I*XL Wostenholm markings.

[wellington03]

Dating vintage knives is always very difficult and uncertain, it can be done to a degree by looking at the knife, pattern materials used etc a major clue can be how the blade/blades are marked.

Just a few details about G Wostenholm markings




One of the most well know Sheffield trade marks I*XL.

Most collectors are familiar with the cutlery made by George Wostenholm. The company was originally listed as "George Wolstenholme and Son", the name was shorted before about 1820.

They acquired the I*XL trade mark in 1826.

Any knife bearing the I*XL trade mark must be assumed to have been made after 1826

Two early markings found on fixed blade/folding bowie knives are

I*XL Geo. Wostenholm, Rockingham Works, Sheffield (prior to 1848 )

I*XL Geo. Wostenholm, Washington Works, Sheffield (after 1848 ).

Geo. Wostenholm and Son Ltd (after 1875, when the firm was formed into a limited company)

The following markings appear in the 1885 catalogue

George Wostenholms Celebrated I*XL Cutlery

I*XL George Wostenholm Celebrated

George Wostenholm I*XL Cutlery

I*XL George Wostenholm, Sheffield

George Wostenholm, Sheffield

In 1890, the US McKinly Tariff Act required all imported goods to be marked with their country of origin. Some Wostenholm knives were marked Sheffield, England before 1890. Also some Wostenholm made cutlery was marked Sheffield (no England) after 1890, so knives made around this time are sometimes difficult to date.

Many of the 1885 markings were used up until WW2

I*XL Wostenholm, Sheffield (this mark was in use during WW2)

I*XL George Wostenholm, Sheffield, England(after 1945 the most common mark used.)

On some knives of this period the England is shortened to Eng.. Also knives can be found stamped I*XL George Wostenholm, England.

On these post war knives its quite common to find I*XL stamped deeply on the blade face. Also (on carbon blades) the reverse tang is usually marked "OIL THE JOINTS".

After about 1970 the quality of Wostenholm made knives falls. The post war tang stamps slowly disappears, to be replaced by ink etching.



Has anyone a Wostenholm knife with unusal marks ?, if so be great to see.

Mick

[RodgersLad]

Thanks for starting this Mick.

Don't think i have any unusual marked ones.

Never seen one marked WOSTENHOLMS before.

[OWDTOM]

You’ve omitted the most important trademark of all, that of the 'Curate’s' pipe in its lozenge field, surrounded by the wording ‘Granted by the Cutler’s Company Dec.22 1694’
I say this because there’s a tendency among pocket knife collectors to think of trade-marks basically in relation to spring and fixed-blade knives, but it should be remembered also that Wostenholm’s needed to use other important trade-marks to cover an array of products viz., table knives, farrier’s knives, erasers, scissors, pen and pocket knives, Bowies, shoe knives, butcher’s knives to name but a few. They used to boast that their ‘Pipe’ razors, ‘Congruent’ razors and I*XL razors had been hardened and tempered by a peculiar and secret process and relied heavily on all three trademarks, especially when striving for prize medals at Expositions in America, Australia and elsewhere around the world.

A vitally important mark was ‘Tally Ho!’ below the figure of a running fox, which prior to 1862 had belonged to, and been held in pride of place at, first J. Fenney’s and then C.T. Bingham’s at their Tally Ho! Works on Division Street.

‘Excelsior’ was another important mark as too was the ‘pipe and arrow’ mark.

For the hawk-eyed among us, note should be made also of marks where the asterisk has been replaced by a dot between the letter ‘I’ and ‘XL’: to which can be added the rarely seen I(dot)XL with a Maltese Cross above the letter ‘X’.

A further bit of fodder for those who might be interested. In 1971, when Wostenholm’s were in the final stages of closing down and hanging on to life by a thread, I remember an American called Bill Adams from Atlanta making many frantic trips to Sheffield to Hoover up anything and everything he could find relating to the cutlery and allied trades.

He paid peanuts for taxi-loads of materials, show cases, marks, catalogues, knives: in fact anything on which he could lay his hands, including boxes of Wostenholm’s papers/records which for nearly a decade most people thought had been destroyed; that is until in the 1980’s when it became known that he’d ‘removed’ lots of Wostenholm papers on his hunting trips.
These documents were brought back to Sheffield City Libraries where they’ve remained ever since.

Adams wasn't the only one by any means; we had our own home grown scavengers who came up from London and elsewhere to enjoy the spoils, but Adams had taken the cream back to the U.S. where knife collectors must have thought all their Christmases had come at once. This is why so many mint-conditioned knives that find their way onto the market come from American sellers.

Tom.

[wellington03]

Hi Tom, thank you for your very interesting and informative reply, I did omit to mention the important marks G Wostenholm used on item's other than I*XL pen and pocket knives.

If you can add more information on products, marks used and dates please do so, very much appreciated.


Mick

[Berkley]

Mick, thank you for an excellent overview of Wostenholm markings. Can anyone pinpoint a date when the "OIL THE JOINTS'' marking first appeared? As it is also found on some Rodgers and other makers as well, was there any particular reason why the slogan was adopted? Was there an epidemic of rusty folders at one time?

[Loada]

I also have examples , from "Washington Works" as I recall, where the typeface used for I.XL is highly ornate. It will be some time before I can post photos.

[sebago]

In the "Register of Trade Marks of the Cutler's Company of Sheffield." Published in 1953, by Bemrose of Derby. The Wostenholm Company are shown with 15 different Trade Marks (four of which are box labels - of those, three were used solely for razors.) All four box labels are shown as registered Trade Marks.

The most notable 'regular' Trade Mark that is not listed above, is simply the name:

WOSTENHOLM

Jim Taylor.

[OWDTOM]

Mick, thank you for an excellent overview of Wostenholm markings. Can anyone pinpoint a date when the "OIL THE JOINTS'' marking first appeared? As it is also found on some Rodgers and other makers as well, was there any particular reason why the slogan was adopted? Was there an epidemic of rusty folders at one time?

I might be wrong, but it's doubtful if a record was kept of the date when the first 'Oil The joints' marks were struck/made. Cutlers were always on the lookout for anything which would give them an edge - excuse the pun - over their competitors and it's reasonable to assume that it came in as a whim or whatever, of someone who thought it might have a useful bearing on company sales.


It wasn't a slogan as such.


Whilst Wostenholms were the most prolific users of the mark, Thomas Turner, Rodger's, Butler's and several others at varying intervals, stamped the pileside of master-blade tangs with 'Oil the Joints', but many firms didn't feel it necessary to mark their blades with a permanent aide-memoire to the fairly obvious.

Remember that this was in the days when 'throw-away' society wasn't even a phrase and manufacturers boasted 'quality' goods, with a life expectancy greater than that of their competitors.

Because of this, Wostenholm's obviously felt that by marking their folding knife blades with what is quintessentially a 'recommendation' - Oil The Joints -they would last longer than those of competitors and thereby enhance the Company's reputation.

As with any metal-to-metal moving parts, joints on blades and articles perform better and wear out less quickly if they are lubricated and it's for this reason rather than to prevent rust that blades were thus marked.

An 'epidemic' of rusty folders' as you say, would have given third generation head George Wostenholm apoplexy. His obsession with quality and the almost 'tyrannical' practice of 'Drilling' would have made that nigh on impossible.

Tom.

[Berkley]

Tom,
Thanks for the insightful explanation of the motive underlying use of the hortatory phrase.
When you refer to "the almost 'tyrannical' practice of 'Drilling'", the meaning of the term is not clear to me. Is this a practice peculiar to the cutlery trade generally, or Wostenholm's in particular? Probably I am overlooking the obvious, as is my habit.
Berkley

[OWDTOM]

Tom,
Thanks for the insightful explanation of the motive underlying use of the hortatory phrase.
When you refer to "the almost 'tyrannical' practice of 'Drilling'", the meaning of the term is not clear to me. Is this a practice peculiar to the cutlery trade generally, or Wostenholm's in particular? Probably I am overlooking the obvious, as is my habit.
Berkley

Peculiar to Wostenholm's in particular - as far as I know.

Drilling might be construed as a form of quality control by to-day's standards.

Apparently, as knife blades were submitted for inspection, Wostenholm would, on many occasions, personally strike them on a stiddy (anvil) to pick out any faults, defects etc. He would then throw the lot out if any showed the slightest defect.

If on payday word went around the Works that he was in a benign mood, cutlers were quick to rush to see him and get their work 'passed'; but when he was 'On the throne' as they called it, that was a very different matter and they wouldn't face him unless they were forced to do so - kept walking to the back of the queue so to speak.


On top of that Wostenholm operated an invidious 'bounty system' which involved lending money, sometimes substantial loans, to certain workers, thereby binding that man's services for the duration.

He also set a penny-pinching rule of not just a Baker's Dozen, but fourteen-to-the-dozen - two dozen extra to the gross - supposedly to offset breakages.

Mind you, he wasn't the only one, the late Albert Craven, who was a pocket/pen blade hand-forger at Joseph Rodgers, spoke of the same rule being applied there in his early years, but it eventually returned to the proper twelve to the dozen figure.

Tom.

[Smiling-Knife]

This is a very informative thread. Thanks for starting it Mick and to all of those who contributed further information. I have a few Wostenholm penknives with the Firth Stainless marks on the blades.

[wellington03]

In the "Register of Trade Marks of the Cutler's Company of Sheffield." Published in 1953, by Bemrose of Derby. The Wostenholm Company are shown with 15 different Trade Marks (four of which are box labels - of those, three were used solely for razors.) All four box labels are shown as registered Trade Marks.

The most notable 'regular' Trade Mark that is not listed above, is simply the name:

WOSTENHOLM

Jim Taylor.

Just to round this thread off, here are the 15 Wostenholm trade marks mentioned by Jim, though these are from the earlier 1919 edition of "Register of Trade Marks of the Cutler's Company of Sheffield.

Mick

[Fishmagician]

New here, but hello to all, and thanks for all the great information Mick. I've been trying to find more information to assist me in aging my old and worn I*XL. I've had it for about 25 years and it was well worn when I got it, and the handle material has withdrawn from the bolsters. When I have a little more time I'll post a photo of it and it's markings. Thanks again, Mike

[wellington03]

New here, but hello to all, and thanks for all the great information Mick. I've been trying to find more information to assist me in aging my old and worn I*XL. I've had it for about 25 years and it was well worn when I got it, and the handle material has withdrawn from the bolsters. When I have a little more time I'll post a photo of it and it's markings. Thanks again, Mike

A warm welcome to BB Mike, pleased you found the information interesting, look forward to seeing your old I*XL.


Mick

[Hector]

Thanks very much for this.

Excellent info.

and an endlessly fascinating brand, in my opinion.