All About Pocket Knives

I started collecting antique corkscrews a few years ago and the first knives I collected had corkscrews. Here is one of my favorites. The stag handle is fantastic. Unfortunately, there is a little crink in the tip of the master blade. It is marked A.W JR SOLINGEN. I can't find this exact mark anywhere. My best guess is A.W. Wadsworth 1905-1920.
I would like to see other knives with corkscrews please s-k

Remington 3843

Remington 8039

Thanks Remington. I like those s-k

Here is a little Camillus Champagne pattern. Not very valuable, but cute.

Well, if a knife can be cute, that is.

Bill

Here is an EKA from Eskilstuna, Sweden.

The picture is better than the overall shape of this knife...or something like that.

Bill

Thanks EL Lobo. I think knives can be cute. I have a few somewhere. Maybe that's a good topic for a future posting. Here is an old corkscrew knife. Has a serated, not sharp, attachment for cutting the wires on champagne bottles. C1880s. s-k

My corkscrew knife. I know it's modern, but it's the only one I got.

I've heard them called "Bar-Tender's Knives". I posted a pic of mine when you fellas did the green-knife thing for St. Patrick's Day. All of these look very nice. later, wt3L

JOE62 wrote:I know it's modern, but it's the only one I got.

Most of mine are SAKs as well (Swiss Army Knives).
I have one that's not... First knife I ever had, given to me by my father. Little tiny knife with mother-of-pearl handles, and a corkscrew that could open a squirrel-sized bottle of wine.

"a corkscrew that could open a squirrel-sized bottle of wine"

Hi Alexander. I would like to see a photo of your knife if possible. Pearl and tortoise shell knives with corkscrews were very popular in the late 1800s and very early 1900s. They were fancy items for the fairly well-off ladies. The corkscrews were for opening small bottles of medicine or perfume. These bottles were 3 or 4 inches high or less compared to the 11-12 inches of a wine bottle just for a size comparison. s-k

Here is an old Cork Screw Knife.

Good morning 9ball and everyone one else on board. I like that old multi-tool horseman's knife you posted last evening. Is that a Sheffield product?Thanks s-k

Good morning Smiling-Knife ,

I am almost certain it is. I did some research several years ago on it.
I will see if I can get a clear image of tang stamp. Or at least post the name that appears on the blades for you.

Take Care
9ball

Does this count as a pocket knife . It fits in my pocket. It has a serrated 'blade' for cutting champagne wires and the wax seals that used to be around the tops of wine bottles to protect the cork before foil and plastic came along. It folds out and back with good snap still after 120+ years. Just a little different. s-k

p.s. now that's what I call patina

That's pretty cool smiling-knife thanks for sharing....



Sunburst

I'll bet S-K uses that to open those Australian...ooooops...wrong thread.

Bill

Here is a handy little gadget I carry on my back....er, I mean that sits at my work area.....but it does have a corkscrew...

Bill

Yah but you need two of them to eat your dinner. s-k

I only use it when I'm having wine and soup.....

Bill

El Lobo wrote:I only use it when I'm having wine and soup..... Bill

The meal of champions s-k

OK... I am bored so this may be more for my amusement than anything else, but maybe you haven't seen this before.

This knife looks relatively uninteresting at first glance. A German made gentleman's knife like many others from the early 1900s. This will take more than one posting so I appreciate your patience. This is based on Mueller's 1894 patent. I'll continue my commentary in pt2. I'm sure you'll figure it out from these three pics.

By the time you viewed the previous three pictures I'm sure you realized two key points 1) the length of the corkscrew is pretty much the length of the handle and 2) the corkscrew is not actually fixed to the frame as with most others.

One could have the corkscrew fixed at one end, and thus achieve the same length, but this would be very difficult to use where a lot of force is required. Typically, the corkscrew is pinned somewhere near the middle of the knife. On a knife of 3.5 inches this would be fine for opening those "squirrel sized" bottles, but not very useful for larger wine corks. This is the solution, a screw long enough to be useful on a relatively small knife.

Bored yet?

The screw is free to slide along a channel. It has a chunk of metal with a groove at the opposite end from the point. One pulls from the pointy end and the screw slides parallel to the handle until the groove in the metal block catches on the rail in the middle of the channel at which time the the screw swings outward until it locks perpendicular to the handle.

This guy was a genius. Why don't all corkscrew knives use this system?

Photo 1,2 & 3 in this post follow the progression in 1,2,& 3 from the previous. and i needed 1 more for part 3

Anyway that kept me occupied for awhile. All this talk of corkscrews has given me a thirst.

I hope this was of interest.

s-k

View pt 1 and 2 first.

Hmmmmmm,

Very cool...

Maybe the "Rhine wine slide".....or the "English Channel" corkscrew?

Just Kidding. It is April Fool's Day.

Bill