Help identifying unusual knife

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Bluesman111
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Help identifying unusual knife

Post by Bluesman111 »

I'm new to knife collecting and learned that the membership here is awesomely knowledgeable. I picked up this unusually designed folding knife at a flea market over the weekend. It has no apparent markings on it. The seller's label indicated it was a fruit knife, but the second blade looks like it's possibly a fingernail grooming tool. Any help or info would be appreciated!
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cody6268
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Re: Help identifying unusual knife

Post by cody6268 »

It is, in fact, a fruit knife, the second blade is intended to pick seeds out of the fruit.
doglegg
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Re: Help identifying unusual knife

Post by doglegg »

Bluesman111 wrote:I'm new to knife collecting and learned that the membership here is awesomely knowledgeable. I picked up this unusually designed folding knife at a flea market over the weekend. It has no apparent markings on it. The seller's label indicated it was a fruit knife, but the second blade looks like it's possibly a fingernail grooming tool. Any help or info would be appreciated!
That is a really good looking knife. Good pick up. Is it German?
Bluesman111
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Re: Help identifying unusual knife

Post by Bluesman111 »

1) Thanks for confirming it is, in fact, a fruit knife.
2) I thought when I first saw it that it was possibly of German origin, too. Unfortunately, I can find no identifying marks or imprints.
But its ornate filigreed designs reminded me of a German "gentleman's knife" I picked up recently, decided I like it so much I started carrying it--and then lost it. Lesson learned there....

Thanks for your replies!
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TwoFlowersLuggage
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Re: Help identifying unusual knife

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

Is the blade sterling silver or silver plated?
"The Luggage had a straightforward way of dealing with things between it and its intended destination: it ignored them." -Terry Pratchett
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Tsar Bomba
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Re: Help identifying unusual knife

Post by Tsar Bomba »

Bluesman111 wrote:1) Thanks for confirming it is, in fact, a fruit knife.
2) I thought when I first saw it that it was possibly of German origin, too. Unfortunately, I can find no identifying marks or imprints.
But its ornate filigreed designs reminded me of a German "gentleman's knife" I picked up recently, decided I like it so much I started carrying it--and then lost it. Lesson learned there....
That lesson is: Don't let the knives you carry outta yer sight! :lol: :D
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cody6268
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Re: Help identifying unusual knife

Post by cody6268 »

Tsar Bomba wrote:
Bluesman111 wrote:1) Thanks for confirming it is, in fact, a fruit knife.
2) I thought when I first saw it that it was possibly of German origin, too. Unfortunately, I can find no identifying marks or imprints.
But its ornate filigreed designs reminded me of a German "gentleman's knife" I picked up recently, decided I like it so much I started carrying it--and then lost it. Lesson learned there....
That lesson is: Don't let the knives you carry outta yer sight! :lol: :D

I had a little SOG multitool (Seki, Japan made MicroToolclip) that always had the problem of it's Zytel plastic clip slipping off and causing me to lose it. Almost lost it once (found it in the field near where I'd closed the gate where I remember it clipped to my pocket, then lost it permanently probably in the Food Lion parking lot. They were going for like $40 used when I bought it last year--that one I'd found for $20, and for a small tool it was the best I had (the blunt nose pliers wouldn't flex when twisting hard wire, the cutters cut (copper) wire great, and the serrated blade would glide through any rope you needed to cut. It's predecessor, a modern MicroToolclip broke in like 2 months and everything was soft steel that never held an edge (and the cutters dinged on very thin wire). I also lost a Hammer Brand mini knife within an hour of the first time carrying it. I got a similarly sized Colonial in a lot recently, and decided it's not leaving a display case.

I learned the lesson--never carry something that's going to be hard to replace, especially if you'll never find it at the same price and in the same condition. It's the reason I made it a point this year to find replacements for all rare knives and multi-tools as well as those given to me by family and friends (especially tough to replace would be my Boker 9215M "The Miner" given to me by a laid-off coal miner friend who got it from his employer back in the day, I think they only made them in 1983). It's part of the reason I buy knives in "Parts or repair" lots that cost less than $10 total. Often half will be junkers good for parts, but many just have one blade broken or handle damage, meaning they're useful, but not worth much, so it isn't that big a deal if you lose it.
Bluesman111
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Re: Help identifying unusual knife

Post by Bluesman111 »

Thanks, TwoFlowersLuggage, for bringing up the question of whether the knife is silver or silver plated. There are unfortunately no marks of any kind that I can find on the knife, but I was wondering myself whether it might be silver plated because the pattern and color of the tarnish on it seem identical to the kind of tarnish I see on other silver plated items I own. This makes me think it wouldn't hurt to take it to a jeweler to see whether he/she can confirm it is silver plated.

Thanks, also, to those who responded about having lost cherished knives. Misery does love company.
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TwoFlowersLuggage
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Re: Help identifying unusual knife

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

Some fruit knives used silver blades because silver would not be corroded by the acidic fruit juice. They were a hot fashion accessory around the turn of the century. By 1940, stainless steels pretty much replaced that idea.
https://www.xupes.com/magazine/article/ ... -accessory
"The Luggage had a straightforward way of dealing with things between it and its intended destination: it ignored them." -Terry Pratchett
Bluesman111
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Re: Help identifying unusual knife

Post by Bluesman111 »

Thanks very much, TwoFlowersLuggage, for your information on silver Victorian knives. As it turns out, I dropped by a local jeweler's this yesterday and had him take a look at the knife. He said he believed it (or at least the blade) was silver. Thanks for sending that link--great information! So, it looks like I may have a 100+ year old collectible. That motivates me to hit those flea markets!
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TwoFlowersLuggage
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Re: Help identifying unusual knife

Post by TwoFlowersLuggage »

Great! I had a hunch it was a silver blade because of the engraving and because the blade looks like it has some bends or ripples in it. Silver (even silver plate) is much softer than good blade steel, so the blade can get bent fairly easily. I've got a little silver fruit knife that has some of those same ripples.
"The Luggage had a straightforward way of dealing with things between it and its intended destination: it ignored them." -Terry Pratchett
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