All About Pocket Knives

Hello. Name is Cheyenne. I came across a utility or sailors knife that has a fork on the tang stamp and no name. It's 4 1/2" long. It has a saw blade, standard blade, small hawk bill, leather punch and cork screw. The scales appear to be horn but have been chewed on by silverfish. I don't have pictures yet, but will try to post some tonight. If anyone might know a name to go with the tang stamp, it would be greatly appreciated. If this is the wrong section to post this, I apologize. Feel free to redirect me.

Welcome to AAPK. Right now, it kinda sounds like it could be Wüsthof. They use the trident mark. Could be some other maker but most likely German at the very least. Your pictures will help tremendously.

Here are some pictures. The tang stamp is a fork as in silverware. Never seen one like it. I have not done any cleaning on it.

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It sure is an old one. Looks like the critters been munchin' on the handles. Horn? I'm way out of my depth here. Hopeful one of the old knife mavens will be along to at least tell us if it's German or English.

Christians Solingen , Christianswerk , and Christians Bros used several different fork trademarks.

It may be a starting place...?



Tim

I believe the handles are horn. The side that isn't as ate up still looks pretty good for the age. Whom ever made the knife, did a great job. All the blades are still solid with no play. I just spent some time with Google, but can't find a Christianwerks stamp that looks like the one on the blade.

Interesting old knife! Are the bolsters and liners made as one piece or are the bolsters attached to the liners as a separate piece? One piece liner/bolster combinations on a knife such as this could indicate that it was made around the mid-1800's.Pruning knives were constructed like that for a longer period.
Definitely Horn scales with dermasyd beetle damage(I have a few like that myself).The saw blade is what puzzles me;it looks like the ones on inexpensive Japanese multiblades made after WWII in that it will cut in either direction.I seriously doubt it is of Japanese manufacture though.The square kicks are also usually an indicator of early manufacture.Whatever the case it is a great specimen.

The bolsters have a pin in them. I am still at a loss. Still can't find out who might have made it.

I am not familiar with that trademark, but I am certain the knife is from France.

See here: http://www.couteaux-jfl.com/marques.htm scroll down about half-way and there is a "fork" mark. Don't know if it is the correct mark or not. You can copy and paste to Google translator for translation.

Believe you're right Dimitri, French

Wow, looks like that knife did a "bungle" in the "jungle". What you have there is a knife by Herder. Jurgen Herder began making swords in 1623 and registered one of Solingen, Germany's first trademarks "Pic-As" in 1727. These knives were mainly for the Dutch market. Introduced their knives in 1800 to the Malay Archipelago by the Dutch East India Company with the trademark stamping "Tjap Garpu" or (translated) "Fork Brand". This still currently remains a famous brand in the Near and Far East. Careful... don't get "pink-eye" from it!

Hey Colonel,

Would you happen to have a picture of the stamp your referring to.
The early Herder Fork stamps that i have reference to are much different.

Thanks

Tim

Think Dimitri is right,not the same brand but surely the same type of knife.http://www.ebay.fr/itm/Couteau-4-pieces ... 485358b666.

You can go to www.herder-solingen.de/ if you need to see the 4-prong fork logo. Take into consideration that this pocketknife may be over 150 years old. Look again, Tim, see how the Wusthof logo has only 3-prongs (Trident). Herder made many "carving-sets" consisting of "knife and fork" for serving holiday meals. This is why they became known by "rep" as "Fork" brand.

Colonel666 wrote:You can go to http://www.herder-solingen.de/ if you need to see the 4-prong fork logo. Take into consideration that this pocketknife may be over 150 years old. Look again, Tim, see how the Wusthof logo has only 3-prongs (Trident). Herder made many "carving-sets" consisting of "knife and fork" for serving holiday meals. This is why they became known by "rep" as "Fork" brand.

Again, you have an over active imagination and not enough experience or factual information.

The knife is clearly of French origin, I knew that the minute I seen it. The fork logo from Herder does not even come close to the mark on the OP knife.

Read the entire knife, not just the mark, it was manufactured in France not Germany.

Miller Bro`s wrote:

Colonel666 wrote:You can go to http://www.herder-solingen.de/ if you need to see the 4-prong fork logo. Take into consideration that this pocketknife may be over 150 years old. Look again, Tim, see how the Wusthof logo has only 3-prongs (Trident). Herder made many "carving-sets" consisting of "knife and fork" for serving holiday meals. This is why they became known by "rep" as "Fork" brand.

Again, you have an over active imagination and not enough experience or factual information.

The knife is clearly of French origin, I knew that the minute I seen it. The fork logo from Herder does not even come close to the mark on the OP knife.

Read the entire knife, not just the mark, it was manufactured in France not Germany.

And dats da name o' dat tune!! Dimitri, if you'd write a book, i'd sure as heck buy it!!

WB

tjmurphy and the rest.
I spent the time and looked up the touchmark and it sure looks like the one on subject knife. I can't remember who but some one mentioned the pruner blade and did not know what the saw would be used for. I see uses for four of the blades in a private grape vineyard. The pruner for the obvious, the saw for the stock that was to large for the pruner, The spear for trimming tendrils too the proper length for tieing them on the new growth wire. The long punch may look like but not be a punch as it could be used for an assist in winding the tendrils around the wire. Who knows maybe the fifth for trying out the results after a hot day at work. Then in retrospect I may have imbibed to much today.
moss

When you compare the Herder picture beside the French fork and the actual tang stamp on the knife (blown up in photo shop) you can see the Herder's fork is MUCH different.
The French Fourchette is almost identical to the tang stamp. The pic from the French site appears to be a photo of a very old tang stamp. Allowing for aging of the stamps I would say they are the same stamp.

The Herder fork is not the same fork and doesn't even point in the same direction.