A wonderful scout knife, Jack!!! And a great history lesson! I have a friend who collects Richards (Richartz) and I have printed your lesson for her, and it will accompany a Richartz knife as a gift to her from us!!
I hope that's OK??
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Very cool thread idea Jack! The stag on that scout is absolutely gorgeous!
It's actually easier to pull a random knife out of my former sock drawer than to find anything in particular.
The secondary blade is a pen, though it looks a bit like a nail file. Camco.
That's a real treasure full of interesting history, Jack.
You may be surprised, but by coincidence, this Stockman knife was made in the same factory, on Moore Street in Sheffield, where the Richards knife I carried last week was made. How that came about is a bit of a convoluted tale. My dad and uncle had long since left Richards, but I had a brother-in-law, then merely my sister’s boyfriend, who was there at the time.
I’m sure that anyone here, with even the most passing knowledge of Sheffield cutlery firms, will have heard of Joseph Rodgers and George Wostenholm, who were once, perhaps, the world’s two greatest cutlery manufacturers. Despite their pre-eminence, like almost all Sheffield cutlers, they went into decline after WW1, and even more so after WW2. Eventually, in 1971, Joseph Rodgers & Sons, itself vastly depleted, acquired its long-term rival, and four years later, they were in turn bought by Richards. Just two years after that, in 1977, Imperial purchased the Richards group, and about the only good thing to come out of that, was an interesting range of knives, which bear the mark ‘Schrade-Wostenholm’. This is one of the knives, one of two Stockman patterns produced, and the nicer of the two I think. A couple of the knives in the series actually used Camillus designs and parts, merely being assembled at Moore Street, but this Stockman is a pre-existing Wostenholm pattern, which previously had ‘Premium Stock Knife’ etched on the blade, and the usual George Wostenholm IXL tang-stamp. The jigged bone covers on the ‘Schrade-Wostenholm’ knife are an improvement though. The blades are stainless, and it is good stainless, and the springs carbon steel.
My brother-in-law told me that there was a lot of secrecy about the knives, possibly because of the Camillus parts, and they were not sold in England. They were warehoused as ‘Strictly Export Only’, though naturally a few knives, and later (when Richards closed) parts, found their way out of the back door. Stan Shaw made me up one of the larger Stockman knives from the parts, he was a foreman for Wostenholm when the knives were made.
Knives in this series are often seen for sale at reasonable prices, and are a very worthwhile investment I think. This one was given to me by my friend H herder , and I am looking forward to carrying it on this, my second Random Tuesday
Here's how the knives were marketed in the USA:
Looks like a beautiful stockman, all right.
That large lockback looks a lot like the Camillus version of the Buck 110 type.
I hadn't realized that what looks like false hallmarks had meaning.
When you see an under-marked Gibson stringed instrument, it's said to be an analogue of the "lunchbox knife".
So I carried my first random Tuesday on Monday.
If I do it every day I'll be right 1/7 of the time.
A #9 Opinel came up first, but that's too big.
Doesn't it just, here's the Camillus...
)
That's a real treasure full of interesting history, Jack.
You may be surprised, but by coincidence, this Stockman knife was made in the same factory, on Moore Street in Sheffield, where the Richards knife I carried last week was made. How that came about is a bit of a convoluted tale. My dad and uncle had long since left Richards, but I had a brother-in-law, then merely my sister’s boyfriend, who was there at the time.
I’m sure that anyone here, with even the most passing knowledge of Sheffield cutlery firms, will have heard of Joseph Rodgers and George Wostenholm, who were once, perhaps, the world’s two greatest cutlery manufacturers. Despite their pre-eminence, like almost all Sheffield cutlers, they went into decline after WW1, and even more so after WW2. Eventually, in 1971, Joseph Rodgers & Sons, itself vastly depleted, acquired its long-term rival, and four years later, they were in turn bought by Richards. Just two years after that, in 1977, Imperial purchased the Richards group, and about the only good thing to come out of that, was an interesting range of knives, which bear the mark ‘Schrade-Wostenholm’. This is one of the knives, one of two Stockman patterns produced, and the nicer of the two I think. A couple of the knives in the series actually used Camillus designs and parts, merely being assembled at Moore Street, but this Stockman is a pre-existing Wostenholm pattern, which previously had ‘Premium Stock Knife’ etched on the blade, and the usual George Wostenholm IXL tang-stamp. The jigged bone covers on the ‘Schrade-Wostenholm’ knife are an improvement though. The blades are stainless, and it is good stainless, and the springs carbon steel.
My brother-in-law told me that there was a lot of secrecy about the knives, possibly because of the Camillus parts, and they were not sold in England. They were warehoused as ‘Strictly Export Only’, though naturally a few knives, and later (when Richards closed) parts, found their way out of the back door. Stan Shaw made me up one of the larger Stockman knives from the parts, he was a foreman for Wostenholm when the knives were made.
Knives in this series are often seen for sale at reasonable prices, and are a very worthwhile investment I think. This one was given to me by my friend H herder , and I am looking forward to carrying it on this, my second Random Tuesday
Here's how the knives were marketed in the USA:
(The scales on mine are Delrin, and I believe it was made by Camillus and sold by Sears, perhaps as a Craftsman branded knife. The only stamp, on the main blade, simply says “Made in USA”.) I did something sort of similar a little over a year ago, where I dedicated a month to carrying knives other than those made by GEC (which is what I carry 99% of the time). I had hoped it would change my carry habits a bit and encourage me branch out more regularly, but after the month was up it didn't seem to elicit much change. And while I know I don't have nearly as many knives as you, I do have a fair assortment that are infrequently (or never) carried, so I think I'll join you on Tuesdays in carrying something outside my comfort zone and give some of these knives some pocket time.
I'm loving all the old advertising pics
You may be surprised, but by coincidence, this Stockman knife was made in the same factory, on Moore Street in Sheffield, where the Richards knife I carried last week was made. How that came about is a bit of a convoluted tale. My dad and uncle had long since left Richards, but I had a brother-in-law, then merely my sister’s boyfriend, who was there at the time.
I’m sure that anyone here, with even the most passing knowledge of Sheffield cutlery firms, will have heard of Joseph Rodgers and George Wostenholm, who were once, perhaps, the world’s two greatest cutlery manufacturers. Despite their pre-eminence, like almost all Sheffield cutlers, they went into decline after WW1, and even more so after WW2. Eventually, in 1971, Joseph Rodgers & Sons, itself vastly depleted, acquired its long-term rival, and four years later, they were in turn bought by Richards. Just two years after that, in 1977, Imperial purchased the Richards group, and about the only good thing to come out of that, was an interesting range of knives, which bear the mark ‘Schrade-Wostenholm’. This is one of the knives, one of two Stockman patterns produced, and the nicer of the two I think. A couple of the knives in the series actually used Camillus designs and parts, merely being assembled at Moore Street, but this Stockman is a pre-existing Wostenholm pattern, which previously had ‘Premium Stock Knife’ etched on the blade, and the usual George Wostenholm IXL tang-stamp. The jigged bone covers on the ‘Schrade-Wostenholm’ knife are an improvement though. The blades are stainless, and it is good stainless, and the springs carbon steel.
My brother-in-law told me that there was a lot of secrecy about the knives, possibly because of the Camillus parts, and they were not sold in England. They were warehoused as ‘Strictly Export Only’, though naturally a few knives, and later (when Richards closed) parts, found their way out of the back door. Stan Shaw made me up one of the larger Stockman knives from the parts, he was a foreman for Wostenholm when the knives were made.
Knives in this series are often seen for sale at reasonable prices, and are a very worthwhile investment I think. This one was given to me by my friend H herder , and I am looking forward to carrying it on this, my second Random Tuesday
Here's how the knives were marketed in the USA:
That’s a good looking knife, Jack, and interesting, as well. I’m very fond of those kinds of square-end stockmen. I’ve had this one since I was a kid, given to me (in an already well-patina'ed state) by my grandfather.
Your Schrade-Wostenholm is certainly a “fancier” version of the pattern.
I also enjoyed the marketing stuff you have on the knife. I'm not well versed in the original prices of old(ish) pocket knives, but I thought $39.95 seemed like a premium price for 1980. Of course, that was before I saw that it came with a presentation box and certificate of registration.
Great idea for a thread, Jack!
Since we're on square-ended (square-shouldered? square-bolstered?) stockmen today, I grabbed this Frontier out of the drawer to carry for this Tuesday. I don't know much about these knives (other than they were made by Imperial), but I'd seen them posted here a few times, and I liked the shield and general similarity to my grandpa's stockman, so I picked this one up a couple years ago.
Thanks for the link to your thread my friend, I remember it now. It's great to have you aboard, and a great start too
Thank you for your very kind words, there's quite a tale involved with those knives isn't there, it would be great to learn how things were viewed from the US - frustrating I'd guess?! I wonder if 'Jed' was one of Wostenholm's cutlers?
I like the combination of large spear and small clip. Another treasure, Jack.
It's Tuesday again, and this is my random pick this week.
I picked up this Sportsman’s knife, made by J.H. Thompson (Cutlery) Ltd of Sheffield, about a year ago in an antiques shop, but have never carried it before today. It previously had a bail, and has seen a certain amount of use, but still functions perfectly well.
J.H. was John Harry Thompson, who originally set up in business, with a partner, in 1932, but who went it alone from 1935, operating from the (Wade &) Butcher Works on Arundel Street in Sheffield. The small firm made pocket cutlery and sheath knives (‘Town Pattern’ Bowies), as well as table cutlery. The company’s trademarks were ‘SABRE’ and ‘CALYPSO’. During WW2, like other Sheffield cutlers, they made clasp knives for the British military, and this continued into the 1950’s. They became a limited company in 1948, but ceased trading in the early 1960’s, when Mr Thompson would have been in his 70’s. He passed away in 1974.
The knife is shown in the second advert below, from 1961, and possibly, in the first advert from 1951.
) with a sort of courtyard you could walk into?
Cool old sportsman's knife, Jack! Are those metal covers? They look like it, but also look a bit white in the photos so I wasn’t sure.
Was the Butcher Works the one down near where Wright’s are located? Big brick building (that narrows it down, doesn’t it?
Yeah, nickel silver 
