W Wright - Sheffield

[FRJ]

Here is a W Wright - Sheffield. 2 11/16" closed. Tortoise shell with gold backing.
This is, I suppose, the finest knife I own now.
The craftsmanship is impeccable. It is so fine and beautifully made that it is a pleasure to hold.
I know nothing about the Wright stamp. Whoever made this knife was a master cutler, that's for sure.
Two posts.

Thanks for looking.

[cudgee]

Sensational. And great to see how much you appreciate it.

[FRJ]

Post two.

[Doc B]

Joe, that's a neat looking knife! I bet the tortoise shell is stunning, in hand!

[FRJ]

Thank you, cudgee, I sure do appreciate it.

Thank you, Doc. The tortoise shell is very nice.
Looking at the knife when it's all closed up and seeing how everything fits so well together and neatly placed is remarkable.
Every blade opens so smoothly and quite responsively.

[dlr110]

That is nothing less than PERFECTION!! If you don't mind me asking, how did you come by it, online, antique store etc.?

[FRJ]

Thank you, David.
I don't mind you asking. I bought it online.

[Sheffieldguy]

That is one beautiful knife!!! And great Sheffield craftsmanship!!! Thanks for the great pics!

[FRJ]

Thank you Sheffieldguy. I'm glad you appreciate the knife.

Actually, I have to retract the Tortoise shell covers.
They are celluloid.

Thanks again for looking.

[Sheffieldguy]

Sure looks like genuine tortoise shell to me!!! Regardless...fantastic knife!!

[LongBlade]

Guess I don’t check here enough...

Beauty Joe ... love those small exquisite knives!! Are you sure celluloid? You know better with knife in hand but I thought I was seeing gold foil under handle covers which was typically used with high end tortoise shell handles... honestly tortoise shell vs well done faux tortoise celluloid can “sometimes” be so hard to differentiate... I’m not one to stick a hot pin in an old knife handle nor do I ever smell camphor if I rub known celluloid so sometimes hard to identify at least for me in a few cases.. I had an IXL small pen with stainless steel blades and though I leaned to real tortoise it was impossible for me to tell .. anyway best advice I read was to use a strong loupe and look for layering and not defined edges to dark vs clear areas... real tortoise should be “fuzzy” between dark and translucent shell..

[Priscilla]

Very helpful comment regarding discriminating between tortoise and celluloid!

[FRJ]

Thank you for the comment Priscilla. It's nice to have you participate. There is so much to be learned on the forum.

Well, now I'm on the fence as to the covers on this knife. Maybe I do see a bit of "natural rippiling" on the surface excluding all the scratches over the years.
However, there are three cracks in the covers at the pins on each end. Two at the large and small ends on the mark side and one at the small end on the pile side. I show that one in the picture. So,---- does tortoise shell crack like that?

Thanks for your comments Sheffieldguy and Lee. I know you guys can solve this ---- 'cause I can't.

[LongBlade]

Thank you for the comment Priscilla. It's nice to have you participate. There is so much to be learned on the forum.

Well, now I'm on the fence as to the covers on this knife. Maybe I do see a bit of "natural rippiling" on the surface excluding all the scratches over the years.
However, there are three cracks in the covers at the pins on each end. Two at the large and small ends on the mark side and one at the small end on the pile side. I show that one in the picture. So,---- does tortoise shell crack like that?

Thanks for your comments Sheffieldguy and Lee. I know you guys can solve this ---- 'cause I can't.

I have seen a tortoise shell crack at the pin just as in your photo Joe ... Right or wrong I always think about celluloid shrinking but not cracking but I no doubt do not look at celluloid knives very often, and only have 5 different ones myself, so really not sure...

I think you need to send me the knife Joe so I can examine closely - may only take me a few years to make sure !!!

[FRJ]

You know, it's the strangest thing, I can't find your address around here anywhere.
I'll keep looking.

[Sheffieldguy]

I have also seen older tortoise shell scales with cracks like that. And I have to agree with Lee with regard to celluloid being more likely to shrink than crack. After looking closely at all your pics I would bet on it being genuine tortoise shell.

[FRJ]

I appreciate the encouragement towards Tortoise shell. Your points are well taken and they make sense to me.
I think the covers were very highly polished.
What really bothers me is I hate to be so undecided about the covers on my own knife. But it's just because I don't have a lot of exposure to known Tortoise shell. Inexperience lands another blow!
I really appreciate all the thoughtful comments about the knife.
Thanks to all.

[danno50]

Fantastic knife, Joe, very elegant! Great find! I would tend to agree with Sheffieldguy and Lee and cast my vote for real tortoise shell.

[FRJ]

Thank you, Dan, I appreciate your thoughts on the knife.

With three respected members leaning towards Tortoise shell who am I to argue.

I'm not sure I have this maker pegged in Tweedale's book but I think they go back a long way and the knife could have been made in
the late 1800's. With that history I guess it's shell.

[danno50]

I was thinking that the "William, John & Robert Wright" is the Tweedale entry most likely to fit your knife. Which makes it quite old.
I have never been able to smell the camphor by the finger rubbing method. I have used 2000 grit automotive wet/dry sandpaper to confirm celluloid. A brisk rubbing with the sandpaper always produces a chemical smell for me and really does no visible harm to the surface of the material. However, I still don't think I would use this on anything I actually thought might be real tortoise shell.

I believe I have only seen one piece of real tortoise in person. I have an old surgical implement that I believe is real tortoise. The poor pictures below show the layering, visible in the edge grain.

[danno50]

OK, so I decided to try the sandpaper method on my surgical instrument. I used the sandpaper on two spots along the edge of the instrument. I was expecting a burning hair or sawing bone type of odor. The sanding produced a fine powder, and a very faint sawing bone type of odor. Definitely no smell of camphor. It also did no harm to the finish other than to shine it up a bit.
A couple of pics of the sanded areas.

[FRJ]

Thank you, Dan for taking the time to show the photos and for your comments.
I agree, I think it's the Wright boys.
I would not disturb their long earned peace by abrading the covers.
I see that layering in the shell.
If I get a chance maybe I can get better pictures. I have to finagle that.

[danno50]

Totally agree, Joe. That is too nice a knife to risk doing anything to the covers.

[dkonopinski]

Totally agree, Joe. That is too nice a knife to risk doing anything to the covers.

Absolutely could not agree more. A little mystery about the scales is no bad thing imo, but I would not mess with a piece like this. What a catch! On principle I would go with genuine tortoise shell until proved otherwise, but that's just my way of doing things. If it was mine I would do a very gentle clean and then use Ren wax to hold off any further corrosion.

I've been away from this forum for a long while, but expect to be back frequently now. Still so much to learn after all these years.

Enjoy the knife.

David

[dkonopinski]

Take a look here -

http://www.wwrightsilverware.com/about-us.html

David