoped there was some way of dating them from their engravings?

 

[R.c.s]

This is the one john Nowill is making today .

 

[screened porch]

This is off the top of my head, but I think the (Russell already?)Green River Works were set up around 1830, using modern factory methods, and they were able to produce enough good knives fast enough to give the Sheffield imports a run for their money.
There are several GR patterns still being made today. The pattern illustrated above is a Dadly (Dadley in Americanese). I don't know if it originated in Sheffield or Green River. I don't know if the undulations on the back are necessary to the pattern.

 

[robrinay]

This is the one john Nowill is making today .

Yes I’ve read that Adams bought the Nowill name and is keeping it alive and thank you Your pic has prompted me to contact them to see if they’ll sell me a sheath for the Dadly, although it might be a better idea to make one for it? A friend works in ‘The Famous Sheffield Shop’ so might be the one to ask them? She knows quite a few of the local makers.

 

[R.c.s]

Yes I’ve read that Adams bought the Nowill name and is keeping it alive and thank you Your pic has prompted me to contact them to see if they’ll sell me a sheath for the Dadly, although it might be a better idea to make one for it? A friend works in ‘The Famous Sheffield Shop’ so might be the one to ask them? She knows quite a few of the local makers.

IMO the the sheath made for them knives are not very good . It's hard to get the leather over the handle and the slots for the belt or unusable . it might be better for you to make your own . Or have one of the many wonderful sheath makers on here to make you one

 

[bikerector]

I believe if you google the J. Adams Sheffield there is a little more history that can be found but it sounds like J. Adams Ltd bought up few of the names, including Sheffield, and make them.

Here's a 1989 NY Times article about how the Sheffield manufacturing has survived despite a decline in the industry, as a whole. Maybe useful, maybe not. I think this would preceded what I think was a purchase by J. Adams, who I think currently owns Sheffield according to the Sheffield Knives website, though maybe that's just a rename of the company.

From their website:
"J. Adams Ltd (Sheffield Knives) is a family business which has been making good quality knives for six generations; we are the parent company for three other old established manufacturers F.E & J.R.Hopkinson Ltd, established 14 June 1944, John Nowill & Sons Ltd, whose corporate name was granted by the Cutlers Company of Hallamshire on 27 April 1700 A.D. and Austin McGillivray & Co."

https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/15/business/sheffield-knife-maker-beats-the-odds.html

About the Green River specifically, I believe it's an amazingly old design and I think it came up as an English variant of the Kephart design, though the Green River is older than Kephart so it could have easily inspired the design from whomever made Kephart's knives (the company alludes me right now, starts with a "c"). I really like the knife, I gifted it away but I have been running through ideas of how it would be nice to re-handle them, or try to find some blanks and use them for some semi-custom knives. The blocky handle needs a little work when new but it's pretty quick with a rasp and sand paper to smooth it out. Reminds me of some of the latin machetes that are a little roughly finished but after some slight personalization, very nice package for the money. But, you probably knew about the quality of the knife already having owned a few. I think these replace the utilization of morakniv for me, a budget bushcrafter that still works really well.

 

[Horsewright]

I've built a few over the years, kinda fun:

Years ago I made a trade. One of my little Gordo knives for a big box of these blades. Story was that these had been covered in some kind of preservative and stuck in side a gun safe in CO in 1970. I received them about 2012 or so.

Still have some left. Haven't built em all yet.

 

[Peregrin]

I've built a few over the years, kinda fun:

Years ago I made a trade. One of my little Gordo knives for a big box of these blades. Story was that these had been covered in some kind of preservative and stuck in side a gun safe in CO in 1970. I received them about 2012 or so.

Still have some left. Haven't built em all yet.

How cool is that? Very cool! Nice work, Dave!

 

[Horsewright]

How cool is that? Very cool! Nice work, Dave!

Thanks Gary!

 

[Mikael W]

I have read somewhere that the Dadley pattern was brought to Green River by a cutler from England or maybe it was Ireland.
Dadleys are still made also in continental Europe.
I have one from Bergo Tools, made in Portugal and one older Holmberg made in Sweden.
Solingen still makes them in both stainless and carbon.

The Bergo sees a lot of use in the kitchen, but it's in simple stainless steel and has to be resharpened fairly frequent.
It benefits from resetting the edge into a convex and this made the edge last longer.


The Holmberg is better made with Rosewood and fulltang 12c27 steel.


Regards
Mikael

 

[Mikael W]

I've built a few over the years, kinda fun:

Years ago I made a trade. One of my little Gordo knives for a big box of these blades. Story was that these had been covered in some kind of preservative and stuck in side a gun safe in CO in 1970. I received them about 2012 or so.

Still have some left. Haven't built em all yet.

Those are beautiful!
I wouldn't mind one in Your AEB-L steel.

Regards
Mikael

 

[Bartleby]

Hard to say which is earlier.
The Green River fixed blades are still in production, and are identical to those made in the 1800's.

The Green River pattern has been around and made by Russells since the 1840's, one of the earliest mass produced items still in production in the USA. Nowills makes a Sheffield butcher pattern that predates it by about a half century give or take.

 

[Henry Beige]

Every time a thread like this comes up, I have to trot out some pics of my Green River fish knife. With a Kabar sheath, it is really an appealing package, handy and inexpensive.

I think of them, and Old Hickory, as American Moras.

 

[Bartleby]

Every time a thread like this comes up, I have to trot out some pics of my Green River fish knife. With a Kabar sheath, it is really an appealing package, handy and inexpensive.

Amen.