All About Pocket Knives

Well, here's a new (or rather quite old) knife that I picked up today. A double spring whittler I suppose. If you've got a better name I'm all ears. What I couldn't possibly read in the shop was all the additional bits of script engraved on it. I really need to get in the habit of carrying my reading glasses, I need them more than I used too.

So it's tang stamp is A. Mathieson & Sons for which there is some information on Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander ... n_%26_Sons Can't really say if this means made in Edinburgh or Glasgow but it's nice to have a Scottish knife anyway. At one point in my life I lived about a two minute walk from the Edinburgh address on Nicolson Street.

What I took to be a bit of decoration on one of the bolsters actually says "LINLITHGOW" a town in central Scotland with an impressive palace. It also has a name on the bar which is a first for me. W. DOUGAL and a date of 187*. The 7 is really rubbed and the final digit is unreadable, however that ties up with the fact they didn't use the Star and Crescent Moon stamp until 1868.

Wowsers that is a beautiful old whittler. I guess the handle is tortoise shell? And in wonderful condition. Congratulations.

doglegg wrote: ↑Thu Jan 25, 2024 4:39 pm Wowsers that is a beautiful old whittler. I guess the handle is tortoise shell? And in wonderful condition. Congratulations.

Cheers. I'm no expert but I suspect it's not real tortoise.

Thanks for sharing that one. A real prize find for sure.

Joe D.

Beautiful knife!! It may well be genuine tortoise if it's from the 1870's. Oftentimes on the higher end knives they placed gold leaf under the tortoise shell to brighten up the clear portions.

Eric

Fantastic old knife! We very seldom see a pocketknife made in Scotland. I’m sure you’re aware that Dougal is a Scots surname and also sometimes a given name, dating back several centuries. Dougal, MacDougal, are Highland clan names.

Ken

G-UK: According to Levine, celluloid was first used commercially in 1872, not necessarily on knife handles. I have a hunch that knife is tortoise shell with a bright underlay. It appears to have some damage so a hot needle test wouldn't hurt it if you want to know for sure.( If you already know how then excuse my being instructive.) Take a pin or needle in some pliers and heat the end red hot. Touch it to a hidden or damaged area. If it has a strong camphor smell it's celluloid. If it smells like burnt hair it's tortoise. You can't confuse the smells, they are very distinct. That's a great old knife, just what I love to find and collect and the Scotland origin is rare and cool. Good luck with it and let us know the test results if you decide to do it. J.O'.

If I had a knife that old in the shape that that one is in the last thing that I would do is stick it with a hot pin.
I've heard stick it in a hard to see spot or inconspicuous area. Please tell me where on a pocket knife cover is hard to see.

edge213 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 26, 2024 4:12 am If I had a knife that old in the shape that that one is in the last thing that I would do is stick it with a hot pin.
I've heard stick it in a hard to see spot or inconspicuous area. Please tell me where on a pocket knife cover is hard to see.

This is rather my take on it as well. I had a read of this very helpful topic and I really can't see any form of natural figuring. viewtopic.php?t=50712