KNIFE

A cast copper alloy handle for a scale tang knife, of Post Medieval dating (17th to 18th Centuries AD).

The knife handle is sub rectangular in plan, and concave in profile. The handle consists of one side from a paired set. One half would sit on either side of the tang in a scale tang knife. The handle is curved to accommodate the tang, with an closed semi-circular end. The blade end is open and flared. Located centrally on the handle, is a raised rectangular area, delimited by a border. Inside is an inscription 'MAKE YOU BLEED'.

The inside of the handle is plain and undecorated, with traces of solder and iron oxidation products present along the surface.

The handle is a mid brown colour, with minimal surface patination. Along the edges, the handle is shiny, where the oxidation products have been worn away.

The handle measures 74.67mm in length, 13.41mm wide at the blade end, 9.23mm wide at the closed end and 4.58mm thick. The metal is 1.10mm thick. It weighs 10.6 grams.

Malcolm Jones (pers com.) suggests that the original inscription will have read TAKE HEED OR I on the other scale, with SF-355B89 showing 'OR I'. The full inscription survives on an extant folding-knife which Simon Moore dates c.1770. See JAMS 26 (2021) fig 56 p.86.

Inscriptions similar to this though have been found on skillet or posnet handles and include phrases such as 'Pitty the Pore' and 'Love thy Neighbour', produced by the Fathers Foundry in Montacute, Somerset during the Late 17th and Early 18th Centuries AD (Butler & Green, 2003, p.59). It is therefore probable that this knife handle is of a similar date.

A couple of similar handles, although with a different inscription have been recorded on the PAS database. Two handles, one from Gravesend, Kent (KENT64) and one from Thursford, Norfolk (NMS-7AFE56) read: 'he that doth a good knife lack / by me I am steel unto the back'. A fragment of a knife handle from Holford, Somerset (SOM-4B5883) bears a partial inscription of MAKE YOUR P?N. All are believed to be Post Medieval (17th to 18th Centuries) in dating.

Reference:
Butler, R. & Green, C. 2003. English Bronze Cooking Vessels and their Founders 1350 - 1830. Honiton. Roderick & Valentine Butler.