Ettrick Knife

[kootenay joe]

There is no thread as yet dedicated to examples of the relatively rare Ettrick knife so let this be it. Please post your Ettrick knives here !
Here is a neat old advertising Ettrick knife that although very tarnished still has a near full blade (very tip is gone) with original profile, half stop, crisp & loud walk & talk and zero blade play.
The blade flat is deeply stamped "Ettrick", then a logo i cannot make out, followed by "Knife", i think it is.
Blade tang has "Johnson/Western/Works/Sheffield"
The handles are steel and scarred up enough to make reading what is on the handles difficult but i think:
front side "F.H. McLeod & Sons/Glasgow"
back side: "McLeod's Sheep Dip".
Couple of questions: how were the handle markings made ? stamped ? engraved ? or ?? (note this is likely older than 1890)
And, do you think it might be improved by a gentle simichrome cleaning ?
kj

[LongBlade]

Nice knife KJ and great idea for a thread ... Those etched Ettrick on the blade are not such an easy find... I'll have to dig out my Ettrick that is a Boys Knife and post a photo (however no Ettrick etched on blade)... interesting that the blade design had so many functions/uses from pruning to whittling to just about anything and was considered under alot of knife categories... the question is would my peach pruners be considered Ettrick knives as well?? - which I do believe is the case from some background reading... Got to get some fresh photos to make the blades pop better ...

Old Camillus (early 1900s stamp) -

George Butler & Co / Sheffield (mid 1800s with integrated liner and bolster so probably pre-1860 with nice stovepipe kick) -

[RobesonsRme.com]

Don't have one. Never had one. But, I appreciate the attractiveness of the pattern.

There was a protracted discussion on BF re' these knives, initiated by a woman that found a box of unused Ettricks in her garage, left there by a previous owner.

I think she lived in Australia.

She eventually listed them on Ebay.

Don't know if she's still a member, she kept asking for the dreaded "value" of her knives, despite repeated warnings not to do so.

Cannot interfere with BRL's source of income over there, you know.

Charlie

[upnorth]

That old box of Ettricks came into my possession a little while ago.
Actually I have been collection them for a while. There is some controversy about their intended use, and whether they should have a straight edge to be considered an Ettrick. There are many knives of this type that have a slight curve to the blade.
They got their name from the Ettrick River Valley in Scotland.

[kootenay joe]

So there are 2 different blade profiles both of which are called Ettrick. One is curved and more slender, The other is deeper spine-edge and has a straight edge, not curved. All have a swayback handle.
This is what i get from the pictures posted above. If not correct please post corrections
The stag Ettrick looks like a T.B. ?
And, who is "NR" ?
Thanks for showing us such a fine array of this rather rare knife.
kj

[upnorth]

Evan Nicolaides would be pleased by your compliment, Roland!! He made that one and three others for me!

Naming patterns is almost never cut and dried. Some insist an Ettrick has a straight edge. Others say it's OK to use the term "curved ettrick".
The few older catalogs I have perused, if they use the term "Ettrick", it has a straight edge. But as your knife attests, other opinions do apply. Nice knife, BTW!!
Who to believe?? Sometimes, it's like discussing religion!!
I used to adhere to the straight edge theory, but I am no longer so dogmatic about the subject!!

[upnorth]

P.S. NR stands for Nathan Raptis, a budding cutler who made that knife for me!
Thanks again, NR!!

[kootenay joe]

Thanks your these details Upnorth. Your array of mint vintage Ettricks along with a number of fine custom Ettricks shows a strong interest in this somewhat obscure pattern.
If GEC makes an Ettrick i hope it has the curved blade and old fashioned thin Stag handles, lanyard hole and 'fancy' bolsters.
kj

[kootenay joe]

Here is a 3 1/4" swayback knife that i think is an Ettrick pattern. It is a small flat knife with horn handles, steel liners and pins. Not sure if the bolsters are also steel ? A magnet does stick to the bolsters but there is the steel liner under the bolster. The shallow curved blade is deeply stamped "WAGNER" on blade flat.
I think this is an Ettrick pattern knife as the overall profile is similar to my Johnson Western Works knife that has "Ettrick" stamped into the blade.
This knife could have been made in Germany, Britain or USA. The was a Wilhelm Wagner in Solingen and the pivot pin metal is different from the bolster metal which often indicates German origin. Goins lists a "Geo. L. Wagner" in Sioux City Iowa 1920-40.
The Ettrick is a somewhat rare British pattern so would a knife manufacturer outside of Britain make this pattern to export to Britain ? Seems unlikely to me.
If you can ID this knife as to maker, country and age range, please post.
kj

[btrwtr]

Very informational post and awesome knives shown. I've never owned one of these either but there's still time. kj the logo on the OP knife blade is the Christopher Johnson's Western Works logo, a flag with the letters CJ on it.

[kootenay joe]

Thanks Wayne. Yes i do note in my O.P. "Blade tang has "Johnson/Western/Works/Sheffield" ".Then on the blade it has "F.H. McLeod & Sons/Glasgow", a merchant marking. Neat to have 2 cities marked on same knife.
It is this Wagner marked knife that i am hoping to learn more about:age & origin.
kj

[RobesonsRme.com]

Might we suspect that "Wagner" suggests a possibility of Germanic origin?

Charlie Noyes

[kootenay joe]

Yes, the origin of "Wagner" is German, but Mr Wagner could have moved to Britain or USA. The Wilhelm Wagner markings i have seen all include the "W" for Wilhelm, never just "Wagner".
kj

[btrwtr]

Thanks Wayne. Yes i do note in my O.P. "Blade tang has "Johnson/Western/Works/Sheffield" ".Then on the blade it has "F.H. McLeod & Sons/Glasgow", a merchant marking. Neat to have 2 cities marked on same knife.
It is this Wagner marked knife that i am hoping to learn more about:age & origin.
kj

KJ I was talking specifically about the logo you could not make out that is out on the blade. It is the pictograph of the CJ Flag.

[kootenay joe]

Oops, Sorry about that. I had forgotten about the difficult to read logo on the Johnson Western Works blade.
kj

[BWT]

Thanks to AAPK now I know what this knife is called. Johnson Western Works Sheffield, picked up a month or so ago.

[FRJ]

Nice knife, Bill. Love the return on that spring.

I have a Johnson Western Works too.

[BWT]

That's very nice Joe. Love that old stag and a lambsfoot to boot Mine has England on the blade so I guess it's after 1890. Thanks for sharing that one. I found a lambsfoot Wade Wingfield Rowbothan the other day with the stag but couldn't get it that day but he is going to hold it for me!!!

[FRJ]

I would love to see pictures of that knife, Bill. And of course the stamp.

[kootenay joe]

BWT, the hafting on your Ettrick looks like how the German cutlers haft with the bone ends being higher than the bolster. I don't think i have seen a British made knife with proud handle slabs.
There was a time period in early 1900's when some Sheffield cutlery manufacturers contracted out to Solingen manufacturers. These knives are never marked with anything other than the Sheffield company's name.
I wonder if this Ettrick is one of the German made Sheffield knives ?
kj

[BWT]

I have no idea Roland, it's as I found it except a drop of oil on the tang and spring. Tang stamp reads Sheffield, England. Thanks for the info.

[BWT]

I would love to see pictures of that knife, Bill. And of course the stamp.

I will get it eventually Joe and post, probably will be next month due to budgetary concerns.

[FRJ]

[kootenay joe]

"I have no idea Roland"
Really i don't either. It would be helpful if an experienced Sheffield collector would comment on the knife:
- is the step-up from bolster surface to top of bone actually rare on British knives as i suggest ?
- what is the likely age of this knife ?
- what time period did the Sheffield contracting out to Germany happen ?
- is it known if Johnson Western Works was one of the companies that contracted out to German cutlery companies ?

if these could be answered then the exact origin of your knife could likely be figured out.
kj

[QTCut5]

A pattern you don't see too much but is still being made in England, apparently.

A. Wright "Ettrick" made in Sheffield, England, by Ashley Harrison, 2023. Custom rehandle in New Mexico using Texas Honey Mesquite Burl.