All About Pocket Knives

hi every one i have a folding bowie knife made by w.h.wragg from sheffield in the late 1800;s or early 1900;s in imaculate condition but no sheath with it, pick it up in 1984 from my local gun shop [/attachment] + a set of skinning knives malcberry 1897 collection made by trulove from sheffield the steel for the blades was forged on 1897 they are imaculate condition

Sweet!

Is that a legitimate term, "folding Bowie knife"?

OLDE CUTLER wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:56 pm Is that a legitimate term, "folding Bowie knife"?

No, or I would prefer to never hear that description again. In France in 1972 I bought a couple similar German made knives. The owner of the sporting goods store that I bought them in made it clear that he was selling camping/hunting/sporting knives, not weapons. That's how I've used mine. Anyway, I doubt Jim Bowie ever saw one.

Odd group you have there, the big group of knives do not look like any pre-1900 knives. The big folder is a D'Etaign knife, not a folding bowie, would like to see the maker's marks. True "folding bowie" knives do not have a blade that extends beyond the handle when closed.

I agree the proper name for the design is d’Estaign knife, after the inventor. (Gene I think your post left out the “s” in his name - my spell checker doesn’t like the name either). Supposedly the inventor was an Admiral in the French navy and invented a knife that was convenient to use for everyday tasks but could be extended in length if/when needed as a weapon. Unfortunately many references to the design nowadays seem to call it a “folding Bowie” knife, so that horse is out of the barn. I even saw one reference recently where someone asked “what is a d’Estaign knife”, and was told it was a folding Bowie.

Ken

Great looking stag on those knives.

Thanks for the spelling correction Ken!! Old fingers sometimes miss a key and old eyes sometimes miss the spelling error and for sure auto correct doesn't like that word/name! Glad you caught it, bad enough about the bowie misnomer without messing up the proper name. Some guys who collect them also call them "expandable blade" knives as a correct moniker which is preferred to folding bowie. I guess the folding bowie business is like half congress or half whittler. But back in the day when the D'Estaign knives were popular and true folding bowies were in style the names were never interchanged.

I think the originals were popular well before the 1850s, I think they were most popular from the 1810s to the 1850s.

I once owned a folding bayonet whose folded blade extended beyond the handle.

Charlie

Pobber wrote: ↑Fri Feb 19, 2021 6:15 pm hi every one i have a folding bowie knife made by w.h.wragg from sheffield in the late 1800;s or early 1900;s in imaculate condition but no sheath with it, pick it up in 1984 from my local gun shop [/attachment]1490604087616.jpg1490604087964.jpg + a set of skinning knives malcberry 1897 collection made by trulove from sheffield the steel for the blades was forged on 1897 they are imaculate condition 1565837095008.jpg1565837095151.jpg1565837095747.jpg

to AAPK Pobber! I have a question. I see a catch-hole on the blade and what appears to be a button on the handle, is this an automatic knife, or is the button and catch-hole simply for locking the blade when it's closed? Thanks, Mark!

hi mark no it is not automatic the hole in the blade is there to lock the blade when closed the button on the side is to release the blade open out into lock position. there is a lever on the back of the knife to release the blade into folding position

Pobber wrote: ↑Fri Feb 26, 2021 4:44 pm hi mark no it is not automatic the hole in the blade is there to lock the blade when closed the button on the side is to release the blade open out into lock position. there is a lever on the back of the knife to release the blade into folding position

Thank you sir, I've always wondered if they were autos, and now I know!

Hi, would you consider selling the malcberry collection? The blacksmith who forged them was my great uncle and I'm trying to get my hads on a set. 1897 is the name of this series of knives. They were forged in sheffield, England in the 1970s. They are a really tidy set.
Thanks
Rob

Pobber,who started this thread and owned the knives your great uncle forged has not logged in here since 3/1/21 so it is unlikely that he will see your reply or a private message. It is possible that he might still use the same e-mail so you might have better succes sending an e-mail. Good luck.

d'Estaign knives were imported from Pakistan early in the 21st century. I bought one at a gun show for $4 for the heck of it. For its quality it was over priced but it does cut. I'll take it out in the yard with me this afternoon. Maybe it'll get a little use, probably closed.

Robh, the thread is over four years old. You might want to send doglegg a PM.