RARE 1830-37 LARGE 2 BLADED SHEFFIELD FOLDING LOCK BACK DIRK SELF DEFENSE WEAPON

Description: RARE 1830-37 LARGE 2 BLADED SHEFFIELD FOLDING LOCK BACK DIRK SELF DEFENSE WEAPON RARE 1830-37 LARGE 2 BLADED SHEFFIELD FOLDING LOCK BACK DIRK SELF DEFENSE WEAPON RARE 1830 - 1837 MARSH SPLENDID CUTLERY 2 BLADED SHEFFIELD LARGE FOLDING LOCK BACK DIRK SELF DEFENSE WEAPON By Thomas & William Marsh These early folding dirk knives were created to be used only as self-defense weapons. They fall into the early category of edged weapons made for personal self-defense purposes; and thus, have the accompanying Mano-a-Mano romance and history associated with this early period of American history. They are the Gentleman's counterpart to the Bowie / Dirk knife; but are many times rarer than their fixed blade counterparts. This rare Sheffield early 19th Century Folding lock back Dirk weapon is by the scarce & early quality cutlers Thomas & William Marsh. There is another better-known Maker with the same name, James Marsh (1780 -1817) who later became Marsh & Sheppard (1817-1825), then Marshes & Sheppard in 1825. It is probable that all the Marshes were somehow related, as Cutlery manufacturing was practiced by many generations of the same Cutlery families. Not much is known about Thomas and William Marsh who were early Old English Makers. They were located in Darnhall, near Sheffield, from 1787 – 1830, and both had different touch marks that were used before around 1818 when die reducing technology allowed smaller die stamps for hot stampings. In 1830 – 1837 they were located on Cricket Inn Road in Sheffield; but there is no record of the firm after 1837. The W & T Marsh company was a Manufacturer of Bowie type knives among other kinds of cutlery. Some of their Exhibition Folding Dirks are the best-known examples of exquisite, completely handmade Sheffield Exhibition Folding Dirks Extant. Three of these Marsh folding dirks are showcased in the Sheffield Exhibition Knife Book, with slight variations in their hot stamp ricasso markings. On page 198 – 1998 is a large Lock back Whittler pattern in carved pearl with the Master blade hot stamped, “T. MARSH”, “SPLENDID”, “CUTLERY” in 3 lines, with a Crown symbol above. That is the same Makers mark as is on this Sheffield folding lock back dirk on both ricassos with a space for the T; but either the die broke, was lightly struck, or has worn away. The bottom outline of the Crown is also visible above the A. The S.E.K. book has several errors and note that this mark is pre-1837, not 1840’s-50’s; and is demonstrated in two other examples in this book by the same Maker but with the W crown R period (1830 -1837) mark. Pages 192-193 show another 1830-37 period carved pearl large Whittler pattern in carved pearl with the double stamped marking, “W crown R”, “MARSH”, “ELEGANT”, and “CUTLERY”: a slight mark variation by Thomas Marsh. Another 1830-37 example is shown on page 196, marked, “W crown R”, “MARSH”, “ELEGANT”, “CUTLERY”. The crown mark, with or without the W R letters, was utilized by some Makers to suggest the firm had a Royal Warrant. The W stood for King William, and the R stood for Regency. However, only 3 Sheffield Cutlery firms were granted Warrants to make cutlery for the Royal family. Note that the words, Elegant, Splendid, Superior, etc. were descriptive monikers used almost exclusively in the 1830’s. In the 1830’s, almost all folding and fixed blade Dirks and Bowies were imported, almost exclusively from Sheffield, Old England for the burgeoning American Market; and this piece was intended for a well-to-do gentleman to use as a self-defense primary or back up weapon. During the early 19th century there was little law and order, and it was "every man for himself". Men were often at risk of being waylaid by thugs, ner' do goods, thieves, robbers, and bandits; and typically carried a cap and ball percussion pistol for self-protection. These early folding dirk knives were made only as a self-defense weapon for personal protection, and were completely hand forged, hand ground and hand fitted, using only the simple hand tools. The American revolver was not invented until 1836 by Samuel Colt. This Patterson model revolver and was prohibitively expensive at the time, and revolvers were not in general use in American until the Colt Baby Dragoon pocket model was introduced in 1848; followed shortly by the popular Model 1849. Pre 1850 Gentlemen would typically carry a brace of single shot percussion pistols which were prone to misfiring. Thus, gentlemen would also typically carry a folding dirk knife in their pocket or vest, or sometimes a less expensive fixed blade dirk or Bowie knife as a side arm on their belt as a backup self-defense weapon. This style and shape and of this Dirk is what is typical of 1830's Folding Dirks; however, this is an unusually large Dirk compared to most from this period. Overall, it is 10 1/2" long open, with a dagger style 4 7/8" long dagger shaped dirk blade with a median ridge ground down the middle of the single edged blade and is heavy for its size, weighing 3.3 ounces; yet is a deadly self-defense weapon. The blade has a full profile and has been properly sharpened over time, with very light sharpening. When you run you finger over the sharpened edge, there are no nicks to the blade. The Master blade shows light, even, naturally occurring aging that are age spots, spidering and very shallow pitting visible with a jeweler’s loupe under magnification. This naturally occurring aging is expected and normal for a dirk knife that is 180+ years old; and is in lightly used and carried and remains in excellent condition. Not all Sheffield Folding Dirks were a lock back design such as this one, which are rarer, more desirable, and were more expensive to manufacture. The lock back feature is designed for safety; to prevent the blade from closing on the fingers while gripping the hilt during a knife fight. Lock back dirks with the 2 piece back springs required special tempering of the shorter back spring & special hand fitting of the delicate locking mechanism. The 2 piece back springs on lock back dirks were only about 2/3 the length of one piece back spring dirks; thus, adding to the weakness of the Main spring. The lower 2/3 of the spring acts as the only spring for the Master blade. The top 1/3 portion of the "back spring" acts as the lever & locking mechanism of the Master blade and is not tempered to have any spring tension. Thus, even when new, these dirks with "2/3 length" back springs never had anywhere near the snap compared to the one piece back springs that are much longer, hand tempered differently, and almost always have a strong snap. Note that an 1830's dirk is 10 times rarer than an 1840's or 1850's folding lock back dirk as most were carried daily and lived a long, hard life and saw a decade or two of daily use before the later 1840's or 1850's lock back dirks were manufactured. This accounts for most of these old folders having their delicate 2-piece, 2/3 length Master blade springs that are sprung, worn out, or with light or no snap at all. This is one reason why early, pre-1837 knives are so rare. Some Folding lock back dirk weapons were carried in the Mexican American War, the Civil War by Military Officers, Sporting Gents, Gamblers and Gentlemen of means and were carried after carrying firearms was outlawed well past the turn of the 20th century. This Master blade has an extraordinarily strong action, locks tightly with no movement forward or backward nor side to side, and an exceptional snap when closing. There are numerous tiny marks where the very tip of the blade strikes and rests against the end of the backspring that acts as a blade stop. There is no reason to actually snap a Master blade hard into the hilt, which can break off the tip of the dirk blade; just lower the blade slowly into the hilt to avoid damage. NOTE that this piece has a professional restoration of the top locking lever that interlocks with the 2/3 orginal back spring and original Master blade ricasso, restoring the Master blade to lock and snap as new. This replaced lever has a hidden pivot pin that goes through the liners and backsprings but does not extend through the scales. There is a round pin hole that is barely visible with magnification in the right light when looking down on the left top scale 9/16” back from the front edge showing. The rocking locking lever appears shiny as it is modern with no patina. If desired, this could be aged or made to match the backspring by a restorer or knife mechanic. The smaller 2 5/16" long quill blade with a 1 piece back spring has an excellent snap; and would be used by Gentlemen for opening envelopes, cutting string, or sharpening a Goose quill that was then dipped into an ink well for writing or affixing one's signature to a document. Although metal dip pens came into use in the 1830's, quill knives were still a fashionable accessory, and continued to be used for decades. Only a learned Gentleman who know how to read and write during this period and would have had to be wealthy to afford a self-defense weapon with a quill bladed knife like this one. The liners are brass, as are the scale pins. Although the knife was disassembled to repair the locking lever, the scales had a tendency to dull over time due to the many minuscule scratches in the delicate surface and would be more attractive if the scales and pins were buffed by a professional after reassembly. The 1/8” thick blonde natural scales have the appearance of being old and are correct for the W crown R period. This is a rare material known to be used on 1830s folding dirks; and the blonde version is the most desirable and expensive of this type of material. All-natural scale material shrinks over time. When you hold the open dirk to the light, you can see slight outward bowing of the scales. This is common to very old knives with natural material that shrinks slightly over nearly 2 centuries. Since the scales are riveted to the liners as one solid piece, when the scales shrink slightly over time the material bows slightly as well as the affixed liners. There are 3 very old looking tiny pins in the scales that have no apparent purpose. Both liners have 2 old appearing assembly slash marks on the inside that are found on old liners. The handsome blonde 1/8” thick scales have no chips or cracks, look great, and in my opinion, look orginal. Regardless, I am selling this piece as if it has replaced scales to alleviate any possible potential contrary opinion. This Early Sheffield Folding Lock back Dirk knife by a very rare Maker would make a handsome display piece in any knife, dirk, dagger, Folder, Bowie, edged weapon, Mexican American War, Civil War, gambling, Old West, Western Americana or Military Officer's accouterments collection. Many collectors have never seen a W crown R period dirk, much less had an opportunity to own an eye appealing, early self-defense weapon. This handsome piece has a lot of eye appeal, is very early, and the Master lock back blade locks and snaps as new, as does the quill blade. Bill Williamson, the Well Known "Grandfather" of Bowie knife collecting, wrote that in the burgeoning United States of the 1830's, 95% of all early knives imported into America were from Sheffield. Given this Sheffield / American connection, the heritage and legacy of these folding dirk weapons are many times rarer and more desirable than their fixed blade counterparts. Considering their extreme age, any pre-1837 lock back self-defense weapon is a rarity in any condition. PAYMENT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PAYPAL & ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER, e-CHECKS & ALL MAJOR CREDIT & DEBIT CARDS, APPLE PAY, GOOGLE PAY AND ALL OTHER PAYMENT METHODS APROVED BUY EBAY. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SHIPPING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FREE SHIPPING & HANDLING FOR DOMESTIC BUYERS & TO THE EBAY U.S.A. INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CENTER. FOR USA PURCHASES, SHIPPING, HANDLING & DELIVERY IS FREE VIA U.S.P.S. FIRST CLASS MAIL (UP TO 16 OZ.) OR U.S.P.S. 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Price: 750 USD

Location: Fairfield, California

End Time: 2025-01-08T03:17:22.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD