All About Pocket Knives

I picked up this old Barlow knife today. It’s an I*XL, George Wostenholm. Made in Sheffield, ENG. It appears to have either bone, or steer horn scales. I’m told it’s pre civil war era.
I know they didn’t add ENGLAND to the tang stamp until 1890, but mine has ENG.
Can anyone help provide any info on approximate age and value? Thank you!

Not pre Civil War.

Thank you!

Judging by where the ENG is positioned on the stamp I'm sure it said ENGLAND at one point, otherwise it would be more centered. Probably just worn off or obscured by the spotting.

Eric

Probably cattle bone. Definitely not horn. Notice the tiny specks, remains of blood capillaries in bone. No blood in horn. Nice old relic. J.O'.

ea42 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 21, 2024 10:09 pm Judging by where the ENG is positioned on the stamp I'm sure it said ENGLAND at one point, otherwise it would be more centered. Probably just worn off or obscured by the spotting.

Eric

I took a closer look with a loupe. The stamp is the same on both blades, ENG.

New to this wrote: ↑Sun Sep 22, 2024 1:45 am

ea42 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 21, 2024 10:09 pm Judging by where the ENG is positioned on the stamp I'm sure it said ENGLAND at one point, otherwise it would be more centered. Probably just worn off or obscured by the spotting.

Eric

I took a closer look with a loupe. The stamp is the same on both blades, ENG.

The rest of the word is probably worn off from wear and tear on the tang due to many opening and closing cycles. This is what it would have looked like:

Eric

One possible way to date a British made knife could be that the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 required all foreign imports to be marked with their country of origin after 1901. My older IXL's are stamped "Sheffield" and the later ones are stamped "Sheffield" and "England", so best guess is anything stamped "England" is probably 1901 or later so it's not Civil War era. J.O'.

It's an older stamp, just not as old as you were led to believe.
There are no Wostenholm knives in their 1885 catalog with any semblance of England on their stamps, none.

wlf wrote: ↑Mon Sep 23, 2024 8:53 pm It's an older stamp, just not as old as you were led to believe.
There are no Wostenholm knives in the 1885 catalog with any semblance of England on their stamps, none.

Seem to recall that "ENGLAND" didn't show up before 1891--and after that was due to new tariff laws that had just gone into effect that required country of origin markings.

New to this wrote: ↑Sat Sep 21, 2024 9:36 pm I picked up this old Barlow knife today. It’s an I*XL, George Wostenholm. Made in Sheffield, ENG. It appears to have either bone, or steer horn scales. I’m told it’s pre civil war era.
I know they didn’t add ENGLAND to the tang stamp until 1890, but mine has ENG.
Can anyone help provide any info on approximate age and value? Thank you!

On vintage knives my experience is that for some inexplicable reason or deliberate shenanigans the sellers ALWAYS "error" on the dates such to make them seem older than they actually are. It's a consistent coincidence that never fails to amaze me. I have never seen an old knife mistakenly dated newer than it is. I have seen too many to count dated older than they really are. Buyer always beware. Better to look up all stamps rather than trust the sellers info. Always.

cody6268 wrote: ↑Mon Sep 23, 2024 8:59 pm

wlf wrote: ↑Mon Sep 23, 2024 8:53 pm It's an older stamp, just not as old as you were led to believe.
There are no Wostenholm knives in the 1885 catalog with any semblance of England on their stamps, none.

Seem to recall that "ENGLAND" didn't show up before 1891--and after that was due to new tariff laws that had just gone into effect that required country of origin markings.

Correct.

I would say a more realistic date on that knife would be 1890-1918.

I also think its safe to say that large brand stamps (IXL, Case, Russell, etc) on long barlow bolsters, regardless of what country they were made in, would always have been made AFTER the US Civil War. They had threaded bolsters and maybe engraved bolsters back then, but stamping big logos and brand names was a later innovation.