Knives from the Bay... Chesapeake Bay, that is.

[Bret888]

That is great information Red!

[dcgm4]

John, thanks so much for all that great info! I knew some about Carlin-Hulfish thanks to some old articles, but the info you posted was new to me.

I'd love to see pictures of that map. I'd be really grateful if you could post them here. Thanks a lot!

[dcgm4]

John, here's what I've found out about Carlin-Hulfish Co. so far:

Worth Hulfish was born in Haymarket, VA in 1848. Around 1862, his parents moved the family to Washington D.C. to avoid the fighting caused by the Civil War. (Haymarket is right near Bull Run/Manassas.)

In 1863 Worth Hulfish began a clerk apprenticeship with the firm English & Carlin at the age of 15. English & Carlin had been established in 1844 by James F. Carlin and dealt in wholesale hardware and cutlery. Hulfish often took the wagon to the docks to pick up shipments of merchandise. Most of the merchandise was then sold to the Confederacy during the war. Being in the hardware business, at the end of the war English & Carlin experienced an increase in business due to the Reconstruction.

By 1875 Worth Hulfish was what we would consider middle management at English & Carlin. He married Virginia Cogan in 1876 and decided to settle down in Alexandria.

In 1895 English & Carlin became Jas. F. Carlin & Sons. That same year it became Jas. F. Carlin & Co. when Worth Hulfish became an equal partner with James Carlin and George Carlin. In 1906 the company changed its name to Carlin-Hulfish & Co. Around 1908 Worth Hulfish began serving as president of the company while James and George Carlin served as vice-presidents. Worth's brother, George, was elected secretary and Worth's son, David, was the assistant secretary.

In 1919 Worth Hulfish bought all the shares held by the Carlin family. He renamed the company Worth Hulfish & Sons Inc. Worth Hulfish served as president until his death in 1930. His son, David, succeeded him as president.

In 1963 urban changes began to occur in Alexandria. In 1963/64 the buildings on King Street were bought by the city and torn down so the City Hall Plaza could be built over this area, bringing an end to the company.

[1967redrider]

Dave, here's some pictures of where the hardware store used to be and some pictures of the block from a 1921 Insurance map. Sometimes change is good but I would give anything to see one of the old hardware stores back in their hay-day.













The middle part of City Hall was added to create more office space, in the 70s I think. Now there is a weekly Farmer's Market pretty much every Saturday morning around the fountain.

[dcgm4]

Man, that is cool! I'm with you, John. It'd be something else to see what those old hardware stores were like way back when. I can't help but wonder what it must've looked like before they built the City Hall. Thank you so much for posting those pictures!

[dcgm4]

Got some new information and knives to add to this thread for those who might be interested.

First, the info. The Carlin-Hulfish gunstock seen on the first page has a "CCCC" etch on the master blade. A little research shows that that was a trademark of Curtin & Clark Cutlery Co. of Kansas City, MO. Curtin & Clark did not make their own knives, but had them manufactured by Tidioute Cutlery Company. There are no signs of alterations done to the gunstock, so the way I figure it Carlin-Hulfish probably had Tidioute Cutlery make knives for them as well. The master blade on the gunstock was likely an extra that Tidioute didn't use for Curtin & Clark so they probably just put a Carlin-Hulfish stamp on it and sent it out.

Now here are two new additions to my collection. The first is a green bone congress made for Kinson Cutlery Co. of Richmond, VA. It may look like a junker, but because it's a Virginia knife it's a beauty to me. The second one is a beefy moose made for Carlin-Hulfish & Co. of Alexandria, VA. I love the grind on the clip blade. Both blades snap like a bear trap.

[danno50]

Dave, love that moose, beautiful
Dan

[treefarmer]

Amen to what Dan said!! Treefarmer

[dcgm4]

Thanks, guys!

[1967redrider]

Those are awesome!

[Old Hunter]

Being a native Tarheel I am really enjoying reading the history of what my FFV cousins to the north were doing in the cutlery business - great history!

[dcgm4]

Thanks, guys. I'm glad others are enjoying reading about the history as well.

I actually have some more history to share. This time it's about the C. Leonard knife.

Charles Leonard (1826-1916) came to Petersburg, VA from London in 1830. In 1840 he started learning the gun trade, but eventually he went into the hardware business in 1845. His store was located on Old Street. Around the beginning of the Civil War Leonard’s hardware store was on Sycamore Street. The address for his business at that time was 30 South Sycamore Street.

The last newspaper clip I can find that references Charles Leonard Hardware Company as still being in business is dated May 11, 1946. It gives the store’s address as 20-24 West Bank Street.

I've also found a couple of pictures of the old hardware store. The photographers have copyrighted them so I won't post them here, but I will post the Flickr links to them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sethgaines ... otostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewbain/2476727158/

[1967redrider]

Cool history, Dave.

[dcgm4]

Thanks, John. Unfortunately it's an incomplete history, but it's getting there.

Right now I'm comparing (or trying to anyways, lol) bone jigging to find some possible identities for the company that made the knife for Charles Leonard Hardware. However only a handful of companies were consistent with their jigging so it's a long shot.

[dcgm4]

It's been quite a while, but I've finally got a couple more to add to this thread. The first is another Kinson Cutlery Co. knife. Someone removed the secondary blade (probably had been broken) and pinched then pinned the bolsters together. This creates tension on the backspring when you open the blade to the half-stop position so it flips out the rest of the way on its own. The second knife is stamped "M Kesmodel Baltimore". It dates between 1901 and 1925.

[Bret888]

You are finding some great history Dave. I really like that old Leonard. It reminds me of an old, old Sheffield knife.
Wasn't Kesmodel a fancy bowie knife maker?
That bullhead/moose, whatever you want to call it is a great knife, whoever made it.

[dcgm4]

Thanks, Bret. Here's a quick and rough history of Kesmodel (various sources have conflicting dates, but I believe the dates provided below are pretty accurate):

Frederick Kesmodel made bowie knives and other types of cutlery in Baltimore starting in 1838. Around 1856 he apparently moved to San Francisco and made knives there until returning to Baltimore after 1865. He ran the cutlery business until 1901 when his nephew, M. Kesmodel, took over. M. Kesmodel probably didn't make knives but instead contracted other companies to make them, including at least one German company. The company also dealt more in straight razors than knives once M. Kesmodel was in charge.

[Beechtree]

dcgm4, that Samuel Jackson is a favorite of mine
The pattern is very appealing, the large slab of ivory is just wonderful and it has a lot of interesting regional history. Very nice collection and thanks for the history information.

[Mark D. Zalesky]

dcgm4, that Samuel Jackson knife is a real sweetheart. I have a similar knife which is a single blade dirk rather than a whittler. When it was found the escutcheon was partially missing, I had it replaced last year and right now it's in the Arkansas exhibit "A Sure Defense: The Bowie Knife in America" (folding bowies and dirks being the pocket counterparts of the better known fixed blade versions.)

Made by a surgical instrument maker, the Jackson knives are the equivalent of a custom made knife in that they were made by a craftsman and maybe an apprentice, rather than in a factory setting. Antique knives of this sort are a great rarity today. I know of a half dozen or more Jackson bowies, but I think just these two folding knives. If you ever want to sell it... I'm not hard to find!

Mark Z

[Miller Bro's]

Beautiful folding dirk, thanks for posting a picture of it

[dcgm4]

dcgm4, that Samuel Jackson is a favorite of mine
The pattern is very appealing, the large slab of ivory is just wonderful and it has a lot of interesting regional history. Very nice collection and thanks for the history information.

Thanks. It's always a pleasure to share my knives and research with fellow collectors here. The Jackson whittler is one of my personal favorites as well. It's one of the jewels, if not the crown jewel, of my collection.

dcgm4, that Samuel Jackson knife is a real sweetheart. I have a similar knife which is a single blade dirk rather than a whittler. When it was found the escutcheon was partially missing, I had it replaced last year and right now it's in the Arkansas exhibit "A Sure Defense: The Bowie Knife in America" (folding bowies and dirks being the pocket counterparts of the better known fixed blade versions.)

Made by a surgical instrument maker, the Jackson knives are the equivalent of a custom made knife in that they were made by a craftsman and maybe an apprentice, rather than in a factory setting. Antique knives of this sort are a great rarity today. I know of a half dozen or more Jackson bowies, but I think just these two folding knives. If you ever want to sell it... I'm not hard to find!

Mark Z

Mark, that dirk is just fantastic! Whoever replaced the shield did a superb job.

[Mark D. Zalesky]

Mark, that dirk is just fantastic! Whoever replaced the shield did a superb job.

Thanks Dave! These Jacksons may not be mint or even close, but to me they're really special knives. Gotta love these old survivors.

Mark Z

[dcgm4]

Recently I acquired a couple of M. Kesmodel knives from some fellow AAPK members. The first is a pen knife that was made for M. Kesmodel in Germany by Wester Bros. Cutlery. The other one is an older American-made congress with steel pins and liners.

The third knife is a C. Leonard pruner I've had for a while, but it somehow slipped my mind to post it here.

[Miller Bro's]

Samuel Jackson of Baltimore, MD

I did not notice this before but what is that mark on the pen blade tang?

Can I see a close up picture of it?

[dcgm4]

The tang of the pen blade is stamped "SJ," Samuel Jackson's initials. The bottom of the J has mostly worn away (you can still see the end of it if you look closely) so now it looks like a dollar sign.