All About Pocket Knives

danno50 wrote: ↑Fri May 29, 2020 3:49 pm Lovely knives, John and Lloyd!!

peanut740 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 04, 2020 9:37 pm Geo.S.Saunders & Co.4 1/4" toenail made by Napanoch.Goins shows Boston Massachusetts 1895- 1920.

Duffer wrote: ↑Fri May 29, 2020 11:12 pm Thanks Dan & Ike Thanks Mike L. for your additional input on the handles! I have heard them called pressed horn and pressed stag. Are you saying that the process starts with horn and when press molded the end result is the stag horn gnarly look? Because it looks like stag people just assume the original material to begin with was stag? I read somewhere (can’t remember where) that pressed stag is real, but is a lesser quality stag that when steamed and pressed with some type of mold it results in the appearance of gnarly, barky stag.

galvanic1882 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 05, 2020 11:01 pm

Duffer wrote: ↑Fri May 29, 2020 11:12 pm Thanks Dan & Ike Thanks Mike L. for your additional input on the handles! I have heard them called pressed horn and pressed stag. Are you saying that the process starts with horn and when press molded the end result is the stag horn gnarly look? Because it looks like stag people just assume the original material to begin with was stag? I read somewhere (can’t remember where) that pressed stag is real, but is a lesser quality stag that when steamed and pressed with some type of mold it results in the appearance of gnarly, barky stag.

Sorry it took so long for me to respond to this. I have always thought these types of handles were pressed horn and sometimes pressed Tortoise like some very old straight razors are. I thought I was told that or read it somewhere but could not remember or find the article. I asked Bernard Levine because I thought it was in one of his books. I sent him a picture of the knife and he came back with the comment below.

"That is a type of European stag. I don't know what species, but it was also used in England."


He also sent along some info on pressed horn, link is below. It's long but very interesting reading. Bottom line is that the handles are a species of Stag, I was wrong in thinking that they were pressed horn. The Torrey English Jack I have has the same type handles and I now know they are stag and not pressed horn.

https://plastiquarian.com/?page_id=14337

JohnR wrote: ↑Fri Jun 05, 2020 11:21 pm

galvanic1882 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 05, 2020 11:01 pm

Duffer wrote: ↑Fri May 29, 2020 11:12 pm Thanks Dan & Ike Thanks Mike L. for your additional input on the handles! I have heard them called pressed horn and pressed stag. Are you saying that the process starts with horn and when press molded the end result is the stag horn gnarly look? Because it looks like stag people just assume the original material to begin with was stag? I read somewhere (can’t remember where) that pressed stag is real, but is a lesser quality stag that when steamed and pressed with some type of mold it results in the appearance of gnarly, barky stag.

Sorry it took so long for me to respond to this. I have always thought these types of handles were pressed horn and sometimes pressed Tortoise like some very old straight razors are. I thought I was told that or read it somewhere but could not remember or find the article. I asked Bernard Levine because I thought it was in one of his books. I sent him a picture of the knife and he came back with the comment below.

"That is a type of European stag. I don't know what species, but it was also used in England."


He also sent along some info on pressed horn, link is below. It's long but very interesting reading. Bottom line is that the handles are a species of Stag, I was wrong in thinking that they were pressed horn. The Torrey English Jack I have has the same type handles and I now know they are stag and not pressed horn.

https://plastiquarian.com/?page_id=14337

Mike, it makes sense, if they were horn I would expect to see bug damage on some of these old ones