Date this tortoise shell knife?

[NicksRelics]

Hey all, first post. I've been metal detecting a ghost town (1881-1912) and have found many period relics, and very little if any relics or glass after that time period. However, I'm told the land was used for highschool ag farm land in the 1960s or at least a part of it. Before and after that, its been forest. Right now its heavily wooded, with trees at least 60 years old. The old mill pond is still there though partially silted up, and some brick and concrete foundations. Pretty easy to tell where the populated areas of the town were, with the metal detector on all metal mode. Lots of 130 year old brick fragments, blacksmith made squarenails, etc

Anyways, This knife came up in a glob of dirt and rust, and I thought it was a large bolt or something but it was reading on the detector as brass or copper, etc. SO I stuck it in my pouch. When I washed it later that night it basically started to fall apart. I super glued it back together. Someone on Treasurenet told me this is tortoise shell, (or synthetic) and I wondered, could this knife be of the towns time period, or is it a later drop? (The town was abandoned when the timber ran out in 1912. Sawmill town).

Thanks for any input!

[kootenay joe]

I agree the handles look like real tortoise shell, not synthetic. There is not enough of the knife left to be able to ID pattern or anything else about it. Yes tortoise shell was used for knife handles from mid to late 1800's up to about 1920's. Very little of it used since then.
Welcome to AAPK. I hope you will post more of your knife finds, maybe ones in better condition so that more can be said about them.
kj

[Ridgegrass]

Welcome. No way to tell its origin unless it could be disassembled to find a mark but that would be a shame and probably wouldn't give any info. Many tortoise shell knives were from England and Germany, especially in that possible period. If you heat a needle red hot and touch the material and get a smell of burnt hair, it's genuine tortoise. If it smells of camphor it's celluloid. Don't think you'll do it any harm! It looks like the real thing.
Good luck, neat find! J.O'.