All About Pocket Knives

This is a recent acquisition; Pretty sure it's late 1800's. Maker is 'J BEAL & SONS SHEFFIELD' Blade is 8 3/4" with a 4 1/2" grip.

Very nice Bob. Thanks for sharing with us...

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Mike

Bob, how familiar are you with vintage Sheffield Bowie knives ? All i know is that there are at least 10 fakes for every true vintage one and that i do not know enough to know the difference.
One trick i do know of is to chemically treat the blade to make it look old. This yields a fairly uniform 'stippling' of the blade whereas true aging is never uniform for the entire blade.
Your knife could well be the real deal but only a Bowie expert can say for sure. Maybe one of our members is familiar with these knives and will comment on yours, unless perhaps you are a knowledgeable 'Bowie Man'.
kj

I would certainly not profess to be an expert on Bowie Knives, but, I'm very fortunate to have a good friend who is indeed, such a person and it was from him, that I purchased this knife. They are fairly common over here in the UK, Sheffield made ones, that is!
He had a choice of about a dozen Bowies for me to pick from, so it was 'kid in a sweetshop' time!
I always try to do plenty of research, before making a purchase of anything I don't have a lot of experience of. Mind you, I've still had my fingers burnt a few times over the years!

kootenay joe wrote:Bob, how familiar are you with vintage Sheffield Bowie knives ? All i know is that there are at least 10 fakes for every true vintage one and that i do not know enough to know the difference.
One trick i do know of is to chemically treat the blade to make it look old. This yields a fairly uniform 'stippling' of the blade whereas true aging is never uniform for the entire blade.
Your knife could well be the real deal but only a Bowie expert can say for sure. Maybe one of our members is familiar with these knives and will comment on yours, unless perhaps you are a knowledgeable 'Bowie Man'.
kj

Definitely a real one and Unclebob is correct in the age of it. More of what is usually referred to as a "bowie hunter" since it was made after the age of true "bowie" knives was over than a true "Bowie" knife.

Congratulations unclebob. I did not know you are in U.K. (knife heaven) or of course that you have a Bowie Mentor. I was speaking of the USA antique knife 'market' which has a great many "Bowie" knives to choose from, but relative few worth buying.
kj

kootenay joe wrote:Congratulations unclebob. I did not know you are in U.K. (knife heaven) or of course that you have a Bowie Mentor. I was speaking of the USA antique knife 'market' which has a great many "Bowie" knives to choose from, but relative few worth buying.
kj

You'll have to come over here on a 'knife' holiday!
I have found that if I want an honest opinion on anything I collect, I'm better off posting on U.S forums; there is no doubt that a wealth of useful information is to be had 'over the pond', even on British made items. Many thanks everyone.