All About Pocket Knives

Hi All - first post !

Wonder if anyone can please help me with this knife I found years ago in my garden near the old navy docks in Greenwich in London (UK). In the garden I have found quite a few very interesting items over the years - Roman coin - old British coins and a first world war Brodie helmet.
The knife was found under a lawn near the river so I am presuming it is fairly old.
It was made by a G. Butler Ltd - stamped on the bottom of the blade ( stamp of a key above) - on the other side is the word Cavendish.Stamped into the gold on both sides of the gold case is G.B.Ltd then a rose stamp and 9 .375 b (I am aware the the .375 denotes 9ct )

Hope people can help
Many thanks

Nick

George Butler was a cutlery in Sheffield dating from 1848. May still be in operation today. Goins’ Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings lists 7 different stamps used by the firm since 1848. The firm was still operating as of the date the book was published in 1998.

The knife is known as a manicure knife “lobster” pattern (due to the shape made by the blades when open having the appearance of lobster claws -use your imagination ). The lobster pattern has blades opening from both sides of the frame, and internal springs. The ring, or bale, on the end is for attachment of a chain, and was often used as a pocket watch ‘fob” during the days when pocket watches, fobs and chains were popular men’s accessories. These were often constructed of precious metals. The knife may have been made or intended for an accompanying gold watch and chain.

As you’ve pointed out the knife has a hallmark denoting its gold content. Someone familiar with hallmarks may come along and decipher the marks.

Welcome to AAPK. Nice find - it’s a shame one of the blades is broken.

Ken

If I'm seeing the last mark correctly as a 'b" it is the date mark for 1894. That knife is in nice shape to have been dug up. Nice one. J.O'.

I'll add that along with the 1894 date it's also possible that it's 1919. The font was slightly different in those two years with the 1894 font being a bit more stylized. Would need to see a closeup pic of that hallmark. That's verry cool, you don't see many solid gold handled knives.

It's odd that there's so little rust on the blades. Was it contained in something? If not I'd imagine that it was lost fairly recently.

Eric

Hi Eric - thank you for the info - yes it was buried but in remarkable condition - I am surprised that there is so little rust or tarnish on the steel. It may have been in some brown grease proof paper which disintegrated when I pulled it up… the WW2 helmet which was found nearby was pretty rusty. No idea what to do with the penknife - certainly don’t want to sell it for scrap gold.

The b hallmark is for 1894. The exact font is hard to determine but the border for the font denotes it is 1894.

btrwtr wrote: ↑Tue Jun 20, 2023 7:03 pm The b hallmark is for 1894. The exact font is hard to determine but the border for the font denotes it is 1894.

Wayne You're right, I missed that border detail.

Eric

Nickseasiders wrote: ↑Tue Jun 20, 2023 6:51 pm Hi Eric - thank you for the info - yes it was buried but in remarkable condition - I am surprised that there is so little rust or tarnish on the steel. It may have been in some brown grease proof paper which disintegrated when I pulled it up… the WW2 helmet which was found nearby was pretty rusty. No idea what to do with the penknife - certainly don’t want to sell it for scrap gold.

Nick from a strictly value standpoint the gold itself is worth a lot more than the actual knife. The broken blade decreases the knife value substantially. I'm guessing you probably have somewhere in the vicinity of $400US worth of gold there, the knife itself isn't worth nearly that much. Of course you won't know the true gold value until you knock it apart and weight the gold but I'm thinking you've got a good half an ounce there, and that might be conservative. Keep it as a gold investment or sell it to a Butler collector as I'm sure they'd love it, but IMHO I wouldn't take less than what its gold value is.

Eric

I agree with Eric. The gold is worth a whole lot more than the knife, even if it were mint. However, it saddens me to see wonderful artifacts and collectibles that have survived over a hundred years, sold just for the metal and lost to the world of collecting. JMHO but anybody can buy a hunk of metal but a cool knife is another thing entirely. End of sermon. Anyway, Good luck with it and thanks for showing it. J.O'.

Ridgegrass wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 12:15 am I agree with Eric. The gold is worth a whole lot more than the knife, even if it were mint. However, it saddens me to see wonderful artifacts and collectibles that have survived over a hundred years, sold just for the metal and lost to the world of collecting. JMHO but anybody can buy a hunk of metal but a cool knife is another thing entirely. End of sermon. Anyway, Good luck with it and thanks for showing it. J.O'.

I'm with you on that J.O'.. Unless I REALLY needed the money I'd put it on a nice display case. Solid gold handled knives, at least here in the states, are rare as hens' teeth and finding one intact is definitely an occasion, especially for a collector. Plus it's a great investment that holds its value through good times and bad.

Eric

I agree. I will keep it… no way would I scrap it. It needs a good home / collector!
I collect WW1 helmets and the idea of selling them just won’t happen.
Thank you for all the replies if you know of any Butler collectors let me know!

Enjoy it Nick, it's a great find!!

By the way the rose or flower on the mark is an assay office mark. That one signifies the Sheffield assay office. There were six in the United Kingdom at the time, each with a different mark. Along with Sheffield, the Birmingham mark was an anchor, Edinburgh was a castle, London was a lion head, Chester was a shield, and Glasgow was a tree and fish. I believe they're all still in business with the exception of Glasgow and Chester.

Eric