All About Pocket Knives

Found this quill knife today in Millsboro, DE. The blade is so tiny the stamp is only half there. Hopefully someone might recognize part of the maker's name. All that's there is CRICH or ORICH, over FIELD. I'm assuming the front of both words didn't fit on the tang. Any help appreciated as my only other method would be to search an entire list of Sheffield cutlers for the second half of their names. I guess the long end is for separating papers. It seems too fragile for a letter opener. I'm amazed it hasn't snapped, it's very delicate. I feel like I want to attach it to a piece of wood to protect it somehow. It's attached to the knife body with three pins, and the shield has two pins. It's a strange and mysterious piece. The pearl has a lot of iridescence, blue, pink, and green. Thanks for looking. J.O'.

Could possibly be Crichfield, all one word. It's a common enough surname.
What makes you think it's a Sheffield cutler, though?

Very nice. I agree about mounting it to protect it.

Tasky: Duh! That never occurred to me and it turns out there was a Sheffield, "Crichfield" c. 1750. Wow, what a find and thanks for the tip.
Unbelievable it made it this long intact.
Edgy: I'll definitely mount it.It's now the oldest thing in my collection. J.O'.

Well if it's a match, that worked out okay, then...
1750 is prety darn old, too. That's one heck of a find!

Yes it is. Thanks again. J.O'.

Good score on an interesting knife.

Ridgegrass wrote: ↑Sun Jul 09, 2023 4:25 am Found this quill knife today in Millsboro, DE. The blade is so tiny the stamp is only half there. Hopefully someone might recognize part of the maker's name. All that's there is CRICH or ORICH, over FIELD. I'm assuming the front of both words didn't fit on the tang. Any help appreciated as my only other method would be to search an entire list of Sheffield cutlers for the second half of their names. I guess the long end is for separating papers. It seems too fragile for a letter opener. I'm amazed it hasn't snapped, it's very delicate. I feel like I want to attach it to a piece of wood to protect it somehow. It's attached to the knife body with three pins, and the shield has two pins. It's a strange and mysterious piece. The pearl has a lot of iridescence, blue, pink, and green. Thanks for looking. J.O'.

That's a fine example but it dates to the early to mid 1800s not 1700s. The small pen blade was used for sharpening quills to form a writing pen, and the large pearl end that looks like a letter opener was used for separating the pages on a book that weren't cut correctly when new. A sharp blade was never used because it could cut into a page rather than separating it with a dull edge.
Here is a brief quotation from an online description of cutting very old book pages.

Uncut pages are pages in a book that has not been trimmed by rebinding, which was a common practice up through the middle of the 19th century (1850s to 1860s). This would result in pages “connected” at the top which would then need to be “cut” with a letter opener to separate the pages allowing for an easier reading.

Enclosed is a picture of a similar example in ivory rather than pearl.

Thanks Mason. I've heard about page separation and the ragged edges sticking together. I got the 1750 date from Levine. (??) Anyway, it's a cool little item and your ivory one is very nice. J.O'.

Thanks Ridgegrass, and you probably know that darn few of these types of knives exist today. As you mentioned previously, it's a bit of a miracle that any of these small fragile knives survived intact throughout their nearly 200 year life.

I thought this was a great find except for the broken blade. Good price, offered $5 and he took it.

Still a nice old knife

This is what I have called a farmers whittler.
It is known in reality by the name given it for a UK horticulturalist and architect named Joseph Paxton, who designed the Crystal Palace of The Great Industrial Exhibition of Nations in 1851. I have only seen Joseph Rogers examples of this pattern, but this being a high end retailers knife it could have been made by others.

J W Wood 81 Church St stamped example. A cool knife which was probably Joseph Rodgers made. I've seen two and both were Rodgers. Checkered horn , at 4 9/16" a big knife . It's almost a gunstock frame that has a slight congress-like bow.

A Paxsons Knife and the Crystal Palace whose architect is the knife's namesake.

wlf wrote: ↑Sun May 12, 2024 11:16 am This is what I have called a farmers whittler.
It is known in reality by the name given it for a UK horticulturalist and architect named Joseph Paxton, who designed the Crystal Palace of The Great Industrial Exhibition of Nations in 1851. I have only seen Joseph Rogers examples of this pattern, but this being a high end retailers knife it could have been made by others.

J W Wood 81 Church St stamped example. A cool knife which was probably Joseph Rodgers made. I've seen two and both were Rodgers. Checkered horn , at 4 9/16" a big knife . It's almost a gunstock frame that has a slight congress-like bow.

A Paxsons Knife and the Crystal Palace whose architect is the knife's namesake.

Great post......nice knife, and interesting info!

wlf wrote: ↑Sun May 12, 2024 11:16 am This is what I have called a farmers whittler.
It is known in reality by the name given it for a UK horticulturalist and architect named Joseph Paxton, who designed the Crystal Palace of The Great Industrial Exhibition of Nations in 1851. I have only seen Joseph Rogers examples of this pattern, but this being a high end retailers knife it could have been made by others.

J W Wood 81 Church St stamped example. A cool knife which was probably Joseph Rodgers made. I've seen two and both were Rodgers. Checkered horn , at 4 9/16" a big knife . It's almost a gunstock frame that has a slight congress-like bow.

A Paxsons Knife and the Crystal Palace whose architect is the knife's namesake.

What a classic and amazing knife!!!

Found this Jos.Wostenholm &Sons (1854-1867) half-hawk, ebony handle, today in Selbyvillle, DE. Great shape, a few bucks. Happy Mother's Day to all your ladies. J.O'.

Ridgegrass wrote: ↑Sun May 12, 2024 8:23 pm Found this Jos.Wostenholm &Sons (1854-1867) half-hawk, ebony handle, today in Selbyvillle, DE. Great shape, a few bucks. Happy Mother's Day to all your ladies. J.O'.

That was a nice find!

Ridgegrass wrote: ↑Sun May 12, 2024 8:23 pm Found this Jos.Wostenholm &Sons (1854-1867) half-hawk, ebony handle, today in Selbyvillle, DE. Great shape, a few bucks. Happy Mother's Day to all your ladies. J.O'.

Wonderful score JO.

Thanks Gents. They're still out there now and then.

Anyone ever heard of Noble and Wilson? Is this knife legit? Opinions sought. Contemplating a purchase, can't find a thing on the brand. Thanks. J.O'.

Definitely legit

Wow JO. What a classy old knife. Horn handles I think. Love those old blade stamped instead of tang stamped knives.

Thanks Gents. I found some info on it doing research on street addresses in old London. J.W. Norie and Charles Wilson had a "Navigation Warehouse" at 157 Leadenhall Street and later at 156 Minorie in London. Evidently, they dealt in nautical books, instruments, and equipment. The firm was begun in 1813 and dissolved around 1840. I had misread the stamp as "Noble" and Wilson. Hope I can buy it, seller is "working up a price". Wish me luck. J.O'.

Ridgegrass wrote: ↑Wed Jun 26, 2024 12:01 pm Thanks Gents. I found some info on it doing research on street addresses in old London. J.W. Norie and Charles Wilson had a "Navigation Warehouse" at 157 Leadenhall Street and later at 156 Minorie in London. Evidently, they dealt in nautical books, instruments, and equipment. The firm was begun in 1813 and dissolved around 1840. I had misread the stamp as "Noble" and Wilson. Hope I can buy it, seller is "working up a price". Wish me luck. J.O'.

That would definitely be a nice addition, hope you get it because I want to see more pictures!