Age of Jos. Rodgers Pen knife

[kootenay joe]

This 3 3/8" pen knife is well made but not exceptional. I think it has never been used. Blades are not stainless, no half stops, half sunk joints and synthetic handles, likely a plastic. Master blade is marked with star & Maltese Cross under which is: "Rodgers/Sheffield/England". Secondary is marked on front: "Joseph/Rodgers" over Star & M. Cross, and back side:"Sheffield/England".
Do you know when Jos. Rodgers stopped using the Royal Proclamation ? ("Her/His Majesty")
I think this is either from just before or shortly after WW II, well past prime for J.R. but before they descended into generic knives.
kj

[kootenay joe]

I'm giving this a bump in case some of the regular 'helpers' missed it.
I would really like to learn when Jos. Rodgers stopped using "Cutlers to His Majesty".
thanks, kj

[LongBlade]

Kj - I tried my best in various sources to find an answer but am coming up empty... I think in general and this is just a guess based on many Sheffield knives from the 1800s vs 1900s that "cutlers to the majesty" stamps ended sometime in the 1900s... Your knife to me looks to be somewhere in mid 1900s based on handle etc - just a feeling and no factual basis... I can say that when I see "oil the joints" on a knife it is for sure +/- mid 1900s... I'll keep looking...

[kootenay joe]

Thanks Lee. I once read that Jos. Rodgers stopped using the Royal Proclamation("Cutlers to His/Her Majesty") in 1937 but i have not ever seen any other reference to this.
I think my knife is likely from just before or just after WW II. Knowing when the R.P. was dropped would help with this dating.
kj

[supratentorial]

KJ, On page 233 of Goins' Encyclopedia, "E(crown)R" is given an end date of 1948. And on page 234, "Rodgers Sheffield England" is given an end date of 1971. I haven't done any research to confirm the dates. 50s-60s does seem right to me. Just a guess though.

[kootenay joe]

Thanks Jake. So Goins gives 1948 as end of Royal Proclamation which could date my knife as from 1948 to 1971. However when Jos. Rodgers was using the R.P., not all knives were marked with it.
kj

[supratentorial]

Sounds reasonable to me but I've seen few of the later knives from Rodgers. It's a nice looking pen knife.

[kootenay joe]

It still has the look of an older knife, like ones made in the early 1900's. Likely it is a pattern they made, unchanged for long time, perhaps close to 100 years. Somehow more recent knife designs look 'different' from this one.
kj