All About Pocket Knives

I have a lingard switchblade that's says "registered by government 1850 on the blade. Has a smaller blade that works the action. Looks like bone handle. Looks old but it still works.

Goins' Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings lists a half dozed variations of the J. Lingard tang stamp and most indicate 1787 - 1880, though one shows the company around until 1953. I'll be interested to see what the auto experts say, as it seems to me it could be quite a valuable knife.

Dennis

Welcome to AAPK!
You have a nice-looking knife but I know nothing about them.
I will send this link to a friend of mine who is an expert on Switch blades and has written a book about them.

Thanks for the help. I can't find much info on it.

Gorgeous rare old knife!! Likely made in the 1850s. It does have condition issues such as blade wear and the main blade seems to open past it's proper "straight out" position and the small blade seems to sit too high. Still a real nice knife to my eyes. PM me if you are inteersted in letting it go.

It does have some wear and the blade does not close all the way. It still works though. I'm new on here and I don't know how to pm yet. If you can pm me I might help.

It also needs a good cleaning too. Lots of grime between the blades

Don't clean anything, you will decrease the value!

To answer a Private Message (PM) scroll up to the top of the page and click on your Private Message button

That's what I thought. Why it's still dirty. I found out how to pm. Thanks.

This is an awesome site! I really appreciate everyone's time.

Looks like a Lingard peacroft. it is a very rare knife in any condition they all have the 1850 and the same writing and are pen blade release. ( press small blade to open. I am attaching a bad pic I just took after I got ORVETS email. Mine is pearl and does not have the guards. I have it in a display case with a wholstenholm auto of the same period and a picksly same period. they are automatics. there is a Manual Lingard in the case and another old english manual with guards. You can find a pic of one like yours in Levine 4. Your blade probably wobbles with a loose mechanism. That is because in those days they did not use a hardened pin and since like now everyone always wants to press the button that rivit wears out. However it is a relatively easy fix ( for an expert)and then it all comes together. Yours is a very rare knife. It good condition it is worth ( NOW HOLD ON I VERY SELDOM GET TO SAY THIS THOUSANDS. I had a chance to buy the one in Levines (which is in great shape ) from a very big time knowledgable dealer he wanted 5 figures. I do not know what else is wrong with your knife but it is old enough to have lots of problems condition greatly changes value. I see the blade is down there is no fixing that along with other things I cannot see, it could still be a couple of grand to the right guy. My email is [email protected] send more pics and I may be able to give you a better idea. Also try to explain any looseness or wobble or whatever and I will try to help. Regards LT PS nice find probably 20 bucks at a yard sale or in granpas old trunk.

Wow very cool! It was my grandfather's and I've had it since 02 when he died. Knew very little about it. I didn't even know it was a automatic until about 2 years ago. I had always opened it like a regular knife. Then I pushed the small blade down and it popped open! Glad I didn't mess it up! I leave it open now. Everyone has given me great advice. I don't know much about knives. It's really cool to learn and hear your stories.

In my experience this is the most frequently seen mechanism of a VERY rare lot, bowie-era Sheffield switchblades. I haven't seen one quite like this before, but there is a lot of variation in knives of this mechanism -- big and small, different shaped blades, different trim front and rear. All of them are marked for Lingard or Wragg, though.
If you have been opening and closing it without depressing the pen blade, it probably needs extensive work for it to operate correctly again. The master blade locks both closed and fully open, and forcing it past the lock wears the tang and spring in areas with fairly tight tolerances.
PM me and I'll send you a copy of an extensive article about 19th century Sheffield switchblades that we ran in KNIFE Magazine last year.