FINE 5 BLADE EXHIBITION FILEWORKED BLADES~IN/OUT GOLDPLATED BACK SPRINGS 1864-71

Description: FINE 5 BLADE EXHIBITION FILEWORKED BLADES~IN/OUT GOLDPLATED BACK SPRINGS 1864-71 FINE 5 BLADED EXHIBITION QUALITY POCKET KNIFE BY JOHN SLATER & C0. MASTER CUTLER OF 2 SONS WHO FOUNDED SLATER BROS. IN 1858 CIRCA 1864 - 1871 Not much is known about John Slater. John Marriott Slater was a spring knife cutler. His firm was named John Slater & Co. in Garden Street and then Pea Croft, Sheffield. As is typical in Cutlery families John worked alongside his two cutlery sons, Warrington Slater (b.1838 - d.1907) and his brother Walter Slater (b.1840 - d.1917). His 2 sons later founded Slater Bros. in 1858. The firm was first listed as W & W Slater in Eyre Street, Sheffield at the factory of George Butler, but was soon known as Slater Bros. However, it appears the firm didn’t move to the Eyre Street address until 1864, as George Butler & Co. moved to Eyre Street in 1864, an address that was previously the location of Corsan, Denton and Burdekin, and was named Trinity Works. Since this knife is Marked John Slater & Co., Eyre Street, Sheffield, it appears John continued making and marking cutlery under his own name at the W & W Firms location on Eyre Street, later known as Slate Bros. John Slater died in 1871. Thus, this rare high quality 5 bladed mother of pearl scaled Exhibition knife was hand made by the rare Master cutler, John Slater, between 1864 and 1871. Note that Exhibition pocketknives were never intended for use. This piece was eventually deaccessioned sometime after the 19th C. Exhibitions by the factory, gifted to an esteemed colleague, or sold into the market; and shows evidence of being lightly carried. Similar knives could also have been custom made to order only by a well to do Gentleman of means who could have afforded a multi-bladed quality pocketknife like this. It was quite fashionable for a Gentlemen to carry a fancy pocketknife as a necessary accessor and present it in Victorian flourish to show off when used; much like a fancy pocket watch, snuff box, cigar case or match safe accoutrement. This is a high quality, fine condition, 5 bladed Sheffield made bolster less Exhibition quality pocketknife in an equal end Senator pattern, by the rare Master Cutler John Slater, father of his sons who founded the renowned Cutlery firm of Slater Bros. This very high-quality pocketknife was made in Sheffield, the knife capitol of the world at the time, and for hundreds of years prior. This superb pocketknife is bolsterless, i.e., there are no metal bolsters at the pivot pins to support the blades. This bolsterless style was preferred by pocketknife Master Cutlers who were demonstrating their skill to set blade pins flush in delicate scale material; an art form that could only be accomplished by an experienced Master fitter. The uninscribed silver escutcheon plate and silver pins are characteristics only found on Exhibition knives that were never intended for use. The 3 pins are soft silver, used to assemble the knife so as to not risk shattering the Exhibition Mother of Pearls scales; yet allow the knife to open and close as a production knife made for use. This knife is completely handmade, i.e., hand forged, hand ground, hand tempered, hand polished and hand fitted, with only simple hand tools; and created by a Master Cutlers. Overall, 3 1/16" long closed x 1/2" thick and weighs 1.7 ounces or 49 grams. Note it is more difficult to create an Exhibition knife in this typical pocketknife size vs. the typically lager size of Exhibition knives. All the blades have most of the distinctive mirror original Crocus of Iron final polish of the blades; a high-quality signature polish used by Sheffield Cutlers on fine 19th century handmade knives. This final polish was done on wooden wheel with a leather band coated with adhesive and exceptionally fine black powder that was painstakingly applied to almost all Sheffield blades. Note that it is nearly impossible to photograph a shiny object to get the actual appearance of this crocus polish. The backsprings are Exhibition hand file worked inside and out, and gold plated. The 2 outside backsprings have identical file work inside that is gold plated, and a different more ornate pattern on the outside that are also gold plated, with handling removing the soft, delicate gold from the top surface of the 3 outside back springs but shows in the recessed areas. The center inside backspring is file worked and gold plated, en suite, but the outside backspring has very fine line, zig zag and punch dot engraving pattens. Note the filing weakens the springs, and so the temper of the springs has to accommodate for the removed steel and still retain the correct amount of spring tension. The liners also appear to be silver, en suite (it’s hard to tell) with the 2 center liners being milled; but could be German silver. All 5 blade backs are also Exhibition file worked, en suite. Note the blade pivots have not been oiled in decades. There is no need to do so and should not be done as oil can leak into the liners and permanently discolor the Exhibition Mother of Pearl. You also do not want to snap the blades shut on any old knife, as it is possible the blade could bottom out and chip, bend or rub the knife edge or tip on the inside of the back spring or liner and create a rub mark. The blades appear to be very lightly used and the blade tips and blade profiles are full. All the blades stay open tightly with no wiggle, and all have good snap. The blades have the long pull nail nick that goes through the ricasso, a feature found on early pocketknives. The file work on all 5 the blade back is fine. The file worked 2 7/8" file worked Master blade has swedge top grind false edge and the blade flats have surface scratches and extremely light remnants of naturally occurring spidering that are invisible to the eye but can be seen with a loupe. Most of the orginal distinctive crocus of iron mirror polish remains intact. There is a miniscule roughness to a spot on the edge that can’t be seen or felt but is visible with a loupe. This Master blade is hot stamped "John Slater & Co. Eyre Street, Sheffield" in 3 lines on the ricasso. This knife does not have the England hot stamping used on most Sheffield knives made for export beginning in 1891; and this piece dates to the 1864- 1871 period. The file worked 1 3/4" long pen blade has most of the original polish, long pull, and the same Maker mark. The 1 3/4” manicure blade has the early style a long pull nail nick that goes through the ricasso. The tip of the blade is sharpened like a knife blade with the same Maker mark and a small, curved knife edge at the tip. The small button hook was necessary as men and lady’s shoes used buttons for closure. The scissors are especially difficult to hand forge, grind, and align the blades, yet this pair cuts paper as new. All 1800s knives will have some telltale signs of aging. The extreme age of the steel blades must be taken into consideration in any old 150-160+ year old knife. Spidering is a naturally occurring aging that takes a century to create; and is desirous, as it shows genuine antique aging. Almost all 1800s knives will show small, scattered spots of spidering / aging that are almost impossible to see with the naked eye. These blades are in fine condition with most of the original Crocus of Iron polish remaining. The Exhibition quality Mother of Pearl scales are individually created by nature; and this pattern, color and iridescence is revered by advanced collectors. The scales have 3 shallow, easy opener cutout indentations to access the blade nicks. All-natural material shrinks over time, which is perfectly normal on an Antique knife; but these scales have no chips, nicks, pin cracks or damage. Almost all pocketknives show wear to the delicate scales and have surface scratches that can dull the appearance to the surface when a knife is carried and rubbed inside a pocket over time. These select scales have very light, fine surface scratches with naturally occurring patterns and a beautiful multi color iridescence found on pearl before the oceans became polluted. This demonstrates the knife has been very lightly carried and then put up. Note: it is extremely difficult to photograph shiny surfaces; and I took many dozens of images to try to eliminate shadows and capture the blade details. Also note the images are many times larger than actual size and exaggerate the details. This a Connoisseur quality handmade 1800’s 5 bladed Gentleman's pocketknife made by a Master Cutler, that is in fine, overall condition with light pocket wear. Ask a modern maker if he could hand make a knife like this using only simple hand tools; and what would he charge? This completely handmade Master Cutlery example is a lost art; and would be an excellent investment, and perfect for any Sheffield, 1800s, pocketknife, 19th century or smalls collection. PAYMENT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PAYPAL & ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER, e-CHECKS & ALL MAJOR CREDIT & DEBIT CARDS, APPLE PAY, GOOGLE PAY AND ALL OTHER PAYMENT METHODS APROVED BUY EBAY. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SHIPPING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FREE SHIPPING & HANDLING FOR DOMESTIC BUYERS & TO THE EBAY U.S.A. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CENTER. FOR USA PURCHASES, SHIPPING, HANDLING & DELIVERY IS FREE VIA U.S.P.S. FIRST CLASS MAIL (UP TO 16 OZ.) OR U.S.P.S. 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Price: 1125 USD

Location: Fairfield, California

End Time: 2023-12-22T19:10:37.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD