O.K. all you experts....tell me what have I got here?

[dewman]

I picked this old knife up, along with a couple of others in a yard sale afair. It has what appears to be pearl celluloid handles with nickel silver bolsters. The main spring is broken. On the main blade, there is some very faint etching that says "1865". My old, tired eyes can't read the tang stamp, so I photographed it and did my best to enlarge it. The best I can make out is "Henry something or other and sons"....and again "1865"....and, at the bottom, "Made in.........?"

Any clues as to who made this....and is it really that old?

[Paladin]

I believe it to be a Henry Sears & Son, 1865. That was a trademark used by Farwell-Ozmun from 1897 until 1959, according to Goins Encyclopedia.
It (1865) was the year the original company was founded.
No telling about the age other that in that range.

[Hukk]

I don't know much about this one except that I think you got a great looking older knife that appears to be a real gem. Very Nice I like this one very much, looks like a nice addition to any collection.

[dewman]

Well, I answered part of my own question. I took some 420 grit wet or dry paper and lightly buffed the tang and it reads "Henry Sears & Son"
above "1865" and on the bottom line, it reads "Made in U.S.A."

And to think, I actually threw this in the trash can in my office! I got to thinking about it as I was on my way out to the shop to buff the bolsters on another knife and I retrieved it on a whim. I hadn't noticed the faint "1865" on the blade till I got it out in the sunlight, then I realized I might have something worth investigating.

Now, it I could only find a mainspring to fit it. Who knows, stranger things have happened, eh?

[muskrat man]

Dewey, you can throw it in my trash bin anytime you want . Who knows I might have a spring in this heap of crap I call a shop that might fit it