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Early Odd Blade shape with Lion head handle. Need help with ID please!

Hello all!

So great that I found this forum. I have been a collector of antique chef/kitchen knives (and other styles as well) for some time now. I came across this website/forum while searching trying to ID a knife I picked up a few weeks ago.

I bought this with the idea that it may have been some type of early butcher knife. I have had some early carbon blades in the past and some early wrought iron hearth ware (roasters, etc). Anyway, the blade shape has me thrown for a loop. It has a chisel edge, and very primitive hammer marks. It has two circular marks in the blade which appear to have "W" in each one. The handle, which is what i had searched before is cast brass with a figural lion head at the end. It looks to be the original handle as the end of the tang is hammered down to keep it in place and it has significant wear. I found a knife maker who goes by Old Dominion Forge http://www.olddominionforge.com/knives.html who made a reproduction knife with a very similar handle. He says the original knife is listed in Madison Grant's The knife in homespun America. He says its 18th century, and has ties to Native American use. I have yet to order the book, but can't find anything else regarding the handle design or even the blade design. I don't doubt its authenticity as it is such an obscure piece. But still... I keep hitting dead ends.

Has anyone seen anything like this? Does anyone have a copy of homespun America?

Any information would be great.

Thanks all!

3 members like this

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KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Chris Sievert on October 10, 2015 at 14:18

This 18th century kufermesser from Germany has a brass handle with a lion's head end Exact same handle and blade shape.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on October 10, 2015 at 17:58

I have to agree Chris the match is extremely close!

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on October 11, 2015 at 16:55

Chris,the photo you are showing is the same one Bob Burgess showed in his example of a Kufermesser--I was pretty sure of my identification, just thought Bob with his expertise on the subject, might add some details. Also FYI, just saw a recent Ebay ended auction where what appears to be the same Kufermesser as Al's was offered for $1200- Glad I could help-LOL

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Permalink Reply by Bob Burgess on July 20, 2016 at 5:36

Hi - although I appear to have joined IKC some time ago, I forgot and have just found this post again searching for an image of a kufermesser.. To reply to the various points raised... The cooper's knife is not a tool known in British coopering, but was widely used on the Continent. The most common version is the cochoir (cauchoir) from France - this has either a straight or cranked blade. with a single bevel, like a side axe. Its use is the subject of some discussion, and my opinion is that it was a multi-use tool, also used for 'listing' barrel staves (the verb in French is doler) like the French coopers axe (the doloire) and another curious tool like a froe, called the 'coutre'. All three tools have a single bevel...

I first came across the V&A Museum tool some years ago - in a glass cabinet it was listed as a meat cleaver, with grooves to let the blood run out. I recognised it for what it really was and contacted the museum, and we finally agreed on its proper designation - which also explained the decorations of the coopers engraved into the blade,,, I must get around to writing the article I was asked to do for an Antique Metalwork group, and for which further research allowed me to uncover more examples of this tool...

The cochoir is French, but its close cousin, the cooper's knife, is known in many other European countries - Holland, Germany. Poland and Austria (and probably many others).. The brass handled versions seem uniquely Dutch or German, and the handles are similar to those found on military swords, possibly indicating they were made in edge tool makers who also made swords.. The single bevel to the blade identifies it as a woodworking tool, and not a butcher's knife. The fullering (grooves) to the blade appear more decorative than functional, and some French cochoirs have these, and others do not. Many have decorated blades, usually chiseled or punched, indicating they are a tool of some value, and maybe also a symbol of rank as well as just a tool. Like many tools there were regional variations in shape...

Some of my thoughts are explained in my paper on my website, as indicated above, but for ease of reference, her;s the link again: http://billhooks.co.uk/serpes-et-serpettes-fr/cochoirs-ou-cauchoir-...

The images of the coopers in the Nuernberger Hausbuchs (a series of images of retired craftsmen who lived in almshouses from the 14th to 19th centuries) show that the cooper's knife was an integral part of their tool-kit, kept close to hand for ready use.... see: http://www.nuernberger-hausbuecher.de/

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Permalink Reply by Bob Burgess on July 20, 2016 at 5:46

A few more images... Examples of regional variations shown in the 1927 French (Alsace) catalogue of Goldenberg - plus my most recent acquisition from France - one beaten to death by being misused to split knotty kindling wood.... The back has been beaten with a hammer, but it retains its single bevelled cutting edge... The rivetted tang may be an old repair, or it could have been made like that,,,

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cochoirs ex Goldenberg edit 1.jpg, 102 KB
cochoirs ex Goldenberg edit 2.jpg, 27 KB
P7020664.JPG, 1.1 MB

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Permalink Reply by Bob Burgess on July 20, 2016 at 5:55

and to finish off for today, first another of mine, also from France, with the handle turned with raised parts to replicate the hoops on a barrel. Next a couple in a display case at the Musée de l'Outil at Troyes in France... and another French example with a blade shape very similar to that in the original query....

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P5210485.JPG, 1011 KB
P5100254.JPG, 1.2 MB
cochoir.jpg, 1.2 MB

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Permalink Reply by Bob Burgess on July 20, 2016 at 7:22

That the kufermesser may be a symbol of rank (e.g. master cooper) or have more than a functional use, may be indicated in these two images from the 18th century books of the Nuernberger Hausbuchs...

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