'Warranted' knife...?

mk4125

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Jul 9, 2015
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Found this knife blade along the upper banks of Lake Michigan. It was fairly deep and the dry, sandy earth appears to have been kind to it... The only marks on it is the word 'WARRANTED'. Generic fur trade skinning knife?
IMG_20170721_080135.jpg IMG_20170721_080145.jpg
 

Looks like a fishing knife, for gutting. Reason I think it might be that is the way the blade tapers.
 

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For the area it may have been a roachbelly knife. It has had a rough life.
Multi purpose blades were much more common ( in my opinion) than severely up swept skinning knives.
While a skinner design helps not damage hides on larger animals, the knives like the large " Hudson Bay" or " eyes" type used where larger game existed did not sweep as much as a skinner does with more accepted skinner designs.
Warranted might suggest English steel. Warranted meaning that in the makers opinion ,the steel is "superior."( Kinda like the big lake Superior maybe..).
That claim is only as good as it sounds though and was not a guarantee.
 

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Actually, in British-speak, the antique word "warranted" meant guaranteed. That's why you see stampings saying things like "Warranted Superior Quality." There's also a line from the 1883 book "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson, in which Long John Silver says (speaking about Jim Hawkins), "[He is] smart as paint, I'll warrant."

The term "warranty" (a written guarantee) is derived from warranted.
 

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Actually, in British-speak, the antique word "warranted" meant guaranteed. That's why you see stampings saying things like "Warranted Superior Quality." There's also a line from the 1883 book "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson, in which Long John Silver says (speaking about Jim Hawkins), "[He is] smart as paint, I'll warrant."

The term "warranty" (a written guarantee) is derived from warranted.
Standing on a Northern shore with a broken blade....debating if warranted meant it's maker claimed it was of superior quality( as many did at the time ) vs willing to reimburse the holder would have been a great discussion back then.

Long John also said about Cap'n Flint ( the parrot,not the pirate) " can't touch pitch and not get mucked" ,or something like that.
 

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I have always felt that Warranted meant the guarantee of the alloy
 

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Don't Lose Your "Scalp" Over This...Knife!

From the style shown, I would believe this to be a massed produced early 1800's, English design...Scalping Knife.

Scalper knife English.jpg

It has been stated that the Indians were issued and supplied by each side of the fur trade and armies, scalping and skinning knives and paid accordingly for their bounty.

Scalper knife (Bowie).jpg


Scalping Knife.jpg

Scalping Knife 2.JPG
Sheffield in the early 1800's mass produced knife blades (without their logo) for the Canadian and American fur industry.
These blades were sent unfinished to American knife manufactures to be completed with handles and sheaths.

Sheffield did stamp each of their blades with "Warranted" to imply that cast steel, a better steel was used in each.
 

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