Price engraved on shield of old Hammer Brand?

[wizrd]

Single blade Hammer Brand, 197 tang stamp. 4 3/8" closed, 3 3/8" blade. Shield is engraved, in a calligraphy style scroll engraving "May 25, 1929" - On the little lobe on the shield, at the extreme right, a price is engraved, (at least what I take to be the price) it is - 1.00 - the number '1' is a little less than 1/16" high, followed by a decimal point, with two underlined zeros, engrave, underlined, a little less than 1/32" in height. The whole quality of this engraving is professional. Not sure what the date would note - but the price engraving puzzles me. Did Hammer Brand ever engrave its prices on shields, or was it doe by the original buyer? I know you guys can help me with this, you know everything. Thanks in advance.

Sorry for the poor picture quality.

[Steve Warden]

I would guess the owner had it done to commemorate the date.
If so, anybody's guess as to what the 1.00 is for.

[Quick Steel]

Steve, is there a formal name for that kind of jigging. I privately call it "deep dish."

[carrmillus]

........that is very interesting!!!........... ..................

[Steve Warden]

Steve, is there a formal name for that kind of jigging. I privately call it "deep dish."

I have no idea. But the more I look at it, the more I like it.

[btrwtr]

Steve, is there a formal name for that kind of jigging. I privately call it "deep dish."

I've always referred to this type of jigging as New York Knife jigging. You may see it on Hibbard Spencer Bartlett (OVB) and other brands that contracted NYK to make knives but the jigging is rather unique to NYK.

[Quick Steel]

Thank you Wayne. That is good to know.

[RalphAlsip]

Did Hammer Brand ever engrave its prices on shields, or was it doe by the original buyer?

Your knife was made by New York Knife Co. NYK made very nice knives. The knife was made with a blank shield (i.e., not engraved) so the engraving was added after it left the factory. NYK was actively making knives around the time of the date on the shield. A price of $1.00 seems reasonable for that time period. Your speculation seems very reasonable to me.

As a knife enthusiast, I would be grateful to see front & back pictures of the knife with the blade open.

[bestgear]

As a knife enthusiast, I would be grateful to see front & back pictures of the knife with the blade open.

Ditto! Digging the KYK jigging!

Purely speculation on my part ...... May 25,1929 was a Saturday, the day that most weddings take place. Could that be 1:00 rather than $1.00 since it's missing the currency symbol and it was a gift to the groom, groomsmen, father, etc.?

[wizrd]

Some good ideas here about the possible engraving. This knife is not mine, belongs to a good friend, a retired AF Major. He got in the early 1950's from a high school sweetheart, it belonged to her grandfather. You can see from the pictures that scale is cracked just to the left of the shield. I have never seen jigging like this, but I had no idea it was not really common. Thanks for all the input guys.

[RalphAlsip]

wizrd, thank you for posting the pictures. It is a classic NYK example. Here is a picture of another NYK with the same jigging.

[zoogirl]

Could it be a birthdate and time, perhaps a first son?
(Haha! I typo’d son as sin! Should have left it! Y )
Very nice!

[glennbad]

Could it be to commemorate the first dollar they made as a business?