Thomas Wilson stag sharpening steel

By rod923, 23 June, 2010
Description

In the late 17th century (1670) Thomas Wilson worked as an apprentice cutler to george Carr of Attercliffe, and Thomas Jenning in 1674. The firm John Willson gave it's own description of it's place within the scheme of things, "The oldest and foremost firm in the world specializing in the manufacture of butcher's and provision dealers cutlery. It was founded in 1750 by Thomas Wilson, who was succeeded in the buisness by his som John. By the early 19th century, the Wilson buisness had one of the best known marks in the cutlery industry- Peppercorns and a diamond. John Wilson died in 1851. It was common for their cutlery to be traded for fur with the native Americans. The stag steels are more rare than his knives, or wood steels.

Category
General Antiques and Collectibles
Medium
stag, steel, brass, and leather
Distinguishing marks
engraving not too impressive, but what I can read... It says WILSON SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND
Condition
Good
Size and dimensions of this item
17.5" overall length
Date Period
mid 1700's to early 1800's
eBay Auction Link
Price Paid (If known)
Handed down
For Sale?
No
Photos

Lovejoy

14 years 12 months ago

Sorry to say, but your piece postdates 1891, the company operated until the 20th century. These were part of a set are of a type that included a meat fork and carving knife, and were mass produced until the 1930's.

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LOL... Okay, who told you that, or where did you get your info. from? Do you just write stuff on peoples postings? I thought this was an apprasial site anyway. Show me some facts backing your claim, or even another piece like mine if they were in fact "mass produced".

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The pieces made for the Indian/fur trade were not near as elaborate as yours, they had very plain handles like one would find on a utility butcher's utensils. Here's the mate to yours, it sold for $28.00.

http://images.cloud.worthpoint.com/wpimages/images/images1/1/0509/14/1_…

Here's a couple hundred of them:

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/search?sort=relevance&rows=100&dtype=gal…

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LMAO!!! Not ONE of the "100's" you speak of was a Wilson, or even come close in size. Yah, there was a few stag steels... even one from Sheffield in there. Nice try though. This thing is 19.5" long, and I seriously doubt that it came in a set. Let me know if you ever find one just like mine.

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You can believe what you want, but the fact remains as I said before, " the pieces made for the Indian/fur trade were not near as elaborate as yours, they had very plain handles like one would find on a utility butcher's utensils". These things are not rare or all that valuable, Wilson was just one of many making these things for the export market.

The one in the first link was a Wilson, virtually identical to yours, and sold for under $30.00 here's another link to it:

http://tinyurl.com/24q8xaq

Here's another link to it if the top one doesn't work.
http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-wilson-sharpening-steel-2…

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Hey yah, that one was pretty close. So that sold on an aution site then? I guess something is only worth what one is willing to pay. What is a fair asking price for this then. The wood handles are going for $60-$80 on ebay.

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The monetary value of anything depends on supply and demand. In a market where both the vendor and buyer are knowledgeable about an item, values will fall within a Low-High range. All of the Wilsons listed on Worthpoint sold for under $40.00, the one in the link provided for $28.00, the lowest price just over $10.00.

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