Pair of old knives, information appreciated

[ldealberdi]

Found these while clearing out my grandmother's things a while back and then found them again while looking through my things this evening.






Larger one seems to have once had a motif on the scales, doesn't close so the tip is protected and appears to have once read 'baxter' on the blade

Smaller novelty corkscrew type one appears to be stainless and reads 'Richards Sheffield England' on the blade..

Can anyone tell me anything about these two? Any information appreciated.

[Noddy]

Don't know much other than to say that the pearl-handled Richards is very lovely. They were once Richartz of Solingen. I have a lovely 'Lamp Post' jack knife by them.

But, I also see that there is still a Richartz company in Solingen. So, it seems I know even less about the knife than I originally thought

It's still very lovely I'd stick that in my pocket if I were you

Is the blade silver?

[dannyboy87]

Doesn't look like it. At least, I've never seen silver tarnish like that.

[Noddy]

Ah, yes. The second photo didn't download for me first time round

[Iron Hoarder]

The Richards knife is one of their low budget shell handle knives. They were meant to be cheap and cheerful. The larger knife is a typical fruit knife pattern and probably has a silver blade although it isn't hallmarked. The stamp isn't one I'm familiar with. It might be from the continent.

[OWDTOM]

There was a Robert Baxter & Co trading in Sheffield around the third quarter of the 19th century, but more likely your pearl-scaled knife was made by W & JA Baxter who were at Congo Works on Trippet Lane, Sheffield after 1934 and were still there in the 1970's.
T

[ldealberdi]

Lots of info already, thanks guys. Any easy way to tell if the blade on the bigger one is silver? Also any way to get the thing to close more fully in case I want to carry it?

[Jacknife]

Also any way to get the thing to close more fully in case I want to carry it?

File down the kick a little, but not too much or you'll find the nail-mark below the edge of the scales when you close the knife, or you could
re-shape the blade to drop the point so it's not sticking up above the scales.

[OWDTOM]

Prior to doing as Jacknife suggests, apply a drop of 3 in 1 oil or similar to the joint to see if the blade will then open and close with a snap.

Secondly use a needle file or similar to probe between the liners and clear out any rubbish that might have accumulated at the joint where the backspring meets the blade. It might not then be necessary to file down the kick.

The blade isn't silver, but a local jeweller would test it very easily if you want confirmation.
T

[Miller Bro`s]

The Pearl handle Baxter knife appears to have a Silver blade. If so the tip is likely sticking up due to wear at the joint, the Silver is softer than the steel back spring, when the joint is not oiled it will wear rather quickly. Place a drop or two of mineral oil on the joint before opening and closing it any more. Also, do as Tom said and clean out any debris inside the knife, lint, dirt, etc. this may be holding the tang area up, thus making the tip protrude.

To do a quick check on the blade take a magnet and see if it sticks, if it does it is silver plated, if not it may be Sterling Silver it would have to be tested by someone competent. Some of these were plated with a Brass base, the magnet will not stick on these type, so it will need to be tested for sure.