"Old Knives"

Congratulations Charlie! I know what it feels like to find a treasure. I would also switch them out, you were hunting for the box to put them in.
Charles
 
Nice Charlie :thumbsup: ... I imagine it was irresistible :).... If indeed your knives are mint and exact matches I would switch them - on the other hand if the knives in the box were originally bought in that box (and I guess perhaps that is an unknown) I may have mixed feelings ;) ...
 
I would Swap them out Charlie, if of course there were serial numbers that all matched different story.
Having Nicer and more evenly matched Knives will make that even more a wanted set!
 
My two cents:
The boxes and knives were all made at roughly the same time. Any knives could have been shipped in any box. All brothers and sisters in the nursery!!
I would definitely swap them out, and likely sharpen and carry the less mint specimens.
Great scores, Charlie N!!
Charlie C!!
:cool:
 
The Hatch Cutlery Co (1885-1899; Bridgeport CT) was started by a Sheffield Cutler, Fred Sackley, who emigrated to the US. His partner in the start of the company was a gentleman with the last name of Undy (first name unknown). In less than one year the company was sold to George Hatch who retained the business until 1899 when it was sold to Challenge Cut Co… Hatch made quality knives though finding one or any in good condition has been a challenge (no pun intended :)

This Hatch Cutlery Co Hawkbill has a closed length of 4 & 3/8”. Nice cocobolo handles with brass pins and a brass liner, and a nickel silver bolster that has a brassy tint probably due to the copper content. The tang stamp is abit worn as noted in the photo but reads “The Hatch (curved)/Cutlery Co/Bridgeport CT” … Still hard snapping and tight, and blade in decent condition with a full kick …

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Nice Hatch pruner Longblade.
Here is another Hatch (curved stamp) model with beautiful aluminum handles which was based on Arthur Wilzin's patent from 1889. The little tabs at the ends on the handle are pressed to fire the blades partially open so that they are then easier to fully open with fingers. These models were on display at the Chicago Colombian Exposition in 1893.

View attachment 752191
 
Mr. Herder.
Questions...
Aluminum was not really produced (as a product) until the later 1/2 of 1886. Sort of simultaneously produced in both France, and the U.S..

My real question is do you know much more about the history of that knife?
In it's time it must have been a spectacular example of modern engineering, and use of an "exotic" new material.

I guess my point is that, that particular knife has to be the equivalent of the Holy Grail since it has to be one of the very first examples using this new metal (Aluminum).

Am I totally off base here? Did I miss something?

Side note:
You can certainly see the French influence in the handle design.
 
NICE Hatch Cutlery Lee and Neal, gotta love those Pruners Lee:thumbsup:

Neal, what a piece of history/cutlery my friend. Duncan and I enjoyed our lunch with you the other day:cool::thumbsup:
 
Mr. Herder.
Questions...
Aluminum was not really produced (as a product) until the later 1/2 of 1886. Sort of simultaneously produced in both France, and the U.S..

My real question is do you know much more about the history of that knife?
In it's time it must have been a spectacular example of modern engineering, and use of an "exotic" new material.

I guess my point is that, that particular knife has to be the equivalent of the Holy Grail since it has to be one of the very first examples using this new metal (Aluminum).

Am I totally off base here? Did I miss something?

Side note:
You can certainly see the French influence in the handle design.

You are right on base with your statements. :)
Yes, Aluminum was a rare metal in the mid to late 1800s, and was worth even more than gold or silver early on. Napoleon III is said to have served his primary dinner guests with aluminum utensils, while lesser guests were given utensils of gold. By the late 1800s though, aluminum was being produced at a more economical rate and was incredibly cheap to produce by the early 1900s. When this Hatch aluminum handled knife was made, prices were still fairly high and aluminum was a pretty exotic metal as you suggested. Hatch wasn't alone though and other cutlery companies from the US and Germany in particular were also using aluminum for handles. A good example is the "Press Button Knife Co." from 1892 to 1923 who also had many wonderful embossed aluminum handles on some of their knives.
 
Nice knives everyone- Longblade - Herder....... friends both of you guys thank you so much for the great knives and descriptions, this is one awesome Thread.
Neal - it was just fantastic meeting up with you the other day with Paul.
Paul and I enjoyed the chat immensely- although the food was rather ordinary which Paul was surprised at as it is usually quite good there - the company was awesome - a good lunch indeed!
 
Nice knives everyone- Longblade - Herder....... friends both of you guys thank you so much for the great knives and descriptions, this is one awesome Thread.
Neal - it was just fantastic meeting up with you the other day with Paul.
Paul and I enjoyed the chat immensely- although the food was rather ordinary which Paul was surprised at as it is usually quite good there - the company was awesome - a good lunch indeed!

Thanks Duncan. With more than a few decades in this hobby, I have yet to meet two nicer guys than Paul and Duncan.
 
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You are right on base with your statements. :)
Yes, Aluminum was a rare metal in the mid to late 1800s, and was worth even more than gold or silver early on. Napoleon III is said to have served his primary dinner guests with aluminum utensils, while lesser guests were given utensils of gold. By the late 1800s though, aluminum was being produced at a more economical rate and was incredibly cheap to produce by the early 1900s. When this Hatch aluminum handled knife was made, prices were still fairly high and aluminum was a pretty exotic metal as you suggested. Hatch wasn't alone though and other cutlery companies from the US and Germany in particular were also using aluminum for handles. A good example is the "Press Button Knife Co." from 1892 to 1923 who also had many wonderful embossed aluminum handles on some of their knives.

Hmmm.
With the information I am reading on THIS thread more than others, I am leaning toward these "Old Knives" as my genre of interest.
I read a bit on "Scarcity vs Value". We all know that aluminum handled knife is priceless simply because it is so rare.

Yeah... I'm more of an old knife guy. The new stuff selling for thousands of dollars is worth a bucket of rocks to me.
I'm going to have to start this thread from page one, and see where it leads me.
Thanks guys!!!
 
Hmmm.
With the information I am reading on THIS thread more than others, I am leaning toward these "Old Knives" as my genre of interest.
I read a bit on "Scarcity vs Value". We all know that aluminum handled knife is priceless simply because it is so rare.

Yeah... I'm more of an old knife guy. The new stuff selling for thousands of dollars is worth a bucket of rocks to me.
I'm going to have to start this thread from page one, and see where it leads me.
Thanks guys!!!

Zombie, old knives are quite addictive when you really start getting into them, if you are lucky you can get some pretty nice examples for very reasonable prices. It does take a lot of looking and some luck but that is part of the fun. What is really great is when you can find an old one that is similar to a new knife made by GEC or another manufacturer.
This forum is great as there are several members that have a huge knowledge of vintage knives and are very willing to share, they have been a large influence on my own collecting, I much prefer a high condition vintage knife.
Its unfortunate that PhotoBucket did what they did, there are a lot of pictures missing from this great thread but I am sure you will still find plenty of vintage eye candy.
Just something about a 100 year old knife that is still as tight, snappy and useful as the day it left the factory.

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Like they say at the table... "All in"

If anyone had said to me that they had a pre 1900's aluminum scaled knife, I would have bet my house that they were mistaken.

There is a site that sells a lot of used knives in lots, and individually.
I've been noticing some out of place (very old) knives there lately.

Last night I purchased an old Anvil brand 3 blade that by all appearances (to me) is early 40's maybe...
I understand they were part of Colonial knives. 7 bucks... We'll see what I get

I'll post up a picture when I receive it.

Great group here fellas.
 
Darn John!! Those are three amazing sweethearts my friend!

Mr. Mike Robuck Matey- how are you? - I ALWAYS love that knife when you post it- just an amazing example!
 
Nice Hatch pruner Longblade.
Here is another Hatch (curved stamp) model with beautiful aluminum handles which was based on Arthur Wilzin's patent from 1889. The little tabs at the ends on the handle are pressed to fire the blades partially open so that they are then easier to fully open with fingers. These models were on display at the Chicago Colombian Exposition in 1893.

View attachment 752191

Thanks Herder and indeed that is an awesome & unique Hatch knife :thumbsup: ... Those are some of the nicest aluminum handles I have seen in terms of a pattern design and a cool way to pop the blades open... Here is another aluminum handled knife for comparison... many companies seemed to have a design similar to this Waterville ... it makes one wonder if those aluminum handles were outsourced by the same company for many of the cutleries...

adHujyG.jpg
 
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