#HTE

Tools & Craft #34: The Victorian Pocketknife

Some of you carry pocketknives but I’m guessing most of you don’t. I do because I work in a warehouse and it’s handy to have. In addition to the one I carry, I have another that I use to cut my lunchtime sandwich.

These days not many folks carry one, but in Victorian England, a gentleman needed a knife at all times. Among other things, he’d use it to sharpen his pencil, file and trim his nails, and even tighten up the laces of his shoes (at the time they had lots and lots of hooks). And in earlier times when silverware was not common, everyone traveled with an eating knife.

The knife above, by Baxter circa 1900, is a fancy example of a Victorian pocketknife. The hook is for pulling laces, the scissors is for paperwork, the nail file has a ridge in it for your nails.

It’s a very well-made knife and a functional one. But what I really want to call your attention to is the decorative metalwork. The brass liners (which separate the blades) have decorative mill marks. The back and blades are covered with “file work” where decorative patterns are filed into the springs and blades in a pattern. The trick is making everything line up properly when the knife is assembled. There are many styles of filework and this type of knife is known as a “workback” because of the file work on the back. Oh, and there’s even remnants of gold plating on the inside of the liners.

This is pretty much the apex of production knife making in Sheffield. Sadly, as an antique this knife is too valuable to be causally used and carried today, but fortunately there are many small makers around the world carrying on the tradition. However one of the big appeals for me with this knife is that it was part of a regular trade of making all sorts of knives for all budgets. I would even venture to guess that the original owner of this knife didn’t carry it with him every day (for fear of loss), but had a less expensive, plainer knife for everyday use. That’s why this knife is in such great shape. If it really was used every day it would have worn out long ago.

The knives in the picture above and below are by Taylor Eyewitness one of the last Sheffield companies still making decorative knives along with a regular line of more functional knives. Make no mistake, these knives are functional and fancy. I like this idea because most knives sold today are either really inexpensive and sort of a commodity, or really super special and end up in a collection, never to be used. Very few of the modern makers are interested in Victorian decoration, the very high cost being instead justified by exotic materials. Taylor Eyewitness’ stuff is high end production, not one-off collectibles.

Lastly, a bit of trivia/terminology: If the knife has blades at both ends it’s a pocketknife. If it has multiple blades coming from one side it’s a jackknife.