All About Pocket Knives

Picked this up at a flea market. Intriguing tools. What's it for? Also stamp as shown in not Allentown Wolfertz ( or is it )

Nice old flea market find.
With that ghastly fleam it's probably a veterinarians knife.
A real keeper!

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the welcome and the shot at type of knife it is. Makes sense. Do you think it's German and somehow related to Wolfertz Allentown?

Goins encyclopedia implies that they are the same company. 1862-1944. Allentown stamp from 1905-1944.
Apparently yours is a early stamp. Nice find!

Thanks. That is very helpful.

It is what is called a,"horseman's knife".The flat hooked blade is a hoof pick for removing stones from a horse's hoof.The fleam(the bar shaped blade with a point sticking out at 90 degrees)was used for bleeding and fluid removal on animals.The long straight blade looks like it could be a small file;not usually part of this type of knife. Although it looks a bit crude,it is likely pre-1900 and a pretty nice find!

Correct, commonly called a Horseman’s knife. In the days when it was made horses were the primary mode of transportation. Your horse or horses’ condition might be a life or death matter for the horse owner, many of whom by necessity had to be amateur veterinarians capable of caring for their horses. Those knives were popular at the time for that reason. As horses became less relied upon for transportation the knife pattern declined in popularity.

Nice find. Examples in excellent condition are rare and often bring good money.

Welcome to AAPK.

Ken

Thanks knife7knut and Mumbleypeg for weighing in on type of knife. It makes sense now. Do you both agree that it is likely an early Wolfertz Allentown?

robboguy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:34 pm Thanks knife7knut and Mumbleypeg for weighing in on type of knife. It makes sense now. Do you both agree that it is likely an early Wolfertz Allentown?

I'm not familiar with that name so I won't comment on that.

I have two Wolfertz knives, (not horseman's). Both are clearly marked "Allentown'. If it's not marked Allentown or Germany, it's probably pre-tariff act (1891) when they did't have to be stamped with country of manufacture. Hope that helps.
Nice knife. J.O'.

Are you sure it says,"Allentown" and not,"Allemagne" which is French for Germany?

robboguy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:34 pm Thanks knife7knut and Mumbleypeg for weighing in on type of knife. It makes sense now. Do you both agree that it is likely an early Wolfertz Allentown?

I know nothing about Wolfertz beyond what has been stated already in this thread.

Ken

For what it's worth: Here's an Allentown Wolfertz knife and it's mark. The stamp is very different from the horseman's knife above. Different dies and font. JMO but I think it could be a pre-tariff, German made knife. Additionally, the pins are very rough and the stamped blade could be a replacement. It's a neat old item but it appears to have had some reworking. J.O'.

Why is anyone thinking this knife is from Germany ?
See FRJ's post above.
kj

KJ: Good point. I guess I read into FRJ's post , ("they are the same company") , that there was a German branch of Wolfertz. I don't have a Goins book. Levine only cites the Allentown company. My mistake ? Maybe it is just an earlier mark from Allentown. J.O'.