Old Pearl Congress

[kootenay joe]

Here is a well used small Henckels Congress knife. All 4 blades are marked "J.A.Henckels" in an arch over the twins & on the master blade only "Germany" is below the twins. I believe this dates the knife to the 1890's.
Last pic shows it with a 3 5/8" Henckels whittler. This Congress is only 1 7/8" closed, yet someone carried & used it, frequently from looks of wear showing. That is what makes this knife 'neat'.
kj

[philco]

Interesting knife. I wish it could tell its story. Reading your post got me to thinking that the vast majority of the cutting I do with a knife could be accomplished with a much smaller knife than the ones I carry. Most all of my pocket carries are in the 3 1/2 in. to 4 1/4 in. size range (closed length) but I very seldom really need a knife that big. You can cut string, paper, cardboard and tape with a much smaller knife.

[dcgm4]

Very cool congress. I have often wondered about tiny knives like that one. Some I know were made more as novelties, but others like your congress were used. I have this old Josiah Barnes quill knife that is only 1 3/4" closed. Were these knives perhaps made for children originally?

I totally get what you're saying, Phil. On knives with small secondary blades I tend to use those more than the larger blades. But a knife with a closed length of under 2" seems kind of small to be an EDC imho, even as a secondary carry. Plus back in the day men were more concerned about appearing masculine than they do now. I can just imagine a guy in the late 1800's pulling out a dainty sub-2" quill knife around his mates. From then on they called him "Lady Fingers." Sorry, my mind wandered. What were we talking about?

[kootenay joe]

Lovely Quill knife Dave and excellent condition. I don't think these very small knives were intended for children although it is an interesting idea. I have read that a tiny knife was sometimes placed in a sewing kit and for ripping out a seam i think they would work well.
kj

[dcgm4]

Thanks. That does make sense. I've seen small knives in sewing kits that were fixed blades, but having a folding knife instead would be much safer. No risk of cutting your fingers reaching into the sewing kit.

[keithw]

That Henckels knife is really nice. I don't think I've run across one that old in my ramblings.

I really like smaller "fancy" knives, and I seldom need a large knife.
My problem with knives smaller than 3 inches is that I lose track of them in my pants.
I can't count the times I've had to search the car for a small knife that slipped out of my pocket; or had to go through the laundry hamper looking for a knife that I forgot to remove.
For me anyway a large knife is just easier to keep up with.