Thank you so much guys!
Naturally my hopes were for the whaling use, but I had seen the more mundane description as a leather working knife. It seems those in listing mentioned the alternative leather work use prudently, while the heading was for the whalers use.
Is it possible these might have became a 'crossover' or duplicate items?
In images of flensing tools, many seem to have longer handles, in fact notably so, but with same lunette style handle.
It would seem that the longer handle would be needed considering the size of the whale, but the smaller version in different stage where a long handle was inconvenient?
I hope the topic of 'whaling' is not disturbing to many readers, but my intent is toward historic aspects as always. There is very little in resources on these kinds of antiques, unless in specialized maritime antiquities firms or sellers.
Even if a more 'mundane' object, this example still has interest as an antique item, and hopefully the marking might be found. I have checked Levine's "Guide to Knives"(4th Ed.) but no luck.
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