Richards Sheffield England

[Rannard]

SIX RICHARDS SHEFFIELD POCKET KNIVES


Visits to car boot sales recently produced six pocketknives from the 1950s and early 60s, all by Richards. Richards saturated the retail market with cheap pocketknives at that time. These were the 'austerity years' or 'recovery years' when, after six years of war, Britain was left with worn out industry, huge national debt and loss of empire. Not a lot of money was circulating. Apprenticeships gave Britain a skilled but low paid workforce. People needed consumer goods they could afford. For Richards, this drove efficient manufacturing and cost cutting, notably the use of pressed metal wrap around scales, some all metal and others celluloid covered. Pictorial scales added appeal for numerous different niche markets, scouting, seaside souvenirs etc. and sold in hundreds of thousands when people holidayed at home. Export markets wanted cheap goods and Richards were very profitable.

Richards didn't advertise much but pre-Internet and white van man it was a time of company salesmen on the road. They were selling what the retailer and customer wanted, pushing at open doors. These were the years of my boyhood and I remember some of the knives. Most boys of the time were glad to have one. Collectables are tangible links with bygone days, explaining my nostalgic view of these economy knives. Whether a pocketknife or a Napoleonic sword, the feeling of connection is the same, almost to time travel. With Richards knives it is back to the days of tin plate toys and pressed metal air guns like Diana and Gat.

Although cheaply made, one should not disparage Richards knives as some have lasted well. For the price, the core knife was reasonable quality. When damaged, and one frequently sees these knives with broken blades, this was due to misuse. They were priced as a schoolboy's pocket money knife, sold in tobacconists, trinket shops and other outlets. Youthful ownership explains the common damage. Richards used hard steel for blades that took a mirror polish but was prone to snapping if used as a lever and having no solid bolsters contributed to breakage at the joint.

Solid sides Lamp Post Knife
The earliest of the six knives has 'Richartz', Richards German parent company, on the main blade tang and other worn lettering, including Solingen. The converse is marked Made in Germany, so was made for export. The main blade is marked 'Lamp Post Knife' and one of the knife's steel sides has an outline of a lamppost. This is of polished carbon steel, the high quality one has come to expect of German industry. Sadly one of the three small blades has been broken.

Key ring knife with chrome plated wrap around scales
This is one I remember and it has lasted well, wrap around scales further locked in place by the addition of the bale. Unlike the celluloid covered ones, the all-metal scales overlap the side plates providing resistance to lateral movement. This is a key ring knife that can stand up to the abrasion of keys. Sadly it has no scissors. Few knives of the period had scissors, which is surprising as Balke, and Schaaf had them much earlier. Perhaps this is explained by the extra cost of making a four-piece tool, two scissor blades, spring and pivot screw.

Key ring knife number two with celluloid covered scales
The core of this knife is the same as the above key ring knife. It differs in having wrap around scales with celluloid overlay. This one has lost its bale. It is an example of Richards making different looking knives with the same core, illustrating their genius for producing variety of product at low cost.

Knives with faux mother of pearl celluloid covered scales
Of these two knives one has a blade entirely missing. It will be dismantled, revealing more of Richards manufacturing. The blade will serve as a blank for making a replacement for the broken blade in the solid sides Richartz knife described above.

Scout knife
Lightweight compared with a military jackknife, it has no tin opener/bottle opener and no screwdriver. It has a mirror polish blade. Chromed scales and marlinspike contrast with the black of the celluloid overlay making it a flashy knife, with definite boy appeal. The blade being a thin wedge it takes a good edge almost a razor. The celluloid overlay of this knife was coming adrift at one corner. It was anchored with a dab of epoxy. Unusually for a car boot purchase it was otherwise almost new.

The Richards Company was wound up in Sheffield in 1983 but the parent company Richardz is still in business in Germany making quality pocketknives. With increasing prosperity people could afford better quality knives. There was stiff competition from higher end Sheffield manufacturers and Victorinox had arrived with all their tools, notably their extremely useful scissors and Philips screwdrivers.

Inertia and lack of industrial investment was apparent in British industry long after the war. As a student in the early 1970's I was machining piston rings in a factory that used a large flat bed lathe dating from WWI. My horizontal milling machine was worn out, another wartime relic. Like Richards, the firm is no longer in business.

Hopefully I shall be able to teach my two grandsons to handle knives safely, be responsible with them and enjoy owning them. Any knife in the field or afloat needs to be on a lanyard so it is not lost, for which see the lanyard knot (diamond knot) on www.netknots.com Learning to tie this knot does require some perseverance but is well worth the effort. A jackknife without a lanyard looks naked, like a sword without a sword knot, the wrist loop that saves a swordsman from losing his weapon if knocked from his grasp. For a diver or anyone else whose life could depend on his knife, the humble lanyard is a vital addition.



27 February 2022

[zed6309]

Nice finds I pick up a fair few Sheffield pocket knives at the boot sales, usually Richard's and mainly the vinyl wrapped shell handled types , but recently I picked up this Richard's with faux stag handles , solid bolsters, really well made, I'm thinking possibly 50's as reminds me of some of my Rodgers knives of that era

Got these 3 Richard's today , I'll take a better pic asap , there all soaking in a warm soapy oily bath

[New_Windsor_NY]

This pocket knife arrived in a group of pocket knives that I bought. This particular pocket knife was NOT the target of my purchase. It is a Richards, SHEFFIELD ENGLAND, single blade with cap lifter/bottle opener. single tool (a corkscrew), one tang stamp (lamppost style), 2 3/4" closed, pocket knife. Overall, it is in GOOD condition. It required minimal cleaning.
I took some pictures and here it is.
Caption(s), if any, are on the BOTTOM of the corresponding picture(s).
Click on a picture to ENLARGE.

[New_Windsor_NY]

Recently, this smokers tool or pipe cleaner arrived in a very large group or lot of pocket knives that I bought. This particular smokers tool or pipe cleaner was NOT the target of my purchase. But, as it turned out, it is a keeper. It is a Richards, single blade bowl scraper, pipe stem reamer, tobacco tamper, one tang stamp, 3 3/8" closed, two springs, all metal, smokers tool or pipe cleaner. The main blade or bowl scraper front tang stamp says "Richards (over) SHEFFIELD (over) ENGLAND, with a vertical lit lamppost in the center. Overall, it is in VERY GOOD condition. It required no cleaning at all. I wiped it off, I took some pictures and here it is.
Caption(s), if any, are on the BOTTOM of the corresponding picture(s).
Click on a picture to ENLARGE.

[Dan In MI]

That is a classy companion for the pipe smoker. Even better that it required only a wipe-down (I can imagine many such knives getting filthy in their intended use). Nice find, Skip...you have all the luck!

[New_Windsor_NY]

That.....

Thank you, Dan.

[Gareth UK]

I have a few Richards in my little collection. Not a top tier knife by any standard, but they do have a fantastic tang stamp logo.

[Edward Skihands]

Hey, I just found this beauty and I’m Finn so Idon’t know anything about these knives. After quick first glance I can tell it’s well machined together and nothing is loose, it’s just a bit rusty. I found it between some wooden planks at firewood storage at summer house built by my grandfather like in the 70’s. It was in spot that will stay dry throughout the year although I did sand off some rust from the blade before taking the picture.

Anyway… what year is my newest partner from, about? Is there something I should know about or take into consideration while I repair it? Just, tell me everything! Okay?

[joeradza]

I won the Sheffield lockback in a GAW and also received this Richards Sheffield. I have no idea of it’s age but it is in great shape. The blade is centered with no play. It’s got a good pull with a good closing snap. The dark chocolate brown handles are in excellent condition, although I don’t know what they’re made of. All in all 4.5” of a solid jack. Any further info is appreciated.

[Niels Imrie]

Here's a Richards scout knife I found after a bit of spelunking in the garage. My dad seems to think it belonged to my great-grandfather (I'm 20, he's 60- that would make it very early 20th century), but I don't think the dates line up.

Can anyone give me any pointers?

-Niels

[doglegg]

Wonderful old knife, a pencil lead rubbed a across the rusty spots will clean that blade up. Congrats on one belonging to your grandpa.