The Peach Pruner!!

[waynorth]

I think of these knives as Peach Pruners!! Like the terms "Whittler" and "Whaler", "Peach Pruner" gets bandied about with, as far as I've seen, a shallow time frame in the Cutlery lexicon.
The blade is more delicately curved than most that are considered "full" pruners, and seems to be influenced by Wharncliffe's pointy blade, and a cousin to the Ettrick's shortened, straight-edged cutter! Considered useful for budding and grafting, I also like this blade as a general pocket knife blade, appropriate for many tasks!!
Mine are all Sheffield knives, but if you have one from elsewhere/anywhere post here if you will, watching for the subtleties that put it in this category please!!
Left to right they are stamped I*XL, C,Johnson, A.Wright and T.Ablett. Thanks!!
(As usual scratches are on my scanner glass!)

 

[r8shell]

Would you say that Peach Pruners are defined by being a small framed knife?
I don't have any knowledge of horticulture, but sort of assumed that pruning peaches must be a small, delicate task compared to pruning some other plants that call for a large blade.
Here's mine, a gift from Jack Black

 

[waynorth]

Nice knife, with great horn!! They seem to be small-framed, Rachel, although the Ablett I have is long as well as thin!
Of course I am hoping a more knowledgable person will jump in!!

 

[Jack Black]

Nice thread idea Charlie, and some very fine examples there my friend Good to see that one again Rachel

Here are some I've collected over the years from A. Wright & Son.

Plus a very nice Trevor Ablett model, gifted to me (along with the fantastic antique folding corkscrew) by Charlie himself

 

[mb>]

I actually forgot I picked this little guy up. Thanks for the reminder Charlie! . I like the blade. It came dull as a butter knife, so I had to work a bit to get an edge on it.

 

[waynorth]

Nice-looking edge, mb>!!

Great array of Wrights, Jack
Nice to see that one with the worked back!!

 

[herder]

waynorth, r8shell, Jack, and mb>, wonderful selection of great Sheffield models!!!
While there were some interesting names and uses applied to various Sheffield knives, I don't see the use of the term "Peach Pruner" in any factory catalogs.
Oddly, some of the biggest names like Joseph Rodgers and Wostenholm rarely labeled the use or type of knife in most of their catalogs. Taylors Eye Witness was one company who did provide a wide list of specific names and uses for their knives, some others did also. Most (but not all) Sheffield made pocket knives which had a curved cutting edge blade were listed simply as "pruners", "pruning knives", or "Gardeners Knives". In one interesting case as seen with waynorth's Christopher Johnson model, that knife is listed as a "Footrot" knife with a "pruning blade".
Probably wouldn't want to use your "footrot" knife for pruning peaches as well. (Catalog picture enclosed)

With any luck, there should be a fascinating article in an upcoming issue of "Knife Magazine" co-authored by Jack Black which will cover some very unique Sheffield pocket knives and their uses.
Stay tuned...

View attachment 1223369

 

[Augie]

Couple more Sheffield ones.

 

[Campbellclanman]

Wonderful Knives Folks I quite like this wee pattern.
Augie-m outrstanding I*XL, and C.J!

Herder Here are a couple of Thomas Turner Charts that show the Peach Pruner on top on both of the Charts...( kindly borrowed from Jacks posts in the Catalog Thread )...

Jack and I stood in front of Thomas Turners Display cabinets in the Sheffield Museum - Oh Man- to spend all day at that one spot!!!!

Here are a couple of real sweethearts that have been kindly Gifted to me by Jack and Paul!

Jacks gift - a wonderful A.Wright wee Stag- I am about to have another attempt at putting an edge on the Curved Blade after my failed go before - I always struggle with the Hawkbill Blades when it comes to Sharpening!

Paul's Beautiful Translucent Horn Peach Pruner with a brother from another Mother....

 

[herder]

Wonderful Knives Folks I quite like this wee pattern.
Augie-m outrstanding I*XL, and C.J!

Herder Here are a couple of Thomas Turner Charts that show the Peach Pruner on top on both of the Charts...( kindly borrowed from Jacks posts in the Catalog Thread )...

Jack and I stood in front of Thomas Turners Display cabinets in the Sheffield Museum - Oh Man- to spend all day at that one spot!!!!

Here are a couple of real sweethearts that have been kindly Gifted to me by Jack and Paul!

Jacks gift - a wonderful A.Wright wee Stag- I am about to have another attempt at putting an edge on the Curved Blade after my failed go before - I always struggle with the Hawkbill Blades when it comes to Sharpening!

Paul's Beautiful Translucent Horn Peach Pruner with a brother from another Mother....

Good catch on the "Peach Pruner" listing, Duncan!!!
I went through about a dozen catalogs and should have pursued it further before posting.
Great looking knives as well my friend.

 

[Campbellclanman]

Herder Sir- you know just how prolific both the Solingen and Sheffield companies were at pumping out huge numbers of Knives and Patterns- each having a different name & so on
Thank you kind Sir!

 

[KellyGlanzer]

Would this still be considered a peach Pruner? Or not delicate enough?

 

[Campbellclanman]

That- is a Beautiful Hawkbill- considered the step above the Peach Pruners for heavy duties my friend - What a great Looking Knife Whew!!!

 

[waynorth]

Thanks H herder and Campbellclanman for the research! I had to look up "footrot" and it sounds like it attacks plants at the stem! I wonder how these knives are used to address it?
Anyhow, some great examples of these slim graceful knives have been posted by Jack, Augie, mb>, r8shell and Duncan!!

 

[draggat]

Really nice knives here. I had kind of forgotten that I picked one of these up this past year. Very handy size and blade shape. I particularly like the T. Ablett ones.

 

[dcpritch]

Bruce Bump calls this one a “budding knife”, with a slight curve on the blade, sometimes referred to as a talon blade, I think.

 

[waynorth]

Really nice knives here. I had kind of forgotten that I picked one of these up this past year. Very handy size and blade shape. I particularly like the T. Ablett ones.

Nice Stag, Steve!! I agree; Trevor Ablett did some interesting work!! (R.I.P.)

 

[waynorth]

Nice Bump, David!! That's almost a Peach Pruner - a Peach nonetheless!!

 

[Will Power]

Naming is indeed a hazardous game Companies may call a pattern something because it might sound more attractive and thus get accepted, then a tradition is born...My guesses on Peach Pruner are based on the assumption that Peach is a universally liked fruit, delicate and a bit more alluring sounding than plain Jane Apple or Pear. But then there's Medlar-tricky, Quince, Gage etc Peaches were not I believe really native to Britain but were popular greenhouse subjects in the large country houses of two centuries ago. Quite a vigorous tree and naming a knife after it-as shown by Duncan in the old catalogue reprints-would lend it some cachet. Knives would be useful for thining out bunches to increase the size of the remaining peaches , so a slender curved blade would be useful here. Also a thinner slender blade is handy for grafting-again something which c19th fruit breeders were keen on to produce new varieties. There was a practice in orchards and fruit growing known as bark-ringing, whereby a thin band of bark was removed from the base of maturer trees. This was to curb unwanted vigour and allegedly increase fruiting. The practice fell out of favour I believe, due to the spread of fungal diseases or even if done improperly, the death of the tree But here again, a pointy curved blade would be ideal for these purposes, walking around a tree. Pruners are also a great asset for harvesting many kinds of veg in the kitchen-garden.

So, I concur with Charlie, it's a more slender/sleeker version of the Pruner on a Swayback frame and yes, Peach Pruner sounds the part It appears to be essentially an English pattern. Here's a picture of a Wright Ettrick with a similar Ablett that clearly has the pointy curved blade of a Pruner rather than the straight Wharncliffe

 

[Will Power]

Again referring to the catalogue shots that Duncan Campbellclanman posted, you can see where Tony Bose got some of his inspiration from for his Pruner and the Collab knife Turner's Peach Pruner