Stag Saturday - Let's See Some Traditional Stag!

About a half hour before midnight Friday, so technically this post is a Pre-Saturday post. But when talking about a knife that is 155+ years old, what's an hour or so either way, anyhow.
In the hand, this knife imparts a feel of history and untold stories. I found the knife in Elmira NY and was simply told it came from the estate of a collector.
It shows signs of use and possible abuse. The tip was slightly bent, which I've carefully straightened. Either it was abused or was met with fierce resistance at some point in its history.
The stamp on the ricasso is "Manson/Sheffield".

Tweedale's Directory of Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers 1740-2013 Revised and Expanded 2nd Edition by Geoffrey Tweedale has this to say about "Manson" on page 395 of his book:

MANSON
'MANSON' and 'SHEFFIELD' were stamped on Bowie knives that have survived from the American Civil War era. Several feature in the study of Civil War knives by Marc Newman (1998). Manson Bowies are usually plain spear-points, with occasional acid-etched patriotic slogans. One knife in Newman (and also shown on the web-site of Ford's Theater, Washington, DC) is of particular interest, because it was said to have been carried by John Wilkes Booth, when he assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. It is stamped 'MANSON/SHEFFIELD and etched: 'AMERICA LIBERTY INDEPENDANCE [sic]' 'THE LAND OF THE FREE AND HOME OF THE BRAVE'. According to Dave Taylor (2013), however, that knife was more likely to have been collected from the house of Mary Surratt and that Booth's actual weapon was a 'Rio Grande Camp Knife' made by Wm. Jackson & Co (qv). Unfortunately, 'Manson' has proved impossible to track either in Sheffield or the US. Probably, he was an American import agent, who operated in the Civil War years. His knives belong to the same era as those produced by Westa and Wilson Swift (qqv) - also unidentified makers.

So while this knife was made in Sheffield over a century and a half ago, we will likely never know who the Sheffield cutler was that produced this MANSON knife. Like so many modern SFO knives, this may have been a SFO. Who knows. This knife with original sheath is razor sharp and quite pointy. Ready, willing and able to perform.

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About a half hour before midnight Friday, so technically this post is a Pre-Saturday post. But when talking about a knife that is 155+ years old, what's an hour or so either way, anyhow.
In the hand, this knife imparts a feel of history and untold stories. I found the knife in Elmira NY and was simply told it came from the estate of a collector.
It shows signs of use and possible abuse. The tip was slightly bent, which I've carefully straightened. Either it was abused or was met with fierce resistance at some point in its history.
The stamp on the ricasso is "Manson/Sheffield".

Tweedale's Directory of Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers 1740-2013 Revised and Expanded 2nd Edition by Geoffrey Tweedale has this to say about "Manson" on page 395 of his book:



So while this knife was made in Sheffield over a century and a half ago, we will likely never know who the Sheffield cutler was that produced this MANSON knife. Like so many modern SFO knives, this may have been a SFO. Who knows. This knife with original sheath is razor sharp and quite pointy. Ready, willing and able to perform.

qqwy2wL.jpg


thZanVf.jpg


LmGN4Zv.jpg
100% AWESOME! You've set a high bar to start Stag Saturday!
 
100% AWESOME! You've set a high bar to start Stag Saturday!
Thank you sir :) ... some real beauties will be along shortly from others, I'm sure. This was just one of the old stuff.
The sheath is in remarkable shape for its age and in consideration of the use apparent on the knife.
Oh, and the knife may not appear fully seated in the sheath but in the picture of the back of the sheath, you can see that the leather belt loop keeps the knife from fully seating against the brass.
 
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B BrotherJim
THAT is a Gawgeous example my friend...
Such a beautiful combo with its worked leather sheath intact and wonderfully worked tip to boot... very well done :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

This was a deal that just couldn’t be passed on. Possibly built in the late 60s, yet more likely into the 70s, a fine Ka•bar swell end jack at 4”1/8. It looks to be barely if at all used. Tight and smooth action with almost perfectly centered blades in their wells. Snappy with hardly any play, and of course covered in thick bark stag. A hairline end pin crack or possibly a fissure on the mark side, keeping it frugally priced.
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B BrotherJim
THAT is a Gawgeous example my friend...
Such a beautiful combo with its worked leather sheath intact and wonderfully worked tip to boot... very well done :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

This was a deal that just couldn’t be passed on. Possibly built in the late 60s, yet more likely into the 70s, a fine Ka•bar swell end jack at 4”1/8. It looks to be barely if at all used. Tight and smooth action with almost perfectly centered blades in their wells. Snappy with hardly any play, and of course covered in thick bark stag. A hairline end pin crack or possibly a fissure on the mark side, keeping it frugally priced.
View attachment 1564295View attachment 1564296
Thank you sir !!! ... Gorgeous KA-BAR by the way !!!

And speaking of pin cracks, my old Manson knife has a pretty bad pin crack. The very old repair job looked aged and tenuous. I stabilized the repair and surrounding area beneath the scale, with 'HOT STUFF'. I'm super happy with the results and don't worry about the crack or it expanding even further. HOT STUFF is the original super glue consistency ... water thin and easily flows into tiny cracks and crevices. Some even flowed between the scale and tang. Most modern super glues are much thicker consistency.

You have to be very careful with HOT STUFF. It truly is INSTANT GLUE. Not only that, but because the consistency is so thin, it flows REALLY fast. I put the smallest hole I could in the bottle spout with a small sewing needle ... and it still flows out QUICK. Don't even have to squeeze the bottle, just tip on its side until a drop flows out. SOooo I carefully applied HOT STUFF and then quickly wiped a small amount of excess off with a paper towel.

The crack is hard to find in the pictures I posted earlier, so here is a close closeup ...

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