All About Pocket Knives

It looks like these took a lot of patience & work. I know the first & third knives are definitely carved, though it looks like the second ones pattern may have somehow been embossed on the handle. Does anyone know if it's possible to emboss a pattern on pearl?

Very nice old knives.

As to your question, I don't think it is possible to emboss pearl. Looks to me like they were carved or engraved with those designs.

It might be possible to etch pearl as vinegar will dissolve it but I don't know if that was a practice or not.

Beautiful knives, dude!

Very nice, Roger. I especially like that little congress.

I agree with Wullie. I don't think they could have applied much pressure to pearl without it breaking, so embossing is out.

I have a Robeson razor with a pearl covered tang that is marked,

"ROBESON / ShurEdge / ROCHESTER, N.Y.".

It looks just like the usual Robeson razor tang stamp. The inside of the letters are guilded with gold or more likely some gold colored material. We know they didn't "stamp" that tang, so was it carved, acid etched or what? Enquiring minds.....

Charlie Noyes

Mighty fine looking pearl trees.

I don't want to highjack the thread, but here is the Robeson razor with the carved or etched pearl tang with guilding and a close-up/blow-up of the tang.

Left click to zoom x2.

Charlie Noyes

Here are 3 American made carved pearl knives made by Utica Cutlery. I have shown them before but thought I would post them again for any that did not see them. The page showing them came from a Voyles Auction that they were sold in. I bought them a year later from the man that bought them in the auction.

wow! nice!

VERY nice & salesman's samples to boot! I had not seen them before, so thanks for reposting. You sure didn't go wrong buying those 3.

Charlie: That sure is a nice razor. I have one old H. Boker razor with a pearl tang but couldn't get a decent picture of it, so I hijacked a picture off ebay for comparison's sake.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the letters are raised, rather than carved into the pearl. When you enlarge the picture of my second knife (the whittler), you'll see the same thing. If you run your fingernail across the floral design of my knife, you can tell it's raised up rather than carved down into the pearl. As fragile as pearl is, I guess they had to carve the design some way or another to give it that embossed look. All three of those knives are old ones (circa. 1860-1880); Who knows, maybe back then they used some long since forgotten trick to mold or form pearl.

I would be willing to bet that they applied the pattern with an acid resistant substance and then dipped the pearl into whatever they were using for acid and it ate the pearl away/down from the letters or pattern.

When the desired pattern/letter height was achieved, clean off the resist, polish, and install.

Similar to acid etching steel.

Wow... there are some fantastic looking knives posted here! In this picture are a couple of old ones that we have.

Interesting that some makers used an etched or carved technique and others used a reverse etch or stock removal method.

The logo on my Robeson razor is definitely recessed into, not proud of the surface of the pearl.
Blow up that close-up of the tang to get a better look.

Nice knives, KnifeGirl.

Charlie Noyes

Here is one I dug up

United Cutlery Co.