american quill knives

[jonet143]

i know some of you have some american made quill knives. please show some. i'll start it off with an ivory water-ville co. 3" example. water-ville co. - 1890-1913.

[orvet]

That is a nice old knife Johnnie.
That ivory appears to have aged nicely.
I see pics posted of quill knives, but can't recall ever having seen one in person.

I am looking foward to seeing more pics here.
Dale

[smiling-knife]

Nice knife johnnie It's hard to beat the look of 100+ year old ivory. s-k

[jonet143]

thanks dale and steve. even with the old repair the little knife has a warm feel. maybe it's the soul of old history.

[philco]

Hey Johnnie,
How about educating some of your less informed knifer friends about quill knives. Why are they called that? Any history you can share with us?

Phil

[knife7knut]

Hey Johnnie,
How about educating some of your less informed knifer friends about quill knives. Why are they called that? Any history you can share with us?

Phil

I can give you a capsule history of them as I know it.The quill knife is probably one of the oldest knife patterns.Before the advent of fountain pens,ball points,and roller ball pens there were essentially two instruments used to write with;namely a pencil and a quill pen.

The pencil is actually a fairly modern invention whereas the quill goes back for centuries.It is made from the feather of a variety of birds and is often referred to as a,"crow's quill".

It is made by taking a feather and cutting off a section about an inch long and about half way across the diameter of the quill.Then a sharp point is made using a(what else?)"quill knife".Then a slit is made up the shaft about 1/2" long from the point.This is then called the,"nib".

When the quill is dipped in ink,the slit acts as a conduit for transferring the ink to the paper.All you do is write with it as you do any other instrument.You do have to frequently re-dip the point into the ink as it is used up rather rapidly.

The enclosed picture is of a combination ink eraser/quill knife/nib splitter.It has a one piece ivory handle that has a tiny groove running up each side.It is engraved,"Stevens patent Nov.16 1869"The end opposite the blade is actually a hardened ink eraser.

The blade is sharpened not only on the outside to serve to scrape away the ink but on the inside as well.There are two needle sharp points that terminate right where the grooves in the handle begin.

I believe the way this worked was the quill was cut off using the outside edge and then shaped using the inside edge as a scraper.The sharpened point(nib)was then aligned in the handle groove and pushed toward the sharp point effectively splitting the point.

I've only seen one other like it on e-Bay and was outbid on it.I have a pretty good collection of ink erasers and this one is the most unique.

[ea42]

Mighty full blade on that beauty Johnnie! And a great history lesson as well knife7nut, I've never seen one of those combo blades before. Here's a Keen Kutter:

[upnorth]

Such a beautiful KeenKutter, Eric.
Great historical pieces Johnny and Knifeknut.

I've got this one. I guess you would use it when you didn't have too much to say in your letter!

Or when the Geese have migrated, but the chickadees are still here!

[jonet143]

great stuff guys, keep em coming! hey charlie, that's small one, eh? nice keenkutter eric. 7, you never cease to amaze.

[upnorth]

It's pretty small, Johnnie, 1 3/4".
This one isn't old, but it is American! Dan Burke does beautiful work. Shown here with an older Bose knife.