old French (?) pocketknife

TimW · 12th April 2011, 09:30 AM

Hello all,

I recently dug up an old pocketknife on a flea market. It clearly had a long life... It sports a mother of pearl handle / metal (gold?) bolsters. I guess it is French, but you input is welcome...

cheers

Tim

-

Gavin Nugent · 12th April 2011, 12:51 PM

I'd say it was once a fine fruit knife or similar.

Gav

laEspadaAncha · 12th April 2011, 04:45 PM

In my experience, gentlemen's fruit knives tended to have blades made of silver or metals that weren't so susceptible to accelerated rust from the acidity of the fruit, the exception being the "melon testers" that did indeed have a long blade of this general form. However, I haven't encountered a melon tester as finely embellished as this knife.

Tim - could you post pictures of the reverse side of the knife? Also, what is the length of the knife? Are there any markings on the blade?

Also, the gold (-colored material) on the bolsters looks like thin sheet that has come off in a couple spots. Am I seeing this correctly? And if so, is the incising limited to the gold sheeting, or is it chiseled into the underlying metal as well?

Lastly, where are these killer swap meets at which you're finding this stuff?

fernando · 12th April 2011, 05:47 PM

Hi Tim,
Before you post further pictures, may i kindly remind you that we at the forum expect pictures to be directly uploaded to the threads, instead of links to the various hosting resources. This is vital to the maintainance of pictures in the forum archives and to avoid threads to suddenly appear with blanks, instead of the images there posted.
If you have any difficulty with the upload features, let me know.
In the meantime, you will not mind that, the pictures you have linked above were replaced with permanent ones.
Best.

David · 12th April 2011, 08:32 PM

It's just this easy....

TimW · 13th April 2011, 09:15 AM

Hy all

First and for all: I got the hint about the pictures. Thx for letting me know.

Regarding the knife: the handle is exactly 9.5 cm long and 1 cm wide. The complete knife opened is 17 cm long. The bolsters are indeed sheath material that is worn on some corners. Underneath seem to be some kind of resin / the motive is only in the plate material. Closer inspection shows me there used to be a 2nd blade (on the opposite side) / possibly silver. Unfortunately it broke off near the ricasso. No maker markings on the knife / blade.

As for the location of the market: found it in Brussels / Belgium / Marollen flea market (it's a daily market on a square called 'Vossenplein', part of the Marollen area). The best of all: I did not even bargain on the 3 € asking price

I received some more info on the knife: is is supposed to be French / made in Paris / 18 th century. Have a look at the hopefully correctly inserted picture (book from Dominique Pascal - Coutellerie de poche)

12th April 2011, 09:30 AM	#1
TimW Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 54	old French (?) pocketknife Hello all, I recently dug up an old pocketknife on a flea market. It clearly had a long life... It sports a mother of pearl handle / metal (gold?) bolsters. I guess it is French, but you input is welcome... cheers Tim - Attached Images Last edited by fernando; 12th April 2011 at 05:49 PM. Reason: Picture restoring.

12th April 2011, 12:51 PM	#2
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	fruit knife I'd say it was once a fine fruit knife or similar. Gav

12th April 2011, 08:32 PM	#5
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,024	It's just this easy.... Attached Images

13th April 2011, 09:15 AM	#6
TimW Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 54	Hy all First and for all: I got the hint about the pictures. Thx for letting me know. Regarding the knife: the handle is exactly 9.5 cm long and 1 cm wide. The complete knife opened is 17 cm long. The bolsters are indeed sheath material that is worn on some corners. Underneath seem to be some kind of resin / the motive is only in the plate material. Closer inspection shows me there used to be a 2nd blade (on the opposite side) / possibly silver. Unfortunately it broke off near the ricasso. No maker markings on the knife / blade. As for the location of the market: found it in Brussels / Belgium / Marollen flea market (it's a daily market on a square called 'Vossenplein', part of the Marollen area). The best of all: I did not even bargain on the 3 € asking price I received some more info on the knife: is is supposed to be French / made in Paris / 18 th century. Have a look at the hopefully correctly inserted picture (book from Dominique Pascal - Coutellerie de poche) Attached Images

12th April 2011, 04:45 PM	#3
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	In my experience, gentlemen's fruit knives tended to have blades made of silver or metals that weren't so susceptible to accelerated rust from the acidity of the fruit, the exception being the "melon testers" that did indeed have a long blade of this general form. However, I haven't encountered a melon tester as finely embellished as this knife. Tim - could you post pictures of the reverse side of the knife? Also, what is the length of the knife? Are there any markings on the blade? Also, the gold (-colored material) on the bolsters looks like thin sheet that has come off in a couple spots. Am I seeing this correctly? And if so, is the incising limited to the gold sheeting, or is it chiseled into the underlying metal as well? Lastly, where are these killer swap meets at which you're finding this stuff?

12th April 2011, 05:47 PM	#4
fernando Lead Moderator European Armoury Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,641	Hi Tim, Before you post further pictures, may i kindly remind you that we at the forum expect pictures to be directly uploaded to the threads, instead of links to the various hosting resources. This is vital to the maintainance of pictures in the forum archives and to avoid threads to suddenly appear with blanks, instead of the images there posted. If you have any difficulty with the upload features, let me know. In the meantime, you will not mind that, the pictures you have linked above were replaced with permanent ones. Best.