Nice little find!

[benjamin.oneill]

Here are a few pics of a lovelly little knife i picked up in a North Devon market when I was there. I have put an edge on it (since the photos) cleaned it up a little. I'm not too good with the photos so they down't really do it any justice.

I have no idea what the steel is (not stainless, and from feel it seems very good). Apart from that, its rammed into a piece of antler. Here it is next to my (slightly modded) opi No8 for size comparison.

Its very comfy when held in a crooked knife style tho obviously, the curve isn't really the same!

Its become my new mushroom knife! and all for £4!!!!

 

[Shinken]

Bargain!!!

 

[EdS]

isn't that an old style eating knife?

 

[JohnC]

has a similar shape to a butter knife, is the blade very flexible?
http://www.imperialhalfbushel.com/1363-35.jpg

 

[benjamin.oneill]

I meant to ask if anyone had any idea what it was for. I fugures maybe pruning or a foot knife for sheep?

I should have maybe said the the cutting edge is on the inside curve. The blade is actually heavy forged steel. the spine tapers from about 5mm at the tang to 2mm on the curve. It looks great IMO, i think antique people call it naive. You can just imagine it on the anivil...

It works well as a crooked knife, held like a one handed draw knife but i don't know what it was intended for when it was forged!

 

[BorderReiver]

Possibly made as a one off for a particular job.

 

[benjamin.oneill]

Yeah, I think so.. It's def not a production model! I would never have thought to make or buy a knife in this shape, and its pretty rough around the edges but I though, hey, for £4! Since then its really grown on me.

 

[Nemisis]

Could it be a gutting knife? Maybe made for deer? Just a thought.
Dave.

 

[jdlenton]

Could it be a gutting knife? Maybe made for deer? Just a thought.
Dave.

I was just thinking the same maybe for butchering deer after the kill?

James

 

[Nemisis]

Given its apparent age and kind of home made appearance my first thought was if it was made by a local blacksmith for someone like a poacher in times past. With that distinctive shape it looks ideal for gutting in the dark with that rounded front and no point to catch or damage.
Dave.

 

[Hawk Hawkins]

Looks like a skinning/butcher knife... a rounded front part of the blade like that makes for good long sweeping strokes when skinning game...The blunt tip would make it less likely to puncture guts perhaps.
Does it hold a good edge and is it easy to return to sharp if its dulled?
Hawk

 

[pierre girard]

I meant to ask if anyone had any idea what it was for. I fugures maybe pruning or a foot knife for sheep?

I should have maybe said the the cutting edge is on the inside curve. The blade is actually heavy forged steel. the spine tapers from about 5mm at the tang to 2mm on the curve. It looks great IMO, i think antique people call it naive. You can just imagine it on the anivil...

It works well as a crooked knife, held like a one handed draw knife but i don't know what it was intended for when it was forged!

I really have no idea, but I saw a similar one being used to cut bread or some such on the recent "Pride and Prejudice" movie starring Kierra Knightly (Wing is a big Jane Austen fan).

PG

 

[benjamin.oneill]

I love the idea of it being a poachers knife! It does hold a pretty good edge, and the only problem with sharpening is you can't use a bench stone due to the shape.

 

[tomtom]

benjamin if you search for a hoodoo hone with the search function you should find instructions on how to make a very cheap device execlent for sharpening a convex grid such as the one that knife has.. nice find by the way!

 

[Nemisis]

Failing that take old sweeping brush handle cut it into about 4/5 lengths and glue progressively finer emery cloths to each of the first four lengths and a piece of old leather belt to the last as a strop. That will give you a quick cheap set of curved "stones".
Dave.

 

[JohnC]

saw this recently http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Good-Quality-Bot-Knife_W0QQitemZ7237508258QQcategoryZ90860QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

the older knife has a similar shape?