Old Pruning and Horticultural Knives

[LongBlade]

Beechtree - that Waterville is awesome

A few more of my horticultural/pruners for the thread….

H&B - Hawkbill – 4 & ½” – Ebony – Brass liners and end cap - brass liners are unusual on most hawkbills from my experience though I have seen them on Case Hawkbills (but please correct me if that is an incorrect observation on brass liners and hawkbills in general) and the brass end cap trips my trigger…. Blade only lightly sharpened and still has that hawkbill point - Bonus …. Beautiful H&B stamp on blade and good clear tang stamp…. Tight and snaps hard…

George Butler & Co Trinity Works Sheffield - Swayback Stag Jack - (Peach Pruner is correct pattern name from what I have learned from wlf – thanks Lyle!) – (3 & ¾”) – Integrated iron liners and bolsters puts this pre-1860… I’m guessing 1830-50 time frame based on company history in Tweedale… just a lovely knife in hand with that old stag and a heavily curved & tapered back spring (from pivot bolster to end of spring it just continues to get larger) that wraps so nicely around the end… blade was a lambsfoot though has seen some honest sharpening – and a stovepipe kick to boot! It almost looks above the nail nick that the spine had some wear from somebody putting their finger on that area when cutting… or it was made with that gentle slope above nick… either way I just have a real affinity for swayback jacks

Camillus - Swayback Jack (Peach Pruner) – 3 & ¾” - Iron liners, pins and bolster & Ebony handles.... Blade was a lambsfoot based on swedge IMO… not a sheepsfoot… I just couldn’t resist this one as a “special opportunity” find – those swayback are just so appealing! I didn’t get a good tang stamp photo but it is the older 4 line straight stamp so thinking between 1919-1946 (guessing earlier than later in that time period):
CAMILLUS
CUTLERY CO
CAMILLUS, N.Y.
U.S.A.

Here's a few pics - more pics are on the Camillus subforum where I previously posted it:

Thanks for looking....

[wlf]

B,is that horn? I really think not,as I think it might be rare for horn to have cracks? Has anyone seen cracks in horn,bug trails yes??

Nice old ones Lee,I really,really like that rat tail bolster on the George Butler.

[FRJ]

Those are beautiful knives, Lee. Congratulations!

[LongBlade]

Thanks Lyle and Joe ... those horticultural knives can be addicting ... what a disease

[wlf]

Thanks Lyle and Joe ... those horticultural knives can be addicting ... what a disease

For good reason Lee,they serve mostly close to our heart, our stomachs.I grin

[galvanic1882]

Man those knives are beauties!! Love the Camillus. Here is my latest on Mason & Sons old PA brand.

[wlf]

Wow Mike, that old rare one has the curve. And Wow.I started researching Samuel Mason ,oh the tangled web woven in the cutlery industry,fascinating.

[galvanic1882]

Thanks Lyle, I was really happy to get this one. I was the only bidder on ebay still can't believe it!!

[wlf]

Knowledge is king,quite an obscure stamp. Less money
is even more funny.

[FRJ]

Beautiful knife, Mike. Nice score.

Here's a Walden Knife Co. NY.

[wlf]

Joe that ebony on those, with the end cap and the line of the curves is so graceful,almost poetic.

[Miller Bro's]

Very nice Joe, must have great snap with that thick back spring and square joint construction

[FRJ]

Thank you, Lyle. It is graceful indeed.

Thank you Dimitri. I'm glad they built that square joint into this knife. Thats got to test your skills,
getting the tang to the end of the bolster and, at half stop, keeping the spring at the top of the knife, which it does. Very strong knife. No wobble at all.

Thanks guys.

[smiling-knife]

Beautiful knives everyone. Thanks for posting them. This is an old French pruning knife. Unusually, it does not have any metal liners... just thick stag scales.

[Miller Bro's]

Holy mackerel!

How long is it closed?

[RobesonsRme.com]

And does it have a backspring?

Charlie

[smiling-knife]

Thanks for the comments guys. The French pruner is about 5 inches long closed. Yes, it has a back spring but has no snap left.

[wlf]

Steve,that has an unusual design,as seems a lot of French knives.That's interesting and a man's knife,but I think the French are better at designing other things than knives, that's just me. They should have looked more eastward across the English Channel.

Thanks for posting it,I don't think I own any French knives. Yes I do,this government issue that you, Gus,or someone alerted me to on the foreign auction site. Kind of a farmers jack,but I think it's a double spring.

Stephen Theirs

[Beechtree]

[quote="wlf"]B,is that horn? I really think not,as I think it might be rare for horn to have cracks? Has anyone seen cracks in horn,bug trails yes??

Sorry for the incredibly slow response WLF. It is indeed horn, I would guess that it is simply splitting due to pressure from the pin, and age. This is quite an old piece, just drying over age means that the horn can separate in the same plane as the growth lines of the horn (i.e. the split is not perpendicular but parallel to the growth lines, elephant ivory tends to do the same thing and is much more common)

Great score Mike, that Binns & Mason is truly a treasure. Thanks for sharing it. I am glad you scooped it up on eBay, instead of being lost in someones dresser drawer or some other place

Here is a L.F. & C. lock back pruner. As with all lock backs from this time period (1930s or prior) I find they tend to be quite rare, except for possibly in the larger hunting type models. A pruner with a lock of course makes perfect sense, but as they would have been a cheeper model knife, having the lock would have brought up the purchase price, and thus they seem to be pretty uncommon. This knife is another great example why it is not a good idea to sharpen a fine knife on a grinding wheel, unless you are well trained. In this case, the culprit was obviously not.

[Miller Bro's]

Here is a L.F. & C. lock back pruner. As with all lock backs from this time period (1930s or prior) I find they tend to be quite rare, except for possibly in the larger hunting type models.

Beautiful knife, very hard to find!

[wlf]

I'll second what Dimitri says B,and thanks for staying so abreast. Grin'n

[galvanic1882]

SK that is a great looking French knife, This one I believe is of French Origins also, BRL thinks so too. It's a big one at 5" closed. J Caire San Francisco

[Beechtree]

Thanks Dimitri, it was sure a fun prize to pick up.

Wlf, I will try to stay more abreast in the future. It seems that I am only able to post in fits and spurts, not quite the steady flow I would desire.

Mike, great knife to compare to smiling-knife's. They have different style stag but both are very pretty

[JohnR]

Added this Catt pruner to the collection, full blade, nice wood, Cocobolo?

[galvanic1882]

Nice looking pruner!!