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Comment by Bryan W on December 8, 2016 at 19:48

Thanks Jan!  Should be a good snow day (well, days in reality) project to polish up and see how it comes out....!

Comment by Jan Carter on December 8, 2016 at 11:45

John,

We actually said in the chat, the night this was posted, John McCain will know the info on it!  The rest of us did some looking but none of us uncovered the great detail you and Bryan did!  The knife was a sweet find Bryan!

Comment by Bryan W on December 7, 2016 at 19:55

Thanks Charles!

Featured Comment by Charles Sample on December 7, 2016 at 9:23

Quite a knife!

Comment by Bryan W on December 6, 2016 at 20:41

Hi John

I thought you would have fun looking at this one.  I agree with your research, as I have found similar info but actually some more detail.  Also Mark Z is going to be sending me some additional info, as there is not a lot online.  But I was able to find some photos of Mr. Clayton, one of the few "Little Mesters" left in the UK.  His shop was actually located within the Kelham Island Industrial Museum.  After looking at the photos you can just visualize him working on this knife with all of the filework.  How cool.  I'm hoping I can track him down and speak with him, I think it would make a great article!

I also agree with your values, but note those are on more "normal" sized knives, and not the oversized ones - those are worth considerably more.  I was lucky enough to grab this one at a good price as I thought it was well worth saving.  Should be a fun bunch of hours polishing this one up to see what appears!

In Memoriam Comment by John McCain on December 6, 2016 at 11:57

Bryan W- I think you scored a nice one there.Your knife reads Coutel (from the House of Coutel Limited) and was made by Graham Clayton a very noted  Sheffield custom knife maker. Graham Clayton originally worked for G. Ibberson and later for Digbys as a custom knife maker. In 1978 he opened  the House of Coutel along with a partner until they closed in 2004.I have read that both Frank Buster and Parker/Frost imported some of his knives.He made some very finely fileworked bowies and elaborately scrolled and fileworked folders,many of which were oversized like yours. He used great materials like MOP, abalone, real gold,ivory, etc. in his creations.Very collectable knives and I have seen other of his folders selling in the $200-400 range. I would love to see some more photos of this gem !!

Comment by Bryan W on December 5, 2016 at 19:51

Ok, lets see who can figure this one out.  Note the coin in the photos is a quarter.  This knife has seen better days, but I had to "save" it and bring it back to its original glory...well, at least I should be able to come close!

Once its cleaned up, I'll post updated photos.  (Apologies in advance for all the shadows - just a few quick photos for your enjoyment!)