All About Pocket Knives

This knife was listed as "Custom Knife from Rhett Stidham Estate" or something similar, with a BIN of a few hundred dollars. After watching it for about 3 years i made an offer in the mid 2 digit range even though there was no "or Best Offer". Seller accepted.
3 1/8" equal end whittler, no markings, horn handles and a Stanhope lens at secondary end. Looking through this lens from the front side i see right through the glass to whatever is behind it. Looking through from the backside i see a small rectangular picture of what i think is a naked, or almost so, woman. I need to use a loupe to make out any details.
I think the image should occupy the entire viewing area and be discernible with the eye unaided by magnification. This image occupies about half the visual field.
Was this Stanhope lens not made correctly ?
I think it likely is German in origin and of pre WW II age.
Please post your assessment of knife & the Stanhope lens. Have you seen other unmarked knives with a Stanhope lens ?
thanks, kj

I have collected and read about beer steins for several years. One thing I have read is that it would be very unlikely for there to be nudity in any form on the body of the stein or in lithophanes and stanhopes. In fact it is a pretty reliable way to date german items to the occupation or later. I would guess that if the knife is German that it is post ww2.
Bruce

I think that half of the Stanhope lens is missing. I believe there should be another convex piece on the back side. When you look through the lens, you are not getting the concentration of light, nor the maximum amount of magnification.

And, shame on you for looking at a naked woman!

Charlie Noyes

RobesonsRme.com wrote:,,,,,,,,
And, shame on you for looking at a naked woman!

Charlie Noyes

And with a loupe no less!

Ray

Well, it could be a guy's face, head & neck, in profile. It's in black & white.
Thanks Charlie for explainin' about the missing lens. I have never owned one of these Stanhope doo-hickies before.
kj

RobesonsRme.com wrote:I think that half of the Stanhope lens is missing. I believe there should be another convex piece on the back side. When you look through the lens, you are not getting the concentration of light, nor the maximum amount of magnification.

Charlie Noyes

I have two knives and a wooden letter opener;all of which have Stanhope viewers in them. The ones I have are domed on the viewing side only;being flat on the other. The letter opener is a souvenir of Lookout Mountain(wherever that may be)and the picture depicts a battle that took place there on November 24th 1863.
The other two are mechanical pencil knives that a souvenirs of Havana(spelled Habana on one)Cuba. Both were made in Germany;one by Palmax and the other by Neir and both feature pictures of two full frontal nude women that look to be taken circa 1900. I believe these were made in the 1930's.
Viewing a Stanhope can be tricky. Sometimes when you stare into them you cannot see the full picture but have to move your eye around slightly to see it all. I don't have a problem viewing them as I am near sighted and have to remove my glasses to see anything close up. My customers sometimes find it hard to believe when I take off my glasses before I start to paint!

KJ I also have watched that knife for a long time wondering if the Stanhope was intact. Glad you found a home for it. It is possible that the celluloid film has deteriorated and shrunk a bit.

knife7knut wrote:The letter opener is a souvenir of Lookout Mountain(wherever that may be)and the picture depicts a battle that took place there on November 24th 1863.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

LINK >>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of ... t_Mountain

Important Update: Stanhope lens does work. Thanks to k7k, i moved my eye around and found the right alignment to see the image fully occupying the field of view. It is a woman but clothed, even has a hat on, smiling come hither looking young lady. And when viewed from opposite side i just see right through to whatever is underneath.
Wayne it is a well made whittler knife, very good vintage quality, but being unmarked it has little value. It is a mystery as to why there are so many well made vintage knives that are unmarked and never were marked. Most of the ones i have i believe are of German origin from before WW I. The origin might be as company sample knives left blank so salesman can tell retailer "see, your name goes here" as he points to tang area.
kj

kootenay joe wrote:Important Update: Stanhope lens does work. Thanks to k7k, i moved my eye around and found the right alignment to see the image fully occupying the field of view. It is a woman but clothed, even has a hat on, smiling come hither looking young lady. And when viewed from opposite side i just see right through to whatever is underneath.
Wayne it is a well made whittler knife, very good vintage quality, but being unmarked it has little value. It is a mystery as to why there are so many well made vintage knives that are unmarked and never were marked. Most of the ones i have i believe are of German origin from before WW I. The origin might be as company sample knives left blank so salesman can tell retailer "see, your name goes here" as he points to tang area.
kj

Glad you got it to work Roland;they can be a bit tricky to view.
I am also puzzled by the number of well made knives that were never marked. I have a beautiful 4 blade pen with fancy file work on the entire back that has no stamping. Your theory of a possible salesman's sample has merit;I never thought of that!

I have quite a few C.F.Kayser sample knives that came from Helga Kayser in Solingen in mid 1970's. Many are unmarked other than a black ink sample number which confirms them as sample knives. However this is not to say it is the only explanation of why there are many unmarked well made vintage German knives.
kj