Vintage Mother Of Pearl (MOP) Knives

[bladecollectorr]

Two 2-7/8" closed Schrade 877 knives. Cut Co pattern 8776 first appeared in 1928 supplement; last produced in 1960. The Sears Craftsman version was called a 9476 back in 1949. I carry and use the Schrade branded knife (on top in combo pics).

[Quick Steel]

bladecollector, you have a very handsome collection. I have not previously seen MOP as the principle handle element on fixed blade knives.

[bladecollectorr]

bladecollector, you have a very handsome collection. I have not previously seen MOP as the principle handle element on fixed blade knives.

Thanks so much! It was the 1st time I'd seen that done as well. I wondered if it might be loose and fragile but the epoxy (?) it is set in is solid as a rock and the knife can take hard use.

A few more...

Schrade F7426 from 1926 catalog

[bladecollectorr]

Last two for now. I hope folks enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed seeing yours.

Small NYKC lobster that has really pink pearl handles. Pics don't capture it.

Old "Forestier a Geneve" stamped knife. They were a Swiss retailer. This knife was my first with an old ear-wax scoop implement. The toothpick seems to be ivory. It has seen better days main-blade-wise. The blade is ground extra thin like a razor.

Group shot, just because...

[FRJ]

Bladecollector, your fixed blade does look like a work knife even though it is laid out in Mother of Pearl.
I have many old pearl pocket knives with quite worn blades and the pearl is not cracked at all.
Although it must not be abused Pearl will hold up.
Your little pearl folders are little gems. They always show up with quality.
Good show!

[bladecollectorr]

Bladecollector, your fixed blade does look like a work knife even though it is laid out in Mother of Pearl.
I have many old pearl pocket knives with quite worn blades and the pearl is not cracked at all.
Although it must not be abused Pearl will hold up.
Your little pearl folders are little gems. They always show up with quality.
Good show!

Thanks FRJ! The Forestier I posted above is a good example of an old pearl knife (as in mid to late 1800s) that's very worn but the handles survived in great shape. Both sides look awesome. Nobody should use knife blades as screwdrivers!

Two old Sears Craftsman pen knives arrived today. Both were very dirty and quite stained, bordering on "rusty". Both were gently used but very poorly stored. Since neither deserved to be preserved as factory-condition "knife history" I gave in to my tendency to like mirror-polished steel next to MOP.

This one is a Craftsman Sta-Sharp 9493. I have no idea who manufactured it. Any ideas in that regard would be most appreciated. I couldn't find any other examples online. It is exactly 2-3/4" when closed. Tang is 3-line stamped "HIGHCARBON STEEL USA".

Today I cleaned them both and I polished the 9493. It did lose it's blade etch in the process but I knew it would and, for me, I made the right call. The etch was only half-there to begin with. Now it fully qualifies as an old shiny thing.

Before:

After:

[FRJ]

Those are beautiful little knives. Not even a crack at the spring pin.
Nice and clean, too.

[FRJ]

Here's A little Cattaraugus with spring covered with Mother of Pearl.

[FRJ]

Here is a very nice American Shear & Knife whittler.
Main blade has very snappy half stop and double pulls.

[bladecollectorr]

Here's A little Cattaraugus with spring covered with Mother of Pearl.

That's something I haven't seen before. Interesting design variation. Who needs the other half of the lobster? Seems like the internal spring, shadow lobster design was just an excuse to use bigger slabs of pearl.

I definitely would have expected to find another blade or two back there. Thanks for posting it. Really nice whittler too!

[LongBlade]

Nice showing of MOP knives bladecollectorr and Joe ... Lots of nice lobster patterns which fit the MOP handle very well , and that whittler as well ...

I think QS mentioned fixed blades with MOP handles - no doubt it was a handle material used on a few true "period" Bowies (1830-60s) and more so on some daggers - definitely not seen as often as stag, ivory or horn... In fact my Woodhead Bowie has a horn handle with MOP circular inlay which I previously posted on AAPK...

[FRJ]

Thank you, Lee.

[RobesonsRme.com]

A recently acquired Robeson 743215 3” lobster with top bolsters only with tweezers and tortoise toothpick in bottom end.

Posted in more detail in the Robeson Forum.

Charlie

[Dinadan]

That knife is really a beauty, Charlie. I am amazed that it survived without someone dropping it and cracking the MOP. I probably could not own it a day without either dropping it or losing the tweezers! Great find!

[wlf]

Cool piece Charlie.

[woodwalker]

A recently acquired Robeson 743215 3” lobster with top bolsters only with tweezers and tortoise toothpick in bottom end.

Posted in more detail in the Robeson Forum.

Charlie

Very nice Charlie!! Congratts!!

[Sheffieldguy]

Beauty Charlie!! I love old pearls and having the toothpick and tweezers is just icing on the cake!! Congrats on that find!!

[JohnR]

Picked up this Hibbard Spencer & Bartlett pearl pen, 3 1/8",

[TPK]

Picked up this Hibbard Spencer & Bartlett pearl pen, 3 1/8",

Beautiful knife John! Nice score!


@Charlie: Same goes for yours of course. Very Nice!

Tom

[danno50]

Beautiful lobster, Charlie! First bareheaded lobster I have seen, and with a full size top bolster as well! I think it is fairly rare to have the tweezers and toothpick features in a lobster pattern?
Lovely pearl pen, John!

[RobesonsRme.com]

I think quality Sheffield and German made lobsters with implements nesting under the handles are much more common than American made examples.

Charlie

[OLDE CUTLER]

I found this little MOP whittler while digging thru a $1 an item box at the flea market today. All 3 blades are tang stamped "S. Norvell St. Louis T." It is 2 3/4" overall closed with one of the smaller blades being a file, constructed with the usual tapered liner between the 2 smaller blades. The MOP is in perfect condition. The edition of Goins I have dates this as 1902-1920. Surprising condition for a knife 100 years old. I wonder if it sold for more than $1 new back in the day?

[michaelspayth]

A few pearls that I've managed to collect so far..

[michaelspayth]

A couple more

[BWT]

Very nice Michael, there’s some really good older makers and a couple rare makers to boot