Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

[Miller Bro's]

Posted this Wade and Butcher , pruner/budder last September but maybe it fits this thread. Has a stamped "R" number but can't really establish it's age.
The clipper releases with a push of the little ring at the end. So British! J.O'.

Definitely belongs in this thread

I have one just like it, not easy to find them

[Ridgegrass]

Any idea on age? It's stamped with an "R" number on the pruner handle but I checked English patents and that number corresponds to 1954. That piece sure looks a lot older than that. J.O'.

[Miller Bro's]

Its should be stamped RD followed by a number. The RD is an abbreviation for Registered Design, unlike a patent which protects the way something works it is protection for the appearance of a product.

I don't have any old English patent books or Registered Design books so I cannot tell you what year this particular number refers to, keep in mind a Registered Design in the UK is good for 25 years.

[Ridgegrass]

Thanks MB. I'll start digging. J.O.

[Ridgegrass]

Found it! Rd.# 715810 registered 1925. A little harder than U.S. records. Their archives go back past A.D. 1100 !!
J.O'.

[Miller Bro's]

That's great! Thanks for finding it

Here's one I have....

[JAMESC41001]

That’s cool

[Ridgegrass]

MB: That's the exact knife, same blade profiles, etc. Wonder which company actually built them? They must have been built around the "registered design" pruner. So cool. Did you notice the finish on the pruner parts is very different than the blades? Almost appears plated, (vanadium?)

I actually chatted with the British Archives office in London this morning but couldn't navigate their sites, (neither could my contact), so I wound up finding the date on another site.
Great fun! J.O'.

[Miller Bro's]

That’s cool

Thanks!

[Miller Bro's]

MB: That's the exact knife, same blade profiles, etc. Wonder which company actually built them? They must have been built around the "registered design" pruner.

I have seen several different makers some big name ones like Wostenholm as well. Hard to tell who was making them for who, they look very much the same.

Did you notice the finish on the pruner parts is very different than the blades? Almost appears plated, (vanadium?)

Yes I did, looks to me like it's chrome or nickle plated.

I actually chatted with the British Archives office in London this morning but couldn't navigate their sites, (neither could my contact), so I wound up finding the date on another site.

Wow, excellent job researching it

[Miller Bro's]

On page 24 of this thread I posted this knife I have, made by Wostenholm , as far as I know, It has a different Design number maybe you could look this one up as well? RD 741343

Steve, posted the advertisement and said it was from the 1930's. I have included that in this post as well.

[wlf]

You all are doing some fine research work. Detectives!! The

[Ridgegrass]

MB: Chart only gives one number so I can't say if it's first or last that year. I would guess last. Your number is 1928 or 1929. I did a search: "British Rd. numbers and dates" and used a Masonic link in that list. Starts with 1884 (#1) and goes through 1995.
That's a great knife too.
Are you a Miller Brothers collector? If so I have a question. Thanks. J.O'.

WLF: I worked in Science for 41 years, really enjoy digging stuff up. .J.O'.

[DM11]

Schrade Cut Co Grafting knife and a Schrade Cut Co Budding, Grafting knife.

[DM11]

New York Knife Co and a Waterville Cutlery Co Pruning knives.

[Waukonda]

New York Knife Co and a Waterville Cutlery Co Pruning knives.

2 good ones!

[DM11]

New York Knife Co and a Waterville Cutlery Co Pruning knives.

2 good ones!

Thank you Ike.

[doglegg]

David, you are on a roll. Great knives.

[DM11]

David, you are on a roll. Great knives.

Thank you Floyd.

[Mason]

Enclosed are two more pocket pruners with secateurs. The left is marked Joseph Rodgers and while a bit different in form, it does have the same secateurs mechanism as Miller Bros' Wostenholm Amgar model. The model on the right is marked "Wade & Butcher" and is the same type as those shown by Ridgegrass and Miller Bros. Interesting to learn from Ridgegrass that the 715810 registration number dates to 1925. In searching through English cutlery patents from 1920 to 1930, it doesn't appears that either the Amgar (or J. Rodgers) or the variations with the 715810 numbers were ever actually patented. There are similar models to these though patented in the late 1800s and early 1900s by J. Watts in England.

[Ridgegrass]

Mason, Great knives! You probably already know, and I found out when researching, the Brits have an "RD" number which is a 'Registered Design". The RD is not always patented. Different from our system. I think I recall the other RD# (AMGAR?) was 1928-29. Lots of fun digging into those knives. J.O'.

[Miller Bro's]

Two prime examples!

[Mason]

Thanks, Ridgegrass and Miller Bros.
I enjoy the information and discussions from you guys and others as much as the knives themselves.
Here is an English W. Saynor knife sitting on a horticulture book from England printed in 1898.
The same model with the same blade stamp is shown on the right page.
The English certainly produced some fine pruning knives.

[DM11]

Wow, that's cool!

[Miller Bro's]

Very nice knife and a great book!

Here's one I recently picked up that looks just like the one in your book