All About Pocket Knives

One of the items I started collecting many years ago were ink erasers.I don't have a whole lot of them(maybe twenty),but have a couple of interesting ones.
This little jewel came in the mail today along with a pen and pencil set.It wasn't originally part of the set and I purchased them((under $6 incluuding shipping)just to get this.

The handle is sterling silver and the blade is like new.It had one spider of rust which I took care of in short order.What is amazing is it's size:about 2 3/4" overall.Never seen one so tiny.Anyway here it is for your viewing pleasure.

That's cool K7K ! Maybe worth more in scrap value than you paid.

Many people don't know what erasers are. I have just one, a pen/eraser combination blade rehandled long ago from a folder to a fixed.

I have hopes to use them for demonstrations someday at the old schoolhouse. I just need to find a goose hunter for a supply of quills.

I can't wait to see where El Lobo or Ken take this post !

Fran

That is an interesting piece of cutlery K7K. s-k

Nice find whats it used for ?

Ok now your going to have to divulge how that beauty is used...

Sunburst

That's a very cool looking one, knife7knut...

The Office Knife pattern often used the small spey shaped blade as an ink eraser, by lightly scraping the ink off the surface...although some speying does occur in many office settings.

See Fran, straight arrow, that's me.

Bill

See Fran, almost straight arrow, that's me.

Sunburst,

Think of ' erasers ' as white off, instead of White Out, when writing with a quill pen. Knives for shaping the pens was where the term pen knife originates. Fran

OK my turn...

I like an ink eraser thats faster and I know how to use it...

lenny357 wrote:Nice find whats it used for ?

Before the advent of ball point and felt tip pens,people used quill pens(and later on fountain pens)to write permanent records with.A quill pen was made by taking a feather and very carefully shaping the point with a(what else?)quill knife and splitting it in two about an inch up. These were "dipped" in India ink or other form of permanent ink and used to write.That is why the English refer to them as dip pens.

Anyway if a mistake was made it was very difficult to remove once it had dried.The ink eraser was a double edged(usually)short leaf-shaped blade used to scrape the ink(very carefully)from the paper or parchment.It was usually followed by rubbing gently with a very hard rubber eraser.

The handles of these ink erasers were usually about 4-5 inches long and ranged from plain wood and bone to ornately carved ivory and sterling silver.Some were also used as a,"folding bone";that is a device for folding hand made envelopes to send letters.

Very often these would be sold in sets consisting of a dip pen,ink eraser,and wax sealing device.This consisted of a handle with a flat end sometimes with an initial or monogram cut into the flat.Early envelopes would be sealed with a spot of sealing wax and then imprinted with the seal.It would indicate that no one had opened the letter if the seal remained intact.

I'll dig up some pictures of a set plus some other ink erasers later today.

C'mon justoldKEN,

You're just "Monkeying" around with this.....

Bad Billy







P. S.
OK, OK.....Michael Nesmith"s (The Monkees) mother invented what was originally called "Mistake Out."
Sorry for thread drift... ...just funnin'.

Next you will say she came out with the song WIPE OUT ...

Here is my contribution to the eraser thread. It is an IXL Celebrated stamping and dates from 1850 to 1890. The handle is bone and for some reason, it came in a Rodgers hard case.

While we wait for more eraser knives from K7K. Here is an old pen knife. The point at the end of the handle was used to split the quill. This one was from Her Majesty Victoria's Stationary Office which penned parlimentary and royal documents. s-k

Here is my one and only. A pen & eraser blade.

I think it was rehafted from a folder because I don't think any Sheffield cutler would use a tang stamp like this. All I can read is " BEST ", Sheffield & England are both cut off.

It looks to me as if the kick was ground off, and the blade mounted in a home made handle.

Fran

smiling-knife wrote:While we wait for more eraser knives from K7K. Here is an old pen knife. The point at the end of the handle was used to split the quill. This one was from Her Majesty Victoria's Stationary Office which penned parlimentary and royal documents. s-k

Great little knife s-k! Bet that one could tell some stories(as long as it didn't violate the "Official Secrets Act" ).
Paladin:I have several erasers with cases and none of them matched.May have been mixed up before I got them.

Here are several examples:Handles range from bone to ebony to hardwood to sterling silver to celluloid.A couple of ivory letter opener/quill knives;one in all pearl and the other in ivory/tortoise.Blade marks haven't yet been decoded but appear to be really old English.The pearl is marked,"YOULE" or,"VOULE";it's hard to tell as the lettering is on an angle and runs off the tang.The other one has a match striker nail mark and is stamped," V crown R TOOTHILL".

As an aside:all the "folding bone" style erasers seem to be a consistent length(except one)in the handle.I'm wondering if this also acted as a measure of the proper length of the envelope;showing where it was to be folded.

The most interesting piece(to me anyway)is the little ivory handled piece.There is an 1869 patent date engraved into the handle.The blade is quadruple edged;that is it is sharp on both the outside and inside.It is hard to see but as the blade fades into the handle it comes to a very sharp point(one side the tip is broken off slightly).It sits in a thin groove that runs the length of the handle.My theory is this was used not only as an eraser but as a quill maker.The quill was pushed along the groove until it contacted the point and split the quill in two.The outside blade was then used to shape it.

On the other end is a hard(fossilized almost)rubber eraser.

The picture showing the celluloid handled matching eraser,letter opener,and wax seal.It came in a leather kit.There are no initials or other mark on the seal;it is a generic one.

That's a wonderful collection K7K . I think the very last penknife in your last pic has a page turner for a handle. Perhaps the 2nd last aswell although it may be a little shortened. s-k

smiling-knife wrote:That's a wonderful collection K7K . I think the very last penknife in your last pic has a page turner for a handle. Perhaps the 2nd last aswell although it may be a little shortened. s-k

Thank you.The pearl one doesn't appear to be shortened but I could be wrong.When I received it,there was a small piece of the clamshell pearl broken off at the rivet.Having a large(at the time)supply of pearl pieces garnered from various sources,I made a small replacement piece.Definitely the last time I will grind and file pearl without a dust mask.Got sicker than a dog from it.

I really enjoy collecting all manner of edged tools and I guess why my collection(accumulation?)is so large.It is DEFINITELY an addiction!