Waterville Cutlery Co.

[Another Knife Collector]

Anybody have any Watervilles to show off? Here's the beginning of my small collection.

[Blues]

I've only got this one, an E-Z Opener:

[Sauconian]

Just this one.

Fran

[stockman]

Waterville pearl cattle pattern I may have shown this before.

Stockman

[thawk]

Nice ones guys! I especially like that little wharncliffe with the pearl handles and the "worm" shield, but they are all nice. The natural bone whittler has some style.

[Another Knife Collector]

All of those are some great knives, thanks for showing them! For as long as they were in existance it sure is hard to find one of their knives.

[knife7knut]

Here's probably the smallest Waterville knife you'll ever see.Picked it up years ago with a bunch of other mini knives.Nickel silver scales.

[Another Knife Collector]

Some fine knifes all! Now how to convince you to donate them to my collection.......

[whitebuffalo]

Hi, I acquired this knife in an odd lot of items at an estate sale about 10 years ago and have exhausted every resource I can find trying to locate info on it. Including 20 or more guide publications and dozens of internet sites. It is a wharncliffe half whittler with gold lip pearl celluloid handles. No bolsters. It is tang stamped Kirkham & Co., Sheffield on the primary blade and Kirkham, Sheffield England on the secondary blade. I can find absolutely no refrence to the Kirkham name but the odd thing is the waterville name is engraved on the primary blade. While the waterville name can be traced to sheffield cutlers, i'm not sure if any were actually built in sheffield. The engraving does look hand done but, more proffesionally done than the average person could do. Had I purchased this knife from a dealer, I would be somewhat more suspicious of it's origins but having bought it as an odd item at an estate sale there was nothing to be gained in forging the waterville signature. I guess what i'm trying to find is a link between the Kirkham & Waterville names. Can anyone help?

[jonet143]

wekcome buff. interesting. found sheffield kirlhams in sheffield register as taylors, shoe makers but not a cutlery. possibly a coincidence? the etch is a little rough, leading me to believe it was not original to knife. have you ever established kirkham was a cutlery, not a wholesaler? to me, the knife appears to new to be a waterville era knife. it is a handsome knife.

[whitebuffalo]

Howdy, I agree, I believe the blades are HC stainless. Not sure who or when SS was first used but likely long after the original watervilles were made. It's pretty unusual not to be able to find ANY info on a maker or purveyor. Especially on a knife of this quality. It really is a well made knife. Thought maybe previous owner might have traced it somehow to waterville and foolishly marked it for future reference, trouble is, he wasn't a collector and probably knew very little about collectible knives. Also tried finding a reference to the names of the original sheffield cutlers who formed Waterville but pulled up empty there to. Thought maybe one of them might be named kirkham. Wondered too, if there was a transition period between the time Waterville ended and New York Knife Co. started but still doubt this knife will date back quite that far. Anyway the mystery continues. I wish I could at least find some info on the Kirkham name, this might help eliminate the possibility of this being a Waterville, not that I really want to. HAHA!

[upnorth]

Here's an interesting one to add to the fine, and rare, old Watervilles we are seeing here!
From old Charlie , as likely as not, you will see an HJ! But this one is special, about the only toothpick I've ever seen with a punch!
Unfortunately, overcleaned, but proclaimed original "in person" by BRL, at the Oregon show three years ago.

[jonet143]

charlie, you should not hold out on us. what a harness jack!!!!!! and a waterville at that. never saw any thing like that one. thanks.

[whitebuffalo]

Nice! Are those wood handles?

[upnorth]

Those are a green swirl celluloid, whitebuffalo! Nice meeting you!
Haven't seen you around before. Are you new here?

[whitebuffalo]

Hey upnorth, I am a rookie! Been collecting knives though for about 12 or 13 years. Mostly a Doc collector but I never met a knife I didn't like. Ya know what I mean? Would love to see a Waterville Doc!

[Sauconian]

Charlie, Is there any machine work on that Waterville punch blade, or is it flat ground on both sides ? I love that green cell !

Wtbuff, Just a thought...but the engraving on your knife looks to be done with an electric pencil. In the 40's, 50's, and probably before, many gift items were sold at amusement parks, fun fairs, etc., and personalized with an inscription of your choice. I recall ID bracelets being the most common choice, but penknives were also among the offerings. Might explain the "Waterville" on a Sheffield knife.

Fran

[orvet]

Charlie,
Does that celluloid have a base color under it?
I have a NYK that has similar celluloid on it, however if you look at the edge of the scale, it is red. It almost looks like the color was layered on in the process of making the handles. It has beautiful handles but the blades are mostly gone, the spay & clip broken off.

Dale

[whitebuffalo]

Hi Fran, I remember those old penknives, I even have a couple in my collection. Most of them are about a level 1-3 knife as far as quality, this one is a solid level 8 by comparison. Also this knife is a full size (3-3/4) wharncliffe, which was a pattern very common to the era. You're probably right though about the "Waterville" being some sort of personalization marking. Reckon i'll start concentrating my efforts more towards the "Kirkham" tang stamp to I.D. this knife. Maybe someday i'll find a connection to Waterville but it's looking less likely all the time. Thanks, Rob

[upnorth]

Welcome whitebuffalo!! Anything to do with Buffalo, NY??

Fran, the back of the punch is quite round; D-shaped in cross section. Definitely a punch. Hardly any wear, unlike the blade which is down some.

Dale, the cell has no backer, but I have seen the backers of which you speak, on other knives. Can't think of an example I might have, although I have a tortoise cell that has the usual gold colored back, but you can't see it from the edge.

[Sauconian]

Dale,

I think some cell was made with a liner. Here's an old Colonial on which you can see the cell wearing away at the corners. Looks like it's laminated to a cardboard type of material. It looks like a very thin masonite.

Fran

[orvet]

Here is a picture to show what I mean.
There seems to be a base color upon which the celluloid is built.

I am not explaining it right, but hopefully you can understand what I am trying to say.

Dale

[whitebuffalo]

Hi Fran, I feel welcome. Thanks for the kind greets! No, actually I live in southern MO. right in the heart of the Ozark Mnts. 2 miles from Bull Shoals Lake and the AR. border. The whitebuffalo comes from a life long passion and respect for the native american culture. Lets face it they were the earliest custom knifemakers. And I do collect knives from all eras. Heres one example.

An early doctors knife I think. HAHA.

[Sauconian]

Ah-hah ! Got it Dale. Don't have any like that....cool.

Hey Whitebuffalo......you have me cornfused with that old guy with the long white beard,
Upnorth...aka Charlie....aka Santa.

I'm happy to see you here too. I forgot my manners.

Fran

[whitebuffalo]

Yep, i'm a rookie alright! Is everyone in this forum a Waterville collector? If so maybe someone can tell me if Waterville ever produced a doctors pattern. And are there other forums specific to other brands and patterns? I haven't had much chance to browse around.