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US Navy Civil War Rope Knife

Who can help me identify this knife and put a value on it?

I believe the inscription on the ricasso is:

"BH TAYLOR & BROTHER SHEFFIELD"

I believe this to be from the Civil War and very rare.

Tags: Knife, Navy, Rope, US

5 members like this

Attachments:

usnavyknife.jpg, 28 KB
usnavyknife2.jpg, 1.1 MB

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on December 31, 2013 at 0:10

I did some web crawling for you and here is what I found out-The name is not BH Taylor & Brother but actually is

A)--H.H. Taylor and Brother-Sheffield- They were knifemakers circa 1855-1890

B)-"Official Price Guide to Collectors Knives" excerpt that I found lists them as U.S. Navy Contractors

C) The guide lists the collectibility as 3 out of 4 stars

D) The Civil War ran from 1861-1865, so your knife is in the right time frame to possibly be Civil War era

Hope this helps, I had a lot of fun doing it !!

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Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on December 31, 2013 at 0:37

John and I seem to be on the same track. Found this while searching for "Rope Knife". Remarkably similar.

http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/hh-taylor-brother-sheffield-u...

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on December 31, 2013 at 2:45

Yet a little more history on your knife-H.H. Taylor & Brother "US Navy" stamped on the blade-Circa 1860 with stag handles

This is courtesy of- www.oregonknifeclub.org/Newsletter%201012.pdf‎- They have done extensive research on 19th century Naval knives, so I would guess that is a pretty accurate date.That would put your knife in the timeframe of the beginning of the Civil War in 1861-

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Permalink Reply by Jason Bunch on December 31, 2013 at 6:42

Thanks for the research John! I'm new to this and do not have the resources or knowledge at this time. Any idea of the value?

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Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on December 31, 2013 at 8:19

In the 2010 auction it was estimated to sell for between 300.00 and 500.00. Don't know the actual price that it went for.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on December 31, 2013 at 12:47

I haven't yet found any info on value, other than what J.J. found. IMO your knife has crossover interest. Knife collectors.collectors of naval items, and Civil War collectors would all have interest in it.I also know that for Civil War and probably naval collectors, any additional information about the personal pedigree of the knife will increase its value. IE, who carried the knife, ships they served on, etc. Any tidbit of info like that help the value of the knife to those collectors. I don't know how how you acquired the knife, but if it was a family heirloom a little research on the family connection would be worth your time.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by John McCain on December 31, 2013 at 23:55

Jason, I meant to leave this info in my previous post, but had to leave to go to work before I had a chance (sigh).

It might be worth the effort to contact http://www.portcolumbus.org/. This the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus, Georgia. If you hit the contact tab on the main page, it not only gives a telephone number, but a way to contact them by email. They may be able to answer any other questions you might have, and might even want to purchase it as an addition to their collection. I know that they have some other pocket knives at the museum. I would still gather any personal details you may have, if you know the original owners name,etc. Even if you can only provide a name, they probably have enlistment rolls, etc. and provide some additional history for you.

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Permalink Reply by Smiling-Knife on January 12, 2014 at 8:09

Henry Holbert Taylor started the company, HH Taylor and Brother, in 1860 and this was the name until his death in 1879. He had two sons, George Hawksley Taylor and Henry Hawksley Taylor. George ran the company, George H Taylor and Brother, from 1879-1901 at which time Henry Jr took over. Like his father, he also used HH Taylor Sheffield. So, if HH Taylor & Brother, It could be from one of two period;. 1860-79 or 1901- later. The pattern was made for the Royal Navy through the Boer war until replaced by the Admiralty Pattern 301 in 1910. I hope this is of interest. Information on the Taylors sourced from Tweedale's Directory of Sheffield Cutlery Manufactures 1740-2010.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on January 12, 2014 at 13:29

Some excellent information there everyone. S-K, as always, great resource for our Sheffield collectors. I suggest you contact the Museum as John said. They should be able to help determine if this is the exact era for the knife

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Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on February 12, 2014 at 13:00

The U.S Navy was contracting knives from Sheffield up until around 1900. I will look at my sources, when I get home tonight. Absolutely beautiful rope knife, BTW. Is that stag?

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Permalink Reply by Michael D. on May 11, 2014 at 14:58

Nice pictures of US Navy knives. They were definitely heavily used in the Civil War.

Did you know sailors were not allowed to have pointed knives on board ship? If he was found out, the knife was stuck in the ship's railing and broken then returned to the sailor. But sailors still managed to carry pointed pocket knives. Look up USS Cairo at the Vicksburg National Military Park and you'll see good examples of pointed and "boater" knives. The Cairo was struck by a "torpedo" (modern day it's called a mine) and was the first warship sunk in such a fashion. She became a time capsule (like King Tut's tomb) because everything was preserved in an instant (she went down in 6-7 minutes I believe, without any loss of life) showing naval life aboard a river ironclad.