Author Topic: German 18th century knifes, a sickle and a fork.  (Read 1199 times)

Offline Rado

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German 18th century knifes, a sickle and a fork.
« on: April 02, 2023, 04:47:25 PM »
Hi guys, recently I bought some interesting antiques at a German auction house and wanted to share them with you.
I dont have much info about them except that they are from the 18th century and German.
Definitely something a settler would have taken with him to the New World if he was emigrating, so maybe its relevant to the forum.
The measure is in Centimeters.

Small knife with a horn handle.
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Butchers knife with a bone handle
20230402-151956" border="0 20230402-151950" border="0 20230402-151941" border="0 20230402-151928" border="0 20230402-151920" border="0

A fork with worm eaten, wooden handle. I cant tell which wood this is. And its somewhat big. Something you would use to carve your Thangsgiving turkey rather than an eating utensil.
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And finally a small sickle. I would say the handle is boxwood. Interesting detail: There are two brass rings on the end of the handle. One inside the other.
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If it wasnt such a sacrilege, I would sharpen the two knives, make a new handle for the fork and use these things.
« Last Edit: April 02, 2023, 04:52:37 PM by Rado »
Born in Poland, living in Germany. Just a guy who loves history, ideas of freedom and handicrafts.

Offline Pukka Bundook

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Re: German 18th century knifes, a sickle and a fork.
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2023, 05:31:01 PM »
Very nice acquisitions Rado.

I would be tempted to do the same! 
Fork is I believe a carving fork.
The sickle I don't know.  Its very small for a sickle, and reminds me of a spar hook, but spar hooks are not as nicely dressed up as this.
(For splitting stems for thatching)
The "eyelash" stampings on the blade are interesting.  I had a sword with those, gave it to my daughter, it was marked Genoa I think.
I Seem to recall they were sometimes used on arms from Vienna, but memory may be off.
The blade shape is also similar to a turnip snagger, but a shade small I think, and being rustic tools, are not dressed nicely like this one.

All interesting stuff!!

Rich.

Offline Rado

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Re: German 18th century knifes, a sickle and a fork.
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2023, 05:42:20 PM »
If I hadnt seen many antique forks of a similar size I would also think its a carving utensil.
But the forks of old travellers cutlery on ebay are quite often of this dimension.
Here are some examples:
https://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=Fuhrmannsbesteck&_sacat=0

Notice the prices. I paid only 217€ for everything. Well the condition of my pieces is not that good.
Born in Poland, living in Germany. Just a guy who loves history, ideas of freedom and handicrafts.