Sheffield contrivances?

[Miller Bro's]

That's actually a cylindrical punch for boring holes through such things as leather.
Enclosed is a picture of an actual example from the same time period as "Smith's Key" while in the mostly open position.

To my eye, in the Smith's key photo, it looks like a mechanical pencil. The point is tapered too much to be a cylindrical punch, also it is longer than the punch you have shown and appears to have grooves above the point which would give you a better grip when using it.

[Tasky]

To my eye, in the Smith's key photo, it looks like a mechanical pencil. The point is tapered too much to be a cylindrical punch, also it is longer than the punch you have shown and appears to have grooves above the point which would give you a better grip when using it.

I'd guess it's about the same length, given the angle in Mason's photo. The grooves are probably just pencil lines in the drawing. It'd also make more sense to have a leather punch on a sporting knife, where you'd find leather straps and buckles on things like riding tackle, and it looks way too short for even a stub pencil.

Very interesting thread. I do not have any knowledge about the subject, but I liked seeing the comments and photos. When I read the Melville quote, I had the impression that he was making a generalization about a kind of knife, not necessarily describing a specific knife.

I agree that he most likely was talking about the type of knife... but he was also oddly specific about naming the implements such knives had, which is what's got me so interested. They're all working mans' tools, rather than those of a gentleman (or woman), which I feel has relevance to the fact that he's using them to describe a working man.
It is this which makes me think all of these were real tools on real pocket knives... somehow and somewhere!!

I did also chance upon this bit-holder with a countersink: https://www.tooltique.co.uk/shop/antiqu ... it-holder/
Clearly a hand-turned countersink, it makes me wonder if any pocket-knives featured sockets for similar usage, in the same way some Wenger Ranger knives had 6mm hex sockets for modern screwdriver bits?

[Mason]

To my eye, in the Smith's key photo, it looks like a mechanical pencil. The point is tapered too much to be a cylindrical punch, also it is longer than the punch you have shown and appears to have grooves above the point which would give you a better grip when using it.

I'd guess it's about the same length, given the angle in Mason's photo. The grooves are probably just pencil lines in the drawing. It'd also make more sense to have a leather punch on a sporting knife, where you'd find leather straps and buckles on things like riding tackle, and it looks way too short for even a stub pencil.

Very interesting thread. I do not have any knowledge about the subject, but I liked seeing the comments and photos. When I read the Melville quote, I had the impression that he was making a generalization about a kind of knife, not necessarily describing a specific knife.

I agree that he most likely was talking about the type of knife... but he was also oddly specific about naming the implements such knives had, which is what's got me so interested. They're all working mans' tools, rather than those of a gentleman (or woman), which I feel has relevance to the fact that he's using them to describe a working man.
It is this which makes me think all of these were real tools on real pocket knives... somehow and somewhere!!

I did also chance upon this bit-holder with a countersink: https://www.tooltique.co.uk/shop/antiqu ... it-holder/
Clearly a hand-turned countersink, it makes me wonder if any pocket-knives featured sockets for similar usage, in the same way some Wenger Ranger knives had 6mm hex sockets for modern screwdriver bits?

Yes, you are correct. That small hand drawn picture in Smith's book could be mistaken for having a mechanical pencil rather than a cylindrical punch, but that's not the case. Mechanical pencils were much longer to house the thin round lead. Enclosed is a picture showing both folding implements on the same knife with the mechanical pencil on the left, and the cylindrical punch on the right. Similar looking, but quite different in actuality.

Very interesting to see that countersink tool which certainly could have been an implement in a knife handle. I will search for any possible examples with regards to a folding knife.

[Mason]

Tasky, when you posted the countersink tool, I had the same image in mind of a round tapered cutting tool. I had not thought of them as also being a flat type, but they did exist and would have been a perfect fit for a pocket knife. Enclosed is a picture of a few different examples including a flat type as shown in a catalog from 1898. I found the exact same countersink bits in a catalog from 1865, but the pictures were better in the 1898 catalog.

So again, definitely possible that a flat countersink blade could have been included in a folding knife.

You've turned a simple Melville statement into a great quest.

[Tasky]

Oh yeah, the flat types are as old as the hills... well, at least as old as screws, although I had thought they might be a bit old-fashioned by the time the 1800s arrived. I've seen fluted cones dated to Tudor times with braces, along with some half-cylinder shapes too.

This one, from 1775, has a little countersink bit:

image41.jpg (26.2 KiB) Viewed 1153 times

This whole document might also be of some interest - Woodworking Tools 1600-1900:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27238/2 ... 7238-h.htm

[Tasky]

Oh, the quest is still ongoing.
I just haven't found anything new of late.

I think I'll have to either get very lucky with some google-fu, or save up to buy some tool books.

[Mason]

AxxMls, thanks for bringing this interesting thread back to the forefront. Enclosed is a fairly unusual implement on a large old Sheffield sportsman's knife.
Shown folded open and below the handle is an articulated adjustable tool. Its purpose was to remove various sized spent shotgun shells from a barrel.
There were many different forms of shell extractor tools, but this type was among the least common.

[Tasky]

I might have guessed they were picks for opening a warded lock!
Without actually knowing, I'm guessing they would work to extract rifle casings too, and that the 'drill bit/corkscrew' type tool behind is a reamer for cleaning carbon deposits out of chambers or possibly gas parts?

[Mason]

There are 11 unique folding tools and 2 pull out tools included on this knife, but only the shell extractor was used specifically for gun applications.
The majority of these old sportsman's knives were the original Leatherman tool for working on most anything.