Vintage Horn Handle Knives

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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by knife7knut »

Love the shield on the Premier! That eating set looks really old;fancy bolster and all! ::tu::
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LongBlade
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by LongBlade »

Some great knives being posted all ::tu:: ::tu:: ... Interesting to me to see all the different patterns for sure :) ... The shades of horn color are awesome...

Here's a couple of old horn knives -

An old turn of the 19th century sfilato from Frosolone (horn has a crack which may be the result of years of age - pile side good shape) :
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Green & Co (Sheffield (ca 1840) - Abit of an old relic but I just find this knife appealing - this one sports a couple slabs of old horn with some color and a few bug bites..
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by Mason »

tongueriver wrote:I am 98% (not 100%) certain this Blish Mize Hardware jack is horn. And the H. Boker pre-war gentleman's knife (big @ 3 3/4 inches!) is definitely horn.Blish 1.jpgBlish 2.jpgb2.jpgb11.jpg
That's a great looking old Boker, but the handles are actually "horn celluloid". Boker did an amazing job on their synthetic handle materials and it is often hard to tell the difference between "cell" and "horn", and also between their genuine jigged bone and synthetic jigged bone handles.
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by Mason »

Some great looking horn handles posted. Here is an old Sheffield John Petty with some nice multi-colored horn.
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FRJ
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by FRJ »

Nice ones, Lee. I see you stept into the old back vault. :D
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by LongBlade »

That's some of the nicest horn I have seen Neal - the shading of dark and light is really appealing ::tu:: ::tu::

Thanks Joe ::tu:: ::tu:: ... Definitely from the "old vault" :lol: ... I found a few more in the old vault and will get pics soon.. but here's one I found from the front lobby before I stepped back into the old :lol: ...

Here's a different one from me being a modern knife - Hubertus Lockback Hunter which my brother gifted me a few years back ::nod::
Hubertus Blade Open DSCN7030A.jpg
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by Mumbleypeg »

knife7knut wrote:Love the shield on the Premier! That eating set looks really old;fancy bolster and all! ::tu::
Thanks Ray! I speculate the slide-apart slot hobo's frame with fork and spoon is probably Sheffield, and possibly from the 19th century. The spoon has a hallmark on the stem but I haven't been able to decipher it. The master is stamped Schatt & Morgan Cutlery Co. but obviously isn't original to the knife.

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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by Mason »

LongBlade wrote:That's some of the nicest horn I have seen Neal - the shading of dark and light is really appealing ::tu:: ::tu::

Thanks Joe ::tu:: ::tu:: ... Definitely from the "old vault" :lol: ... I found a few more in the old vault and will get pics soon.. but here's one I found from the front lobby before I stepped back into the old :lol: ...

Here's a different one from me being a modern knife - Hubertus Lockback Hunter which my brother gifted me a few years back ::nod::

Hubertus Blade Open DSCN7030A.jpg
Thanks Lee, and that is some nice looking modern horn also.
Hubertus has a very good reputation as well and is owned and operated by a very nice husband and wife team.
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Miller Bro's
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by Miller Bro's »

Quite a selection there Ray ::tu::

Lee, a couple of oldies 8)

Ken, interesting old knife even though the blade has been replaced ::nod::

Mason, Sheffield quality shows through on that knife, I have said this before, the English had access to the best handle material around!
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by knife7knut »

Mumbleypeg wrote:
knife7knut wrote:Love the shield on the Premier! That eating set looks really old;fancy bolster and all! ::tu::
Thanks Ray! I speculate the slide-apart slot hobo's frame with fork and spoon is probably Sheffield, and possibly from the 19th century. The spoon has a hallmark on the stem but I haven't been able to decipher it. The master is stamped Schatt & Morgan Cutlery Co. but obviously isn't original to the knife.

I did a quick check in the silver hall mark book and I believe the mark is for Walker & Hall first used in 1892. The other marks I believe stand for (E)electro(P)plated (S)silver.

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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by galvanic1882 »

Great thread Dimitri. Horn is a great cover handle material. I have a few but always look for more.

The 3rd knife is a J. H. Mabey Newark marked knife that I always thought was a NJ knife made in Sheffield but I now think it was a marker in Newark England but am not sure?? Any help on this one would be appreciated.

The last knife, etched Miller Brothers is one I sold and wish I had back!!
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by Mason »

Thanks M.B., and I really enjoyed seeing that fine and unusual European example with the carved horn handles and silver inlays.

Here is an old French folder with an attractive "waterfall" pattern in the horn.
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French Farge (1400x1117).jpg
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by knife7knut »

Here is one I finally located in my document file. Not in the best of shape the handle has suffered breakage and a dermasid larvae attack.Marked DEPOSE (which I assume is French)it is a figural of the Eiffel Tower made of pressed horn.
Also thought I would throw in some horn handled razors;a couple of which date to around 1800.
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by Lawrence »

Great thread MB! And some really beautiful knives...I love horn handled knives.
Here's a few that I have...German, British and Italian. cheers
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IXL George Wostenholm horn (5).JPG
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by Mumbleypeg »

knife7knut wrote:Love the shield on the Premier! That eating set looks really old;fancy bolster and all! [*]

I did a quick check in the silver hall mark book and I believe the mark is for Walker & Hall first used in 1892. The other marks I believe stand for (E)electro(P)plated (S)silver.
Thanks! So it's old, but not as old as I was guessing.

Lawrence those are beauties but the Klaas Kissing Crane is outstanding!

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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by thegreedygulo »

Here's another H. Boker. This tang stamp was primarily used by Boker on knives for the Australian market.
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by thegreedygulo »

And another H. Boker. The handles on this knife are supposed to be ram's horn according to the seller I bought it from years ago. I've never seen another one with handles quite like it, though it does remind me of some snakeskin bone I have seen on the OLD H. Bokers. ::shrug:: Opinions?
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by peanut740 »

Roger,looks like stag to me.
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by LongBlade »

Some more beauties shown by all ::tu:: ::tu:: ...

Hey Mike - I bet you regret selling that stunner!!

Roger - Interestingly that type of handle is under alot of discussion on the Parker & Field thread near the top here on Knife Lore... as Roger (peanut740) noted some think it may be stag and others think maybe pressed bone or horn ... I don’t know the answer but Charlie C is in the process of destroying and investigating one of Lyle’s knives with those handles :D ...
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by FRJ »

Here's a little Hatch with horn covers.
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by knife7knut »

thegreedygulo wrote:And another H. Boker. The handles on this knife are supposed to be ram's horn according to the seller I bought it from years ago. I've never seen another one with handles quite like it, though it does remind me of some snakeskin bone I have seen on the OLD H. Bokers. ::shrug:: Opinions?
I would concur that it looks more like stag than ram's horn.Ram's horn usually has a much coarser grain to it and none that I have seen exhibits the,"popcorn" effect shown. Some people theorize that it is "pressed stag" created by heating the stag and applying a die with an appropriate pattern to it such as is done with horn. I personally think the pattern is natural.
I am posting pictures of a Wostenholm knife I have with a similar handle and an automatic with ram's horn handles to show the difference.
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by thegreedygulo »

Thanks for all the input & pictures guys. The handles of the knife I posted are considerably different than my other H. Boker stag handled knives. With that said, along with being told it was ram's horn when I bought it, I had just always wondered about it. I agree with the consensus that it is stag, particularly after seeing Knife7knut's pictures (Thank you) of a knife with known ram's horn handles. Thanks all. ::tu::
A pocket knife is still an intimate personal possession of the individual who carries it and consequently deserves the best of materials, finish and workmanship in its production. (Quoted from Boker's 1928 cutlery catalog).
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

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Here is three I have. The folding Dirk is 7.7" closed but unfortunately the maker is worn off. The other two are a George Woodhead and a Harrison Brothers and Howson. Thanks for looking and any comments or info.
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by Miller Bro's »

Can't keep up with all the nice knives posted recently, nice knives everyone! ::tu::

BWT wrote:Here is three I have. The folding Dirk is 7.7" closed but unfortunately the maker is worn off. The other two are a George Woodhead and a Harrison Brothers and Howson. Thanks for looking and any comments or info.
Wow, 7.7"!

Outstanding old knife Bill! :shock: 8) ::tu::
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Re: Vintage Horn Handle Knives

Post by BWT »

Thanks Dimitri, that's wrong, it's 7.5". I didn't notice when I posted. Thanks for the comments!!
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