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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: peterkulan on July 31, 2011, 02:50:48 PM
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This little handmade knife signed indistinctly Osi West Germany, I would like to know little about?
Grateful for all answers! It is 10 inches long and 1 cm wide, samtvälputsat bone-like material in the shaft.
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Could you post pics of the markings only? I do not think it says Osi but I could be wrong.
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Yes, upclose pics of the stamping (s) could be useful. The German knives I have are all marked "Solingen" . I wonder if the "OSI" could be an acronym for something. If so all the letters would be in caps. Also, what characteristics lead you to believe it is handmade? Not being controversial, just trying to narrow it down. I'm sure that not all German knives are marked Solingen, just ones made there or ones made of Solingen steel.
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I have played around with the ricasso marking but still it eludes me. It looks like **OSYi and then MADE IN GERMANY. It does not say West Germany so this is before WWII or after the wall came down. It looks like it had a solder repair to the bolster and quite crude at that.
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Thanks i think it is befor the war ! What do you think about the shaft can it be bone or other material
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Giving it a shot too ..... likely won't be any better though
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I cannot tell. Need more pics. Still waiting for a clear pic of just the marking. I think the handle is slab white Delrin but I cannot really tell from that 1 pic.
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Here are two pictures! Hope they help you, it would be fun to know more about it and if it has any value! Thank you very kindly for all the help so far / Peter
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Did not find anything "osyi" however I enlarged Sapphires pic and could see a very faint Y as the first letter !! So looked up Yosyi and found that there is a company in China, not too far from Shanghai, Yosyi Industrial Solutions Co. !! They do injection molding, die cast ect !! It is possible that the knife blades were purchased from a German manufacturer and had the handles applied there or were purchased as is for use by that company. I do not think the handle is bone. The knife is a rather plain jane, utilitarian type with nothing to distinguish it so I would think that there may have been a use within that company for the knife.
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I still cannot see that first letter clearly. A close-up pic of just the marking would be nice. It looks like "cosi" or something. Cosi was a knife brand sold in dime stores from what I can gather but I have no idea if it was made in Germany. The rest of the knife is rather cheaply made. White plastic slabs with steel rivets for a handle and the hilt looks like it is steel also. I would say it looks like a knife that was sold in dime stores.
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I find another Knife there i can se the same sign but more clerly teosi or leosi
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How about a pic of just the marking? leosi or teosi makes as much sense as osi. Without a clear pic of the marking only, no further info can be found.
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Elosi Germany Vintage i buy a knife in a shop today and i think its the same sign
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The idea of making a pocketknife handle out of 'bumped' or stamped sheet steel goes back long before WW-I. It was evidently patented in Germany, but I have not yet seen a US patent for the invention -- one or more might exist, but I have not found them.
Those early versions had the sheet steel embossed to look like bolsters, with 'stag' in the center. The stag part was painted brown or black. They were cheap to make, and looked it, plus the handles tended to work loose, so they were not very big sellers -- even at a nickel or dime apiece.
In 1934 this concept was revolutionized by Otto Stiehl and Ernst Lohr of Solingen. They made sheet steel handles with the centers slightly recessed, allowing thin sheet celluloid to be wrapped around each handle, giving the appearance of a solid handle and bolsters, good enough to fool the average consumer, especially since these knives could be retailed profitably for around a quarter of the wholesale cost of a solid knife. This turned out to be the most profitable invention in the history of cutlery. It was patented in every country with a patent system.
E. Lohr & O. Stiehl had their own company, ELOSI (their initials) but their real money came from licensing the patent to bigger companies. In Germany the primary licensee was Gebruder Richartz. In Britain it was Richartz's sister firm, Richards Brothers.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/442606-Imperial-Richards-Sheffield-fishknife
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Exelent answer thank u !
I can see you are an expert in this area Best regard Peter
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One can find most any information on the internet. ;)
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Great job Wayward!