Leaping hare knife

[LEO]

Antique pocket knife, probably 19th century.
Blade inscribed with figure of a leaping hare.
No other marks existing.
Any information will be very appreciated. Tks

[Battara]

Will send this to the European section for better responses.

[RobT]

Hi Leo,

I found this logo in a list of Thiers maker's marks. Save for the word "LIÉVRE" (hare), it looks like the logo on your knife. AFAIK, CG Cognet is still in business. You might try getting in touch with them for confirmation/further info.

Sincerely,
RobT

[LEO]

Tks a lot RobT for your kind assistance

[LEO]

The assistance of RobT was very useful so I determined the knife's origin. It is a creation by the legendery cutlery of Thiers Soanen-Montanel 1835-1873 with Lievre (Hare). Next owner was Antoine & his son Gaston Cognet the next legendery firm which produced the Douk-Douk renowned knife.

[RobT]

LEO,

Glad I could help. Cognet is still in business. They still make the douk douk (sans the douk douk image) and they still use the hare logo.

Sincerely,
RobT

[ausjulius]

the method of construction and style however are very much in keeping with some turkish and bulgarian made pocket knives made even to this day. the workmanship dosnt look like that of french cutlers.

[RobT]

Ausjulius,

You make a very good point. The running hare stamp shown on LEO's blade is unmistakably the Cognet logo, but when looked at critically, the fit and finish of the knife doesn't appear to match the quality of typical Thiers work. It is well known that, due to lack of copyright protection, Chinese manufacturers have been selling knives stamped "Laguiole" and "Sabatier" for years. Could it be that other well known French knife makers are being faked as well or is LEO's photo just a bit bad?

Sincerely,
RobT

[RobT]

Hi All,

Ausjulius' comment made me suspicious, so I examined the six Thiers knives with a slip joint lock that I have in my collection (Laguiole, Poyet-Sivet, Le Thiers-R David, & 3 folding "Vendetta" knives). In EVERY case, the joint on the back of the blade has a hook that fits into a corresponding notch on the back spring thus making for the stiffest slip joint possible. LEO's knife doesn't appear to have this feature.

Sincerely,
RobT

[ausjulius]

yep you can see the nail nick is made in an informal manner too. i would say it is turkish made,
ive seen such knvies from bulgaria, turkey and greece and have soem like this my self.. one turkish one is your knives twin but without any markings and with a textolite handle and aluminium bolster. i have several exactly the same form bulgaria with brass and stag handles. thes eknvie ssometimes have insanely strong springs i find. lots of the olde rones have a small steel ring in the spring tang for a lanyard.