All About Pocket Knives

Just picked up this four-blade C.Y. & Co. to add to my collection of knives with bulbous bolsters. Gotta give a shout-out to Lee (LongBlade) for pointing me in its direction. Thanks so much, my friend!

The blade is stamped "Sheffield" but I suspect it is likely German-made based on the style and construction. I'm always looking to acquire knives with bolsters like these, especially when the backspring follows the shape of the bolster.

Dave that is most unusual.

Wow, that's a cool knife no matter where it was made. Goins lists it but has no information. ___Dave

Awesome knife Dave Unique, unusual bolsters and cool design.. an old beauty.. and my pleasure buddy on the heads up It had your name on it

Thanks, guys. To me, odd ones like this are what make knife collecting so interesting.

Very cool knife. I like it.

That's a great looking and unusual knife, Dave. Good catch.

Very interesting old knife.

Have to wonder why the design. Secure grip, no sliding in hand or just wanting to be different?

Either way, it's to your and our benefit.

So, do you call these "dog bones" or is that another critter altogether?

Charlie

Thanks a lot, guys.

Charlie, I don't know for certain but I think the design was mainly for aesthetic value (wanting to appear high-end) even though it does prevent one's hand from sliding. Anyone familiar with old English knives knows some gorgeous ornate knives came out of Sheffield. Some German companies tried to compete by either copying English designs or making their own ornate knives. This German F.A. Koch jack is a good example of the latter.
I haven't a clue what the real name of the pattern is, but "dog bone" has a nice ring to it. I've actually been researching knives with these types of bolsters and backsprings. Based on my study of these, I think they probably originated in Germany. The design was likely borrowed from a traditional Hungarian clasp which has a similar backspring and bolsters (top knife). You can see the similarities between the clasp and the jack. Since I don't know the real name of the jack I've tentatively considered calling it the "Hungarian jack" until I can find out what it was originally called. It's tough to discuss a knife when the pattern has no name. Maybe the C.Y. & Co. can be a "Hungarian pen." Whatever they're called, I'd really love to get more examples to study.

What a neat bunch of old and unusual knives! Just what I needed;something else to collect! Great post to all who posted.

Very interesting and neat looking knife, as well as your others. I agree that this style was most commonly made in Germany and around the turn of the twentieth century. Enclosed is a catalog cut of a similar model from the German company, G. Hammesfahr c. 1908. More work was certainly involved in these unique knives.

Mason wrote:Very interesting and neat looking knife, as well as your others. I agree that this style was most commonly made in Germany and around the turn of the twentieth century. Enclosed is a catalog cut of a similar model from the German company, G. Hammesfahr c. 1908. More work was certainly involved in these unique knives.

Even though it's not a folder like the OP,I thought I'd post this one up;made by Gottleib Hammesfarr bayonet with the stamp of Schubert & Salzer Maschinenfabrik Chemnitz on the other side.My brother found it at an antique shop somewhere in Florida.Never did any research on it as I don't really collect military stuff. Looks to be WWI vintage.

Cool bayonet, k7k!

Mason wrote:Very interesting and neat looking knife, as well as your others. I agree that this style was most commonly made in Germany and around the turn of the twentieth century. Enclosed is a catalog cut of a similar model from the German company, G. Hammesfahr c. 1908. More work was certainly involved in these unique knives.

Thanks for posting that picture, Mason! Really helps support the Germany-origin hypothesis. I have a similar pen knife marked Wm. Elliot & Co. It's stamped "Sheffield" but it's another one I think is actually German-made. Does the catalog say anything in regards to what the name of the pattern or name of the bolster style might be? Even if the text is in German I can probably translate it.

knife7knut wrote:

Mason wrote:Very interesting and neat looking knife, as well as your others. I agree that this style was most commonly made in Germany and around the turn of the twentieth century. Enclosed is a catalog cut of a similar model from the German company, G. Hammesfahr c. 1908. More work was certainly involved in these unique knives.

Even though it's not a folder like the OP,I thought I'd post this one up;made by Gottleib Hammesfarr bayonet with the stamp of Schubert & Salzer Maschinenfabrik Chemnitz on the other side.My brother found it at an antique shop somewhere in Florida.Never did any research on it as I don't really collect military stuff. Looks to be WWI vintage.

That's a nice German bayonet example, I wonder how many thousands were sold following various wars through places like Bannerman's? You could buy them individually, or in these "Trophy" displays like we often see in old movie mansions.

dcgm4 wrote:Cool bayonet, k7k!

Mason wrote:Very interesting and neat looking knife, as well as your others. I agree that this style was most commonly made in Germany and around the turn of the twentieth century. Enclosed is a catalog cut of a similar model from the German company, G. Hammesfahr c. 1908. More work was certainly involved in these unique knives.

Thanks for posting that picture, Mason! Really helps support the Germany-origin hypothesis. I have a similar pen knife marked Wm. Elliot & Co. It's stamped "Sheffield" but it's another one I think is actually German-made. Does the catalog say anything in regards to what the name of the pattern or name of the bolster style might be? Even if the text is in German I can probably translate it.

That's another beauty!!!
Unfortunately, most old European catalogs only have general knife descriptions for many pages of knives even though patterns may vary wildly. The catalog picture from the Hammesfahr catalog had that knife listed under "Taschenmesser mit 2 Klingen" (Pocket knife with 2 Blades)

Enclosed is another unusual round bolster example from a German "Christians" catalog c. 1905 and is simply under the heading of "Taschenmesser".

Mason wrote:That's another beauty!!!
Unfortunately, most old European catalogs only have general knife descriptions for many pages of knives even though patterns may vary wildly. The catalog picture from the Hammesfahr catalog had that knife listed under "Taschenmesser mit 2 Klingen" (Pocket knife with 2 Blades)

Enclosed is another unusual round bolster example from a German "Christians" catalog c. 1905 and is simply under the heading of "Taschenmesser".

That's a shame European catalogs aren't more specific. Oh well. The search for the knife's original name (if it even had one) will just have to go on.

I've seen other European champagne knives with bolsters like those. I recall seeing ones with tang stamps from Germany, England, France, and Sweden. Most have straight backsprings, but a few have backsprings which follow the bolster's shape. I have one marked Hallstrom, which I think later became E.K.A. On champagne knives the rounded bolsters are to protect you from getting pricked by the corkscrew point. I'm unsure if the bolster's shape is related to the Hungarian clasp knife or if the similarity is just a coincidence.

Your knife has prompted a good discussion.

I had photos at one time of a toothpick with a "dog bone" bolster. Don't think I still have it in my PC, but I know it's in my PhotoBucket account.

I recall seeing a lot of all metal Swiss made or Sweden made knives with similar bolsters. A good many had four blades and others less, so I'm not sure the bolsters were the same shape as the frame ends or not.

I'm wondering if this pattern is present, in any configuration, in Levine's Guide.

Charlie

Charlie, I've seen a few of the dog bone toothpicks by Cattaraugus. Don't know if other companies made the pattern, but I remember those I have seen had straight backsprings.

I believe the champagne knife and Hungarian clasp (a modern one) show up in Levine's Guide, but not the other versions. One AAPK member told me years ago someone posted a knife similar to my jack version on BladeForums. Apparently Levine said it was a fantasy knife which no old company made. Obviously the knives in this thread are real vintage patterns. The catalog picture Mason posted proves this without a shadow of a doubt.

dcgm4 wrote:

Mason wrote:That's another beauty!!!
Unfortunately, most old European catalogs only have general knife descriptions for many pages of knives even though patterns may vary wildly. The catalog picture from the Hammesfahr catalog had that knife listed under "Taschenmesser mit 2 Klingen" (Pocket knife with 2 Blades)

Enclosed is another unusual round bolster example from a German "Christians" catalog c. 1905 and is simply under the heading of "Taschenmesser".

That's a shame European catalogs aren't more specific. Oh well. The search for the knife's original name (if it even had one) will just have to go on.

I've seen other European champagne knives with bolsters like those. I recall seeing ones with tang stamps from Germany, England, France, and Sweden. Most have straight backsprings, but a few have backsprings which follow the bolster's shape. I have one marked Hallstrom, which I think later became E.K.A. On champagne knives the rounded bolsters are to protect you from getting pricked by the corkscrew point. I'm unsure if the bolster's shape is related to the Hungarian clasp knife or if the similarity is just a coincidence.

Nice knife with a neat corkscrew which pivots outward. Enclosed is a 1949 EKA catalog cut of your model with one slight blade difference. The Swedish models didn't have quite the same full round bolster profile as the German variations.

Now here is a German model with a ROUND bolster (fish knocker model )

Mason wrote:Now here is a German model with a ROUND bolster (fish knocker model )

Love them fish knockers! I have a couple of Pumas and another by Lunawerk that has a tape measure inside the ball!

Nice ones, guys! Fish knockers are such a cool specialty knife. But to be honest, if I'm going to KO a fish I'm using a bat. Even if it does lack a fish knocker's impressive bolster.

I guess we have veered a little off track, but those fish knockers are neat guys.

Add another one to list of knives with round bolsters. This one was made in Czechoslovakia. I've seen similar knives but those were made in Austria. Not sure if it's related to the Hungarian clasp. Speaking of, I found out that knife is called a "fejes görbe," which roughly means "curved head."