All About Pocket Knives

I've had this a long time. I keep my "pearlies" in a cloth-lined drawer to avoid damage. Dug this out yesterday. It's Stamped: "EDER" over CECHO over
SLOVAK. Only 2-3/4" long. 10 blades, including: buttonhook, moustache comb, Wharcliffe, 2 copers, hawkbill, corkscrew, pick, nail file, scissors. All 5 liners have filework. Can't find the mark in any references I have. Amazing display of the Cutler's art. J.O'

Nice one and in amazingly good shape!I am always amazed at how complicated these multi-blade knives were to make.I have several of them with varying numbers of blades but sadly most are not in the greatest of shape.

Do you figure its pre-WW2 manufacture? It looks too nice and delicate for a command economy knife.

Well, Czechoslovakia was created in 1918 from part of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. So it has to be after that. It's now,( post 1989, )two different countries. The knife could be from between the wars. A button hook seems a throwback to an earlier day, maybe 1920's. The blades appear plated or really highly polished. The mustache comb is of an almost yellowish alloy, maybe some nickel in it. The stamp leaves out the Z and is CECHO over SLOVAK. ??
Hoped maybe someone knew the EDER mark. I may have another EDER knife somewhere. This multi a well made knife, just one small crack and two tiny chips in the pearl. I have a serious love/hate relationship with MOP. So hard to handle, display, carry, etc., but so beautiful.( Kinda like my wife!) . J.O'.

Might shoot a PM to Eustace, he is pretty up-to-date on things eastern European.

J.O., your knife is very similar to one I have. Mine also has MOP covers and 10 blades, mostly the same as yours, including a mustache comb made of some non-steel material I assumed was maybe aluminum. Mine also has coined liners and the little pellet-like extension on the small blades to facilitate opening. It is stamped Rather & CO on several blades. The differences are that mine has an earwax spoon made from the same material as the comb, and a genuine tortoise shell toothpick. It’s a well made, intricate small knife. Yours appears to be a sleeve board whereas mine is equal end. Largely because of the button hook I’ve assumed the knife was from around 1900 plus/minus a few years.

The other similarity is, I haven’t been able to find much about the maker either. Here for comparison are some pictures. When I found it the pearl on one side was cracked and missing pieces on both ends. The other side was perfect. I sent it off to Bill DeShivs who did a great job matching a new MOP cover to the pearl on the original intact side for me.

Ken

Ken/Peg: I date mine after 1918 because of the CECHO over SLOVAK stamp. Czechoslovakia was created after WW1. I also don't think it goes into the Communist era. Maybe it's my impression of that time but I don;t think they'd bother with pretty trinkets after WW2. The comb has that greenish-yellow finish that I don't think is aluminum. Did you research your mark? Yours is certainly a beauty. Thanks. J.O'.

Thinking RATHER & Co. could have been a dealer/store etc. J.O'.

I’ve done fairly extensive research and not been able to find any history about Rather & Co. I have four knives in my possession having that stamp (two celluloids, one wooden, and the pearl) and my research turned up pictures of a few more but no info about the company. One thing they all have in common is a stamp consisting of crossed swords and “Acier Superfine” on the master blades. Acier is the French word for steel. But I don’t think the knives were made in France, and I don’t think Rather is a French name.

Whatever the story is, it’s a mystery at least for now. But the multi-blade MOP knives we both have are true testaments to the skills of the cutlers who made them!

Ken

Found nothing on EDER either. Other than the Czech mark. J.O'.

Just did a search for the "RATHER" surname. Seems it's a descriptive variation of "red" in old German and appears earliest in Bavaria, which, is right next to Czechoslovakia.
Aktiengesellschaft or "AG" is the German word and abbreviation for "Company" in English. "Cie" is the French abbreviation for 'Company".
So, why are the knives marked with the English, (or American) abbreviation for "company", and blade etched with French for "Superfine Steel" ? Seems to indicate they may have been made for export.
The mystery deepens!!!! J.O'.

Can you take a picture of the stamp?

Super knives ALL !!
John

Eustace: Are you asking for the EDER stamp? Here it is. J.O'.
EDER
CECHO
SLOVAK

I checked all my known resources, but found nothing about the manufacturer. Then I contacted a man, the Czech analogue of our Ray - knife7knut. He told me that he had seen this stamp as well, but there was no information.

What came to my mind. In another topic, we had discussed American importers and Czech foreign trade companies in the pre-war period. It is possible that it is such a company - a trader or distributor.
Looking stamp the maximum zoom, could be FDER EDFR FDFP ...

I'll put it under 30 power and get back to you, J.O'.

Eustace: Just gave it the best I could with various angles and magnification on a 30-50 power scope. I'm going with EDER. The arcs of wear cut right through the lower transverse of both E's but they're still fairly visible. The D and R seem okay. I'm not 100% sure of anything but I'm 85-90 for EDER.
The scope is a real help with cruddy tang stamps. J.O'.

Thinking about the similarities between the knives discussed in this thread, I’m left wondering if Rather & Co. knives might also be of Eastern European origin. A few months ago a very nice Rather & Co. picnic knife set appeared on eBay. The seller was in an Eastern European country (IIRC Romania). Not sure if that’s a coincidence or if there is a connection. I’d love to have it but the asking price was well beyond the reach of my pocketbook, so I did not bid. Nor did anyone else, and the seller removed the listing. I did copy the pictures. See below.

Ken

Houston Price gives a reference to EDER & CO., Germany. That's all, no info. J.O'.

Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Fri Apr 02, 2021 2:08 am Thinking about the similarities between the knives discussed in this thread, I’m left wondering if Rather & Co. knives might also be of Eastern European origin. A few months ago a very nice Rather & Co. picnic knife set appeared on eBay. The seller was in an Eastern European country (IIRC Romania). Not sure if that’s a coincidence or if there is a connection. I’d love to have it but the asking price was well beyond the reach of my pocketbook, so I did not bid. Nor did anyone else, and the seller removed the listing. I did copy the pictures. See below.

Ken

That is a beautiful knife, and the horn handles are a very nice touch. Just out of curiosity, how many figures was the seller asking?

IIRC it was around $500 plus shipping from Romania. It was BIN, no OBO. The seller listing ran at least twice with no takers.

Ken