Hal brought in another...

[trail]

My friend Hal brings a knife find in to work now and then. A couple of years ago he brought a knife that has a tradition in his family of being found on the field of Gettysburg shortly after the war. The best and brightest here at AAPK agreed that the knife certainly was old enough for the story to be true, and maybe a good deal older. Later Hal came in with a shoebox of old knives most notable for containing a nice old Robeson model 626056. Today Hal showed up with a knife that he found in an old tool box on the side of the road. He was kind enough to allow me to take it home to examine and photograph. The more I looked, the more interesting the old knife became. The blades are heavily corroded, yet the handle is pristine and untarnished - gold plate, or possibly solid gold? I can't find even a trace of a stamp on the tang, but the knife is obviously well made. It snaps better than most new knives, and what is that - swedges on the blades? Yes, this little knife has swedged blades. All in all, a very nice addition to Hal's small collection.

[knife7knut]

Nice little watch fob knife.Is there any marking on the bail?If it is gold it will be marked.I have quite a few fob knives from various makers and that one looks to be either a Miller Brothers or an I*XL.Usually they have tang stamps but I have seen them without.Nice little knife.

[trail]

Thanks, Knife7knut. Yes, there is a stamp on the bail. I can't really make it out even with a loupe, but I did take a picture of it. Maybe tomorrow when I have natural light I can get something better, but here it is, in case it looks familiar to anyone.

[knife7knut]

Just went through my fob knives(25 of them anyway)and the stamping on the bail is "A&Z" The one I have marked with that is made by Voos Cutlery but is not the same style as yours.I have a feeling that the bail stamping was the initials of the company that made the scales.Several others I checked had different letters on them.Another Voos knife has "J&CN Co." which stands for the Jewelry & Cutlery Novelty Co." I have a Remington pull ball switchblade with the same marking that seems to validate the theory.

[trail]

A&Z it is! I got a photo in good light and blew it up, and it is clear. So, which A&Z is it? I find A&Z Hayward, "Manufacturers of fine jewelry since 1851", who appear to be in Rhode Island, and I find A&Z Jewelry Electronics in the Bronx, but their business is electronic components. Could well be that they were once jewelers, though. For that matter, the two companies might even have a common heritage. Anyway, Knife7knut has hit the nail on the head with an identification of the hallmark and the suggestion that the mark was of the company that made the scales. Many thanks, Knife7knut!

EDITED to correct date for A&Z Hayward.

[knife7knut]

I would say it is likely Hayward.Most of the so-called,"skeleton knives" were made sans handles and sold to jewelers who then added their handles.I have some really interesting examples in which the handles are made of two different materials laid out in a stripe pattern;usually copper/brass and a silver material.A lot of them have emblems affixed(Masonic,colleges,etc.)that are sometimes made of gold and enameled.There is usually a blank area where initials may be engraved.One has a slotted area where stamped initials can be slid on.
There were many manufacturers of these knives mostly in the USA but some from England and later on(in the 1950's)Japan.Miller Brothers made a lot of them as did Colonial. Don't recall ever seeing one from Germany but they are probably out there.
I'll have to get some pictures posted of my collection and put them in another post.