Barrel knife

[Paul Hannaby]

Here's one for all you toolaholics! :wink:

It's a swedish barrel knife which as you can see folds away and is secured by a spring loaded catch. There's plenty of info on the web about these and although it is inscribed J.E 1874 on the brass carrier, that isn't the date of manufacture but these probably date from around 1900-ish.
The wood handle is a bit grubby (I haven't tried to clean it) but it looks like it is probably masur birch.
The inscription on the blade says JOH ENGSTROM EKILSTUNA

 

[wardroom]

Hi

I have one of these in the same condition as yours, will it best left in the current condition of would it benefit from a clean up.

Are they a collectors item.

 

[Paul Hannaby]

I was going to try a little renaissance wax to clean it but nothing severe. From what I saw on the web, there appear to be collectors of these things but I guess you can say that about almost anything!

 

[jimi43]

That is a beautiful tool....these are exactly the examples of craftsmanship that excite me.

I think it is the skill of the designer more than anything that attracts me and after WW1 the tools seem to lose this mojo.

I would think this is an ideal candidate for Renaissance Wax...try it...you won't harm it at least.

Thanks for posting

Jim

 

[AndyT]

Agreed - a good candidate for some gentle waxing. I realise there is a whole world of knives that I don't know about - I'd not seen a barrel knife before. It looks a really clever solution to the problem of making a folding knife which will never fold accidentally in use. Thanks for posting - and do show us the 'after' photos.

 

[paulm]

There's one just come up for sale here Paul http://www.britishblades.com/forums/sho ... rrel-Knife

So could be worth a few quid, although no saying if it will sell at that price of course.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Paul Hannaby]

and that's a broken one!

Thanks for the info Paul