All About Pocket Knives

Hi there last week I went to an antique centre looking for a khukri knife.They hadn't got any so I looked around and noticed this little knife.Been trying to find out how old it is and who the cutler might be .It appears to have 925 F S (which I be leave means Fine Silver) and also has T A& C: which I think is probably the maker.Any help would be greatfully received with open arms.It measures 42 mm in length..thanks in advance.

A very unusual shaped handle.I assume the blade and button hook are steel? I have never seen a silver handled knife marked as such.If I had to guess I would say it was made in the USA. If it were English it would be hallmarked with the crown and lion passant and a letter date. The underlining of the O in the abbreviation for company usually indicates a knife of German manufacture but I have yet to see a silver handled German knife. I don't have my Karstens book handy(Silver Fruit Knives)so I can't check the marks. As I recall USA made silver knife markings are scant at best.
EDIT: One other possibility is that the 925 is actually 1925 and it is a date.

It's likely by Thomas Allan & Co. According to the website I found, this company often used a pseudo English marks. This would explain the marks on your knife. It's not much info, but here's a link to the website:

http://www.silvercollection.it/CANADASILVERSMITHSA.html

Thanks for your help.is really appreciate it. Do you think it is 1925 or 925.I for its 1925 then the F S apparently stands for fine silver.the in which case it would make it 9.99 quality silver ?.

Cookyboy1 wrote:Thanks for your help.is really appreciate it. Do you think it is 1925 or 925.I for its 1925 then the F S apparently stands for fine silver.the in which case it would make it 9.99 quality silver ?.

If it does stand for fine silver I think it would be unusual to see that in a knife handle.Pure silver is not really suited for any serious use that a knife would get;even one that(in my humble opinion)is essentially a fob knife for trimming cigars and putting on gloves(ladies')or possibly shoes(gentleman's).The loop on the end would seem to be for a watch chain.If that is the knife's purpose;which I believe it is then it is a bit earlier than 1925;likely around 1900 or a bit before. Whatever the case it is a beautiful and unique little addition to your collection.

Thanks for the info.I've been led to believe that it's called a vanity knife and the hook like instrument has something to do with buttons ?

Cookyboy1 wrote:Thanks for the info.I've been led to believe that it's called a vanity knife and the hook like instrument has something to do with buttons ?

The hook part is to pull buttons on gloves through the buttonholes. Buttons on a glove are small, and it is apparently difficult to button while you're wearing the other glove.

I'm not too familiar with Canadian hallmarks (assuming the knife was made by Thomas Allan & Co.), but the website I looked at said the company used pseudo English hallmarks. Basically, that would mean the company added hallmarks that have no meaning behind them. Pseudo hallmarks were used just to make knives appear more like English silver knives which are associated with high quality. A lot of American companies like Gorham did this as well. The letters may be pseudo hallmarks that don't mean anything. The 1925 or 925 could be more likely to mean something (.925 is sterling silver) since a lot of countries require silversmiths to mark the metal's purity on the item, but it's also possible that number is a pseudo hallmark as well.

Thank you so much. It's good to have people like you on these websites sites. I think I would be lost without them.I am learning more and more each day and maybe at some stage I will beable to help other members with there questions.If by chance you come across any more info it would be greatfullyour received. Thanks again.