I recently discovered them, safely tucked away for the past 40 years. Now, I thought you might like to continue this tradition of stewardship of them. Each of the four is a classic, old-school Sheffield Bowie, made for special presentations to, as the British call it, the “Carriage Trade” (proper gentlemen).
Each exhibits:
* Fancy, mirror-polished gimping (file work) across the back of the flat-back blade –
purely for beauty and as a hallmark of fine craftsmanship.
* German Silver Grip Pins to affix:
* Genuine Mother of Pearl inlaid grip blocks (4 blocks per knife),
* Skillfully cut and fitted German Silver Grip Liners,
* German Silver Crossguard/Bolster,
* German Silver Center Grip Bolster, and
* German Silver Pommel/Bolster.
Balance: Fighting Knife, Hilt Heavy; L.O.A.: 10 3/8"; Blade: 6", Hollow Ground, Sharp(!); Grips: Mother-of-Pearl; Fittings: German Silver.
If you look closely, you can see the grip pins -- but the pins are fitted so snuggly that you cannot notice them unless you hold the knife in the right light while you rotate the knife until they barely come into view.
The old H.G. & Co. “Cross Dagger” trademark, and “Sheffield, England” are crisply and deeply stamped, into the Blade Shoulder. A very nice touch from the old days.
In the traditional, old-school Sheffield tradition (and as is the practice with most American
“Custom” knives) the blade is high-grade carbon steel, so it takes and holds a “keen” (as the British say) edge. A high-quality mirror polished Carbon Steel Blade resists rust, as there are no fine grooves into which moisture can creep in. (Maintain it occasionally with a thin coat of light oil or a polished coat of paste wax; Bowling Alley Waxworks well).
Each knife is fitted with its quite-substantial, thick, dark brown Leather Sheath. The Sheath
Body is a full ½” thick(!) with heavy-duty double leather layers on the backside for rigidity and to provide protection for the owner from the sharp blade.
Back in the day, a gentleman would carry a Sheffield Bowie of this quality in his greatcoat pocket. Or, he could slip it under his belt -- in which case a leather snap-on/off tab on the face of the sheath serves as a stub to prevent the knife and sheath from dropping down through the belt. It also secures a leather or cloth frog mount (with a belt loop), if you ever wanted to have one made.
In today's market, American “Custom” knives of this quality, would typically carry prices far
more than this one.
The “Sheffield Four” are made in the old way in the old country that was once the center of knifemaking, back when “the Sun Never Set on the British Empire” and when Rudyard Kipling wrote my favorite poem, Gunga Din, which concludes (from my 124-yr. old 1 st edition):