Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

This forum is dedicated to the discussion and display of old knives. The rich history of all the many companies that made them through the early years will be found here as well as many fine examples of the cutlers art. Share pictures of your old knives and your knowledge here!
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gsmith7158
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by gsmith7158 »

BWT wrote:
gsmith7158 wrote:Here's one I saw on ebay that I found pretty interesting so I bought it. After all how often do you get to buy a 110 year old knife in pretty good shape. The knife is stamped Friedmann & Lauterjung which was an importer in New York from 1864-1909 and is the firm where JBF Champlin got his start in the knife business. This is the firm that eventually gave rise to The Electric Cutlery Co.The seller described it as a sailors rigging knife, but it looks more like a good sized pruner to me.
That's quite the knife Greg!!! The condition and the history,my kinda knife thanks for sharing.
Thanks Bill! I really enjoy finding old gems like that. It's probably a pre 1890 knife since it has no country of origin stamped on the tang. I have one of the old Electrics that they sold as well but boy they sure are hard to come by. It's pretty exciting to find one! ::super_happy::
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by Miller Bro's »

That's a rare one Greg! :shock:
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by gsmith7158 »

Miller Bro's wrote:That's a rare one Greg! :shock:
Thanks Dimitri! I nearly dropped my phone when that one popped up in my saved searches. :D
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by Miller Bro's »

I bet! :lol:

Might as well throw this one in here............
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by LongBlade »

Nice pruner Dimitri - love the handles ::tu:: ::tu:: ..

Here's one I posted under the Parker & Field thread as a related knife to the discussion but it belongs here - I also included some more detailed info on Haywood...

Joseph Haywood & Compy (Ca. 1845-1888) … Joseph Haywood born in 1823 in Sheffield. He apprenticed with Robert Sorby & Co Sheffield (merchant and edge tool manufacturer) and eventually took over the cutlery of his uncle, George Willis Hinchliffe, (known bowie and pocket knife maker) in 1850 following Hinchliffe’s death. Prior to 1850, Haywood was lisetd as a merchant clerk on Eyre St In addition to the trademark of "Hinchliffe", which was continued even under Joseph Haywood, Haywood was granted the “kettle” trademark in 1860 (see tang stamp of this blade). The blade was deep stamped “Joseph Haywood & Cmpy/ Sheffield Maker”. Notably the handle is pressed horn. The integral liners and bolsters suggests a manufacturing date of +/- 1860…. The company known for quality cutlery advertised pen, pocket & sportsman’s knives, pruning and budding knives existed until 1888 with approximately 165 employees reported in 1881. Unfortunately the company began to have issues following Joseph’ s death in 1888 and only existed under his son, Arthur, for only 2 more years before being declared bankrupt in 1890. The entire company was dissolved over a 12 year period and bought by Needham, Veall & Tyzack and T Turner & Sons in 1902. Turner carried on the pocket knife line and Needham, Veall & Tyzack would continue table, razor, scissors and electro-plate.
Mark Side DSCN5895.JPG
Pile Side DSCN5899.JPG
Blade Open DSCN5842.JPG
Tang Stamp - Blade Stamp DSCN5886.JPG
Spring-Integral Liners - Horn LayersDSCN5938.JPG
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Lee
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by FRJ »

Fabulous old knife and history, Lee. ::tu::
Great stuff. ::nod::
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by LongBlade »

Thanks Joe ::tu:: ::tu:: ... The info summarized the highlights from that included in Tweedale's book...
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by FRJ »

Here's a Robeson.
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by espn77 »

Nice one Joe, Lee, very cool tea pot for a tang stamp ::tu::
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by LongBlade »

Thanks Keith ::tu:: ::tu:: ... Some Sheffield makers no doubt had some unique trademarks like this teapot... for example, John Blyde used the planet Saturn with Genius stamped above it :) ...

Nice Robeson Joe ::tu:: ::tu:: ... great condition too!!
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by FRJ »

Thank you, Keith and Lee.
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by danno50 »

Great old knives, Greg, Dimitri, Lee and Joe! ::tu:: ::tu:: ::tu:: ::tu:: Love that teapot tang stamp!
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by LongBlade »

Thanks Dan ::tu:: ::handshake:: ...

Here's a few of my budding grafting knives all with integral spuds -

Miller Bros - 4" - Smooth Bone
Mark Side DSCN7203.JPG
Pile Side DSCN7209.JPG
Blade Open DSCN7233.JPG
Tang Stamp DSCN7367.JPG

IXL Wostenholm - 5" Gunstock pattern - Ivory
Mark Side DSCN7195.JPG
Pile Side DSCN7558.JPG
Blade Open DSCN7245.JPG
Tang Stamp DSCN7313.JPG
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by FRJ »

Beautiful knives, Lee.
Those don't show up too often here on the forum. It's nice to see yours. ::nod::
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by BWT »

LongBlade wrote:Thanks Dan ::tu:: ::handshake:: ...

Here's a few of my budding grafting knives all with integral spuds -

Miller Bros - 4" - Smooth Bone

Mark Side DSCN7203.JPG

Pile Side DSCN7209.JPG

Blade Open DSCN7233.JPG

Tang Stamp DSCN7367.JPG


IXL Wostenholm - 5" Gunstock pattern - Ivory

Mark Side DSCN7195.JPG

Pile Side DSCN7558.JPG

Blade Open DSCN7245.JPG

Tang Stamp DSCN7313.JPG
Thanks Lee for sharing your budding knife I have never seen one in person,it’s very nice . The Joseph Haywood you posted last month,really nice,love the old ones. Joe really nice Robenson you posted as well. I missed a few posts lately,thanks for sharing those.
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by LongBlade »

Thanks Joe and Bill ::tu:: ::tu:: ...

Here's another - Rodgers only marked "Cutlers other Majesty" on mark side with maltese cross and star on pile side (no Sheffield nor England) - 4" Ivory
Mark Side DSCN7155.JPG
Pile Side DSCN7164.JPG
Blade Open DSCN7259.JPG
Tang Stamp - Mark DSCN7292.JPG
Tang Stamp - Pile DSCN7304.JPG
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by FRJ »

Another beauty, Lee. ::tu::
Very nice crisp tang and blade. ::tu::
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by LongBlade »

Thanks Joe ::tu:: ::tu:: ...
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by FRJ »

I found this in my pile.
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by LongBlade »

Nice Joe ::tu:: ::tu:: ... the paternal twin of mine :wink: ...
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by LongBlade »

Another Hawkbill for this thread … a “lucky” good find for my horticultural knife subcollection and one which I have been looking for quite awhile :D – Knife has that old colorful gnarly stag, particularly as seen on those older Sheffield knives. This Rodgers Hawkbill below is very reminiscent of the IXL that I posted on page 32 - Here’s the link to page 32 viewtopic.php?f=35&t=19895&start=465

The two knives make a nice pair with similar handles of old Sheffield quality makers .. though I find Rodgers harder to find than IXL Wostenholms... only my guess but maybe because many Rodgers knives sit in collections which we don't often see ::shrug:: ...

Joseph Rodgers & Sons – 4 & 3/4” closed – Integral liners and rat tail bolster with iron hammered pins in stag… Given the integral build and as usually noted this would make this early – likely pre-1860 – Hefty build and the stag covers are thick slabs of stag of my favorite kind in color etc NOD… I tried to give an idea of the thickness in the photo which shows the rear of the knife (see photo)… each slab was slightly more than 3/8” and the knife over an inch in width at the backside which includes the liner and backsprings - a nice handful of knife ;-) – Blade lightly sharpened retaining most of ithe shape and given a Hawkbill in relatively good shape… Knife was no doubt used as one could see some “use” scratches reflected in the patina in some photos etc…

I was thinking my Rodgers and IXL budding grafting knives I posted just above will make a nice pair with these hawkbills 8)

Thanks all for looking! I’ll post a few different angles of photos to show more of the all around look of this knife (double click for enlarged photos)….
Mark Side V2 DSCN8544.JPG
Mark Side DSCN8521.JPG
Pile Side DSCN8530.JPG
Blade Open DSCN8562.JPG
Integral Liners Bolsters DSCN8551.JPG
Deep Blade Stamp & Tang Stamp DSCN8569.JPG
Tang Stamp Pile Star - Maltese Cross DSCN8596.JPG
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by FRJ »

That is a real beauty, Lee.
It sure pairs well with the IXL that you posted earlier. ::tu:: ::tu::
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by gsmith7158 »

Wow!!! What a knife Lee. ::tu:: ::tu::
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by Duffer »

Terrific knife Lee!! Love that gnarly stag—just a very impressive vintage horticultural folder ::tu:: ::tu::
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Re: Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

Post by JohnR »

That one's a stunner Lee, those old stag English pruners are knock out gorgeous knives.
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