All About Pocket Knives

Here's a Wostenholm Whittler with what I believe are dyed pressed stag or horn handles (if I remember Lyle's info it was horn?) - some of the dye is missing along the edges.. Blades have great hard snap, tight and the tolerance between blades is amazing - that Sheffield quality. The spine of the master blade is pretty cool - almost 3/16" thick at tang and tapers down to the point - almost looks like a small axe from the top view - photo below .. It is still showing some original crocus polish on blades and very lightly sharpened… Nice wedged spring and no doubt a whittler that is a solid feeling knife! (3 & 1/4" closed).. Hammered pins - I’m guessing early 1900s on date (maybe 1890s..)…

Nice knife Lee. I got what is almost a match to it last weekend in pearl only a little more delicate and two pens instead of the file blade. The stamp is identical and I'm guessing about the same age as you are. I put a picture in Knife Finds of the Day. ___Dave

I'm guessing about the same age as you are.

I'm not sure that came out quite right.

Awesome ol' Whittler! Wostenholm did 'em right!


WB

Thanks Dave and WB ...

I checked out your knife Dave - indeed they look very similar and I would say around the same age (I'm just slightly younger) Nice to have the 2 pen blades on the knife as on yours ...


You had me laughing WB - I've been feeling about the age of those Wostenholms lately ...

I wish I could blame spell check. Both your knife and mine were probably made in the same half century as I was born unless they actually are from the 1890's instead of early 1900's. They are holding up better than I am as far as being sharp. I checked the length of mine and it's 3 3/8th so they are a little different.___Dave

No worries Dave - I knew what you meant as WB pointed out but it did make me laugh ...

Your MOP version is nice - I think the pressed stag/horn on my knife was an economy model .. but one solid tight knife! I am sure yours is as well..

Pressed horn sure wasn't used a lot and must have been difficult to make. I think I have two pressed horn knives, both hawkbills if my old memory serves._____Dave

Lee, I read it twice and started to do the math. I was pretty sure Dave didn't mean it the way it sounded.

Sorry Dave, I just couldn't resist.


WB

A real beauty there, Lee.
The idea of pressed horn seems so odd when horn itself is such a nice look. And durable when you can keep the bugs out of it.
Although, a creative way for a handle material.

Thanks Joe ... I am just guessing but maybe the pressed horn was a way for them to use pieces of horn not nice enough for handles . .. Lyle had a reference from an old Sheffield publication explaining pressed horn (don't think it was stag) and it was was heated and pressed in a mold to produce the handles (if I remember right)... Hard to remember when you are as old as the knife ... Truly Dave and WB I knew it was not the intended interpretation and gave me a good laugh when I read it ...

Pressed Horn--- Yes, they made a lot of it.

Pressed Stag--- No, I don't believe they made it. Although I would like to see the proof if they did

A real lovely knife Lee,from one of my favorite makers.

The pressed stag (I believe horn, I really need to take some and have it analyzed) has another peculiarity I have observed. I have never seen the carpet beetle holes in any of these handles, which I interpret as something in the process rendering the product disgusting to their larvae.

Dimitri, do you have documentation of this ' pressed stag' verified as horn, which seems the logical conclusion. The above statements have led me to wonder if the molding process might have even included heated remnants of horn with binders involved,as heated horn was malleable.

Thanks Dimitri and Lyle ... just couldn't remember if it was pressed horn or stag - though was pretty sure it was horn pressed to look like stag .. Glad you showed up too Lyle - I think you had the reference I remember reading somewhere ...

https://books.google.com/books?id=9OMWA ... es&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=NuY_A ... 52&f=false

Thanks Lyle ...

Here's one more reference that smiling-knife shared at one time - check the "handle" discussion on this page from The Penny magazine (1840):