Another flea market find with a story to tell

 Okay, the recent post was a very good example of a knife that tells a story, and here comes another: This knife I found only but recently on a local flea market. It is a variant of a Solingen classic, but also a knife that has seen use all over the world. It has a carbon steel "Säbelskniep" (clip point) main blade, a stainless steel pen blade, and a corkscrew. The knife obviously has seen some vast reworking. It has one nickel silver and one brass bolster, the pivot is a substitute, and the scales also had seen some reworking.

 The spring bear the engraving "Gerd Sarwatzky", apparently the name of the owner. Of course, the knife is a slipjoint. Note the minimal tolerances between bolster and blade; the gap towards the iron liner came to be because of aging. The owner certainly knew a thing or two about metal working.

 The reverse side of the knife.

And another detail of the engraving.

As I already said in the previous post, this is another example of a lovingly repaired tool, and it is obvious this knife has served the owner long and well, and he was proud of it. He also knew how to repair it. What I want to show is, that doing repairs like these was a commonplace in those times not so long ago.

While it somewhat compromised the clean look of the tool, I daresay the owner loved it even more for it, for by doing so, it became "his" tool even more, which becomes evident in the fact that he engraved it. It was a very personal item. A knife was, and is, in general, a very personal item, and thusly I indicate once more, that it is a very essential part of our culture. It certainly was used for all the little challenges of everyday life, and it was used long and caringly, as evident in the negative, somewhat "recurve" line of the main blade, which hints of a long period of sharpening intervals. Since there are no coarse grinding marks or even heat colour signs on the blade, the negative line cannot be due to unskilled sharpening, but is rather due to avery long time of servicing. So, it became a part of everyday life of the owner, constituting, if not a huge part of his life and interactions with his surroundings, so still an intelligible one.

Get the gist?;-)

Study of a historical equestrian folding knife-flea market find

 It has been quite some time since I found this knife on a local flea market. It was lying submerged under a heap of trash, and you can think I was quite enthused I found it. Not exactly to use it, although I would love to, but because it is a historical piece, dating back at least to the early 1900´s. The combination of tools hints to a use as an equestrian or even post wagoners or wagoners use. The knife has beautifully aged stag antler scales, presumeably Sambar stag on nickel silver liners with a very delicate filework. It´s a slipjoint. It incorporates a hoof scraper, a corkscrew, a leather punch / awl, a saw, a main blade, a champagne hook, an oyster or walnut opener, and awl / drill, a wood chisel / scraper, and apparently a toothpick / pincer, which is missing. All blades are made from carbon steel. A manufacturing stamp is not intelligible, and the main blade obviously had been replaced by a former lockback blade, and the pivot is made from an old nail.

 The wood drill, apparantly it has seen a bit of reworking.

 The leather punch and the pivot of the hoof scraper, plus a detail of the beautifully wrought liners.

 The corkscrew apparently was hand-filed.

 A detail of the champagne hook and the oyster / walnut opener blade and the space for pincers and toothpick.

 The hoof scraper.

 Wood chisel, main blade and saw. Note the makeshift pivot and the beautiful filework on the bolsters.

 The backside and the springs.

 More detail.

This knife is a good example of a knife that was an essential and often used tool in everyday life. It illustrates a period of time not even so long ago, when a knife was a must-have for all the little tasks everyday life had to offer, from preparing food to whittling, leather tooling and whatnot. In those times it was mandatory for any gentleman to carry a knife. Self-understanding of any man (and woman, too, at that) indicated that one had to cope with what challenge life had to offer by themselves. I speculate that this has changed. The banning and deification of knives in general might have something to do with a change of attitude. If nowadays a wheel on the wagon broke, one would stand by the roadside and claim legal compensation from the manufacturer and cry so long until someone would help.;-) In those times one had to help oneself, and the more versatile and practical the tools were, the better. And even those tools were repaired with what was at hand. This knife tells the story. It had certainly not been repaired by the manufacturer, something you certainly would not see in modern times. It had been lovingly repaired and used to near extinction, by an individual who did not care for others patronizing him- or herself, but tried to put up to the challenge, in this case the breakdown of a beloved tool. Being able to do that, knowing some tricks to keep it going makes your life independant. And, it might be obvious, but this individual may have done many things, but one thing he / she certainly did not: Buy a new tool.

Dumb and unskilled and fearful people make better consumers, and consuming and throwing away are the main pillars on which our economy rests. It all comes down to the old question of being and having. This knife to me is a lesson, and I am right grateful for that.