Old Metal Handled Knives

[herder]

Sorry if there is already a thread pertaining to old knives with metal handles, but I didn't see one. Metal handled knives are often regarded as lesser grade cutlery, but some very nice old examples exist with a variety of metal handles from aluminum (which was highly prized when first used) to nickel and sterling variations. Enclosed is an example from a long gone and short lived company by the name of Wismar Cutlery Company. Wismar was a not a manufacturer but a retailer who put their brand on traditional German made knives in the early 1900s. This shown model is a nickel plated two blade easy opener with much of the original plating gone to history. It's often hard to track who actually made contract knives for other retail companies, but this "Eureka" model was made by the large German firm of Gottlieb Hammesfahr in 1904.

Please feel free to post pictures of other old metal handled knives.

 

[Jack Black]

That's a beautiful knife my friend. I find these type of knives very interesting :thumbup:

The nearest existing thread is probably this one: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1204402-All-Metal-Knives

 

[smiling-knife]

This picnic knife dates to the early 1900.

 

[mrknife]

hmm i figured theyd be even higher quality, theyd probably be more durable imo. if i could, id want steel scales or something on my barlows or 48s. there is currently one on that bidding site, with a big ding in it, that seems interesting. having tinkered with knives when I was younger, i remember hammering the bolsters of a pakistani trapper too much and it began to flatten. if they were solid metal, i can see it lasting quite long and not just a shaped piece of flat steel. some day i hope to make some!

 

[Jack Black]

Lovely knife S-K :thumbup:

Sadly, I've still not yet managed to identify the maker of this old Sheffield Champagne Knife

 

[herder]

Thanks Jack for that link which shows some great knives!!! You had many fine contributions, but some pictures were deleted. Very nice champagne pattern knife, with another mystery to solve...

Wonderful "Pic-Nic" knife smiling-knife, a really fantastic example!!!

The following is another old fellow with a patent date of 1889. Originally patented by A. Wilzin for the Automatic Knife Company (which existed from 1891 to 1893), the Hatch Cutlery Company (which existed from 1891 to the early 1900s), picked up this model after the fall of the Automatic Knife Company. A very interesting knife in that it was not a true switchblade type model, but did kick open the blades part way for easy manual opening via small tabs on the ends of the handles. This aluminum handled model is marked "Hatch Cutlery Company" on the main blade with a patent date of 1889 on the small blade. Many different examples exist with various handle types and blade configurations.

 

[Bob W]

Here are some steel handled knives, made in Germany by Okapi. These absolutely are low-grade knives. If not for their historic interest, I'd toss them in the bin.

 

[herder]

Very unique looking knives, thanks for adding them.

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks Jack for that link which shows some great knives!!! You had many fine contributions, but some pictures were deleted. Very nice champagne pattern knife, with another mystery to solve...

Wonderful "Pic-Nic" knife smiling-knife, a really fantastic example!!!

The following is another old fellow with a patent date of 1889. Originally patented by A. Wilzin for the Automatic Knife Company (which existed from 1891 to 1893), the Hatch Cutlery Company (which existed from 1891 to the early 1900s), picked up this model after the fall of the Automatic Knife Company. A very interesting knife in that it was not a true switchblade type model, but did kick open the blades part way for easy manual opening via small tabs on the ends of the handles. This aluminum handled model is marked "Hatch Cutlery Company" on the main blade with a patent date of 1889 on the small blade. Many different examples exist with various handle types and blade configurations.

Thanks my friend Yes, it's a real shame when image hosting sites renege on the deal :thumbdn:

Another very interesting post :thumbup:

Here are some steel handled knives, made in Germany by Okapi. These absolutely are low-grade knives. If not for their historic interest, I'd toss them in the bin.

Those are interesting knives Bob. I've only seen Okapi knives with external springs before, are they just regular springs on those?

 

[adriancook53]

This is one in my collection .

no idea where it was made as there are not any stamps on the blades but it's all steel and brass.

 

[adriancook53]

here's the other side.

 

[Bob W]

Those are interesting knives Bob. I've only seen Okapi knives with external springs before, are they just regular springs on those?

Yep. And overall they have a really good snap. These were apparently made in Germany as cheap exports to Africa, before the entire factory and production moved to S.A.

 

[Ocellatus]

Here's my old fellow. I'm told they were issued with metal handles in order to better withstand humid campaigns.


Not fancy, but very tough!

O

 

[Jack Black]

Yep. And overall they have a really good snap. These were apparently made in Germany as cheap exports to Africa, before the entire factory and production moved to S.A.

Thanks for the info Bob, much appreciated :thumbup:

Nice Sheffield Steel Products Burma Knife :thumbup:

 

[screened porch]

Here it is.
How about some more metal handled knives?

 

[deltaboy]

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[Bugdoc]

Just got this one last week along with an Opinel. (My first two French knives.) I'm told by the seller that this sheepsfoot style was not sold in the USA. It's going to get an orange lanyard and be kept in the garden shed.

BTW can anyone tell me about the logo? It suggests artwork of the Pacific Islands. Is it related to the country's colonial period?

 

[Bartleby]

Tried to post a link to a thread in the General Discussion Area, but failed. I seem to have moved it up to the top of the General Knife Discussion area, however.

 

[waynorth]

Thanks for finding the thread, SP.
Some metal-handled Jacks.
This group leans toward agricultural uses.

Pens.

Various.

Larger mariners/rope knives.

 

[supratentorial]

http://i.imgur.com/YNhnMn0h.jpg

Just got this one last week along with an Opinel. (My first two French knives.) I'm told by the seller that this sheepsfoot style was not sold in the USA. It's going to get an orange lanyard and be kept in the garden shed.

BTW can anyone tell me about the logo? It suggests artwork of the Pacific Islands. Is it related to the country's colonial period?

Hi Tom. Here's some info from the manufacturer that I translated with Google translate...

Initially, the Douk-Douk was destined for the Melanesian market which appeared in the 1930s to constitute an interesting commercial pole.

The character struck on the handle is the effigy of the Melanesian god Douk-Douk . Its origin is lost in the night of time and its worship is still perpetuated and flourishing in our days in Melanesia.

As the Melanesian market turned out to be disappointing, the Douk-Douk's commercialization turned to North Africa where, in a very short time, it was going to be an unprecedented success. The Douk-Douk brought together two qualities apparently difficult to reconcile: on the one hand a very low selling price and on the other hand a blade of superior quality that the local clientele, a fine connaisseuse in the matter, knows how to appreciate.

Thus, it would compete advantageously with the manufacturers of junk and the classic European models that until then shared the North African customer.

On the eve of 1939, it was definitively adopted and had even become "national pocket knife" of Algeria, then French province.

The Douk-Douk would then go to Lebanon and Indochina, doubtless brought by the troops of Africa, and spread there widely. The razor blade of his blade (which is often used in this role, proof of its quality), its ultra-flat shape making it possible to conceal it would make it a formidable weapon, far from the peaceful use for which it had been designed. The French Administration had then considered the Douk-Douk as "war material" and had prohibited its importation into Algeria, seizing stocks destined for local sale. The seized knives were then often handed over to the soldiers as pocket knives for their usual needs, and they were sometimes extra-preserved by certain units as "snack knives".

From North Africa, the Douk-Douk gradually gained the whole of the African continent through military expeditions, caravans of Arab merchants or carried away in the baggage of the explorers and baroudiers very numerous at that time. It is found today even in certain pygmy tribes of Africa!

Irony of history: practically unknown in France, the Douk-Douk arrived at the return of French troops and especially civilian returnees following the decolonization. He then began a new career with the development and modernization of the whole range of products of the Cognet manufactory.