Help me identify my pocket knife please

[rdhdtina]

Hi, I have a pocket knife that the blades were covered with rust. 2 of the blades are knifes and the third is a punch blade. It has some writing at the base of one blade and it is very hard to read it all even after I cleaned off the rust. The first word starts with a B or E then the middle letters are faded away with an ze at the end of that word. I can also make out what appears to be HDWE CC (or CO) & Silliman. Any info would be appreciated The B or E word that ends with ze is the top word and in a little larger letters then the 2 lines below it which are HDWE C? 2nd line then & Silliman last line. I am not positive the last word is Silliman but I clearly make out the SIL??MAN. The case is either bone or a fake mother of pearl. It has a shield plaque on the case on one side. Any help would sure be appreciated.

[El Lobo]

Welcome,

You folks are leaving some tough questions here...

Ok, no guarantees, but there is a Hardware Company formerly known as Blish, Mize and Silliman.....

http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/139/139980.html

The late John Goins' fine book of cutlery markings shows the mark from 1871 until present.

Maybe you could contact them and see about emailing or sending a picture of the knife to the company.

It sounds like a Cattleman's pattern with the punch and 2 other blades.

Impossible to guess any more without pictures and more information. It is highly unlikely that they MADE the knife, more likely it was made for them on, contract, by someone else. But, maybe they can help.

Good luck,

Bill

[rdhdtina]

Thank You so much for the reply. That does look right and would fit in with the writing. Your are good. I am posting a pic here but I could not get a close up of the writing (horrible digital camera) and again THANK YOU

[El Lobo]

Thanks for the picture....

I'd SPECULATE that it's smooth bone. Not likely a hardware supplier would use pearl on a workingman's knife. It may be celluloid (doesn't really look like it) or a composite (eg. bakelite or Delrin) as well. If you look under magnification, bone will have tiny pores, composite will not.

Glad I could help a bit. Come back and visit.

Bill