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San Francisco California » knifeSan Francisco California | https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com Mon, 27 Apr 2026 05:44:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1 California gold rush San Francisco Antique California Bowie Knife https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/12/california-gold-rush-san-francisco-antique-california-bowie-knife/ https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/12/california-gold-rush-san-francisco-antique-california-bowie-knife/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2020 13:45:19 +0000 http://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/12/california-gold-rush-san-francisco-antique-california-bowie-knife/

California gold rush San Francisco Antique California Bowie Knife

Very rare “American Made” California style Bowie Knife C. 1850’s to 1870’s. This is an amazing, lovely old knife. While not marked it just screams California. The original sheath is hand tooled & silver mounted in the California style and it has a very unique silver belt clip that has a tab which folds down to loosen the clip and and back up to clamp tight to a belt or clothing. Never have seen this design before. Kind of an intricate detail just for a belt clip. I’m wondering if it was designed to hang upside down inside a coat if one chose to. The knife holds well enough in the sheath and there are six small catch-barbs on the inside to keep the sheath from sliding if the knife was pulled in the upside-down position. As mentioned it’s not marked, but it has all the grace, class & character of the Barbary Coast/San Francisco knives made by M. Price & Will & Finck. All the mounts on the knife and sheath are heavy duty silver including the butt cap. The 6 blade shows wear from sharpening. The handle is beautifully aged a creamy, buttery, golden yellow. It’s one piece bone with finger grooves. Total length of knife is 10-3/4. In the sheath it’s near 11-1/2. The sheath has some damage on both sides, a piece missing on one side and there’s a tear. The item “California gold rush San Francisco Antique California Bowie Knife” is in sale since Monday, December 14, 2020. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Western Americana\Antique Western”. The seller is “atthediggings” and is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. This item can be shipped worldwide.
California gold rush San Francisco Antique California Bowie Knife

]]> https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/12/california-gold-rush-san-francisco-antique-california-bowie-knife/feed/ 0 California gold rush San Francisco Newspaper withgreat ads Antique Bowie Knife https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/12/california-gold-rush-san-francisco-newspaper-withgreat-ads-antique-bowie-knife/ https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/12/california-gold-rush-san-francisco-newspaper-withgreat-ads-antique-bowie-knife/#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2020 12:25:25 +0000 http://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/12/california-gold-rush-san-francisco-newspaper-withgreat-ads-antique-bowie-knife/

California gold rush San Francisco Newspaper withgreat ads Antique Bowie Knife

Very rare copy of “THE GOLDEN ERA / San Francisco, California / 1854″ newspaper. Of special interest to antique Bowie knife collectors (& especially to California knife collectors) is an outstanding and historical ad for “Huge McConnell” the earliest knife maker in San Francisco. Many ads for banks. All you needed to open a bank in those days was a safe. One ad is for a “SALOON” on Commercial street. The article titled “San Francisco Within Doors” mentions Commercial St. As being a notorious area for vice. The Hugh McConnell ad is a special one. There are only, maybe, 3 or 4 other ads known in other early S. Newspapers but this one has more meat than the others. The second to last photo is an ad from 1853 and has only a couple lines below the makers Name and no mention of knives. This ad being offered has the great ad for Bowies & Dirks made to order. This could be the only surviving ad with the mention of Bowie’s & Dirks. Condition of newspaper is okay. The front, as you can see, isn’t in very good shape and one half of one page is missing. The item “California gold rush San Francisco Newspaper withgreat ads Antique Bowie Knife” is in sale since Tuesday, December 8, 2020. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Western Americana\Antique Western”. The seller is “atthediggings” and is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. This item can be shipped worldwide.
California gold rush San Francisco Newspaper withgreat ads Antique Bowie Knife

]]> https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/12/california-gold-rush-san-francisco-newspaper-withgreat-ads-antique-bowie-knife/feed/ 0 Antique American Bowie/Dirk knife California gold rush San Francisco https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/11/antique-american-bowiedirk-knife-california-gold-rush-san-francisco-3/ https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/11/antique-american-bowiedirk-knife-california-gold-rush-san-francisco-3/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2020 19:22:15 +0000 http://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/11/antique-american-bowiedirk-knife-california-gold-rush-san-francisco-3/

Antique American Bowie/Dirk knife California gold rush San Francisco

Made in Gold Rush era San Francisco, this early, California, silver-mounted dirk knife may be the oldest San Francisco made dirk knife known. I don’t think it’s impossible that it could be an early, unmarked, Hugh McConnell knife? (SEE THE LAST IMAGE IN THE PICTURE GALLERY). No one knows when he arrived in California but according to Levine’s book Hugh McConnell was making his knives in S. The article in Levine’s book could explain the interesting jewelers stamp on this knife. I’m not saying this is, or isn’t, a McConnell knife but there are some very different and unique things about this particular knife that sets it apart from “all” of the other known San Francisco knives and it sure makes you wonder. And it is – unquestionably – a very old knife. It’s virtually impossible to compare this knife with other known knives made by McConnell because there’s only “one” known authentic knife stamped “Hugh McConnell / San Francisco”. The below is followed by a comment on the handle. There was a question about it regarding the color. The provenance that came with this knife has a note pasted to the photo that mentions a “silver knife” that belonged to a gold seeker named R. Baugh who traveled to California to find gold. This knife is 9-3/8″ with a 5-1/2″ blade and comes with it’s original silver sheath with stepped throat and period leather over-sheath. The provenance is an old 8″x 10″ photograph of an etching of R. Baugh who later became mayor of Memphis Tenn. From 1857 to 1861. The photograph and note is, I believe, c. Late 1800’s and not later than 1920’s. The back has a short history of the photo penned in old iron ink. This photograph of your great Uncle Richard D. Baugh was made from a negative from an engraving of him in a book – hence the markings on his face….. According to an online search, during the Civil War he served as a Col. In the 7th TN. The provenance can’t prove that this knife is the one mentioned in the note but if we dismiss the provenance and evaluate the knife by itself it would reasonably date to around the 1850’s to 1860’s. But, taking into account that the provenance is old and mentions a silver knife that belonged to a gold seeker, and it’s early construction design, and the rare stamp associating it directly to San Francisco I have to assume that the knife and provenance belong together. Levine’s: “Knifemakers of Old San Francisco” There was only one other inconsequential knifemaker in S. In 1852 besides Hugh McConnell. But, there were a total of seven great fires in San Francisco from 1849 to 1851 which may have wiped out any previous records of knife making in the city. There is no makers identification on the knife but there is a fascinating, unique, stamp on the silver band around the riccasso: S. , in tiny letters not much bigger than 1/32 of an inch. It looks like a jewelers stamp or a silversmith stamp. I had to have a friend with macro photography equipment take a good picture of it. This great stamp renders the knife an inescapable part of the California Gold Rush. Please see the last image in the gallery (from “Knife Makers of Old San Francisco”) for an interesting piece on Hugh McConnell. It explains the possible reason for the jewelers stamp. When McConnell first began he did not advertise his knives, so perhaps he didn’t mark them either. Instead he brought them to a jeweler to sell from his store on Montgomery St. NOTE: Included with the knife is an extremely rare San Francisco newspaper (“THE GOLDEN ERA / March 12, 1854″) with a historical, early knife maker ad for “Hugh McConnell”. McConnell was the earliest known knife maker in S. And the ad is probably the only one like it. There are only a few other similar Hugh McConnell ads known but this particular ad has more meat than the other ads that only have three lines with no mention of Bowie knives or dirk knives. This ad has 12 lines beneath the word “CUTLER”. Two lines say: “Will make to order”…. “Bowie knives of the best quality / mounted with either gold or silver”. Construction: The silver sheath was finished in-the-rough revealing the seams and joints as you can see in the last two images. It would probably be very hard to find any sheath made for the high quality San Francisco knives that didn’t have a silver plated finish to hide the seams and joints. This is probably a good indication of a very early make. Also the round nut secured to the tang is iron, or steel, and is not the silver slotted type of nut usually seen on the S. These construction differences might be expected on a knife made in the very early 1850’s before the new & improved versions were developed. Overall Condition is very good. The blade is full but in used condition. The handle has dark, hairline cracks. The silver mounts have scratches and the flush mounted nut on the end has heavy rust. The sheath is covered with a heavy-duty, hand tooled and hand stitched, leather over-sheath that is definitely of the period. The old brown leather is beautifully worn from use and has a gorgeous old western frontier look. The stitching is strong and completely intact. The only thing is that the leather has shrunk tight around the sheath so you can’t see the rest of the sheath and taking it off is not possible without destroying it so it’s best left on. There’s been a question about the color of the handle material and whether or not it’s the original handle. I emailed two qualified collectors & dealers in this natural material and both agree that the white color would be consistent with the age as described. It’s tapioca-white color does show sufficient age but hasn’t yellowed as have many examples of S. Knife handles see M. Price knife, #8 in picture gallery since the 1800’s. Perhaps contacting a carbon dating company and see about having it carbon dated. Stored properly, with humidity control and heat control, it will hardly age at all. If left in the sun, exposed to oils or chemicals, or kept in a hot dry place, it will crack, yellow, and pit. But if it were say, in a trunk wrapped in a clothe inside a house, it might crack but not yellow. So, again there are so many variables. I own” examples “I know are from the 1800’s that are snowy white. This explanation would be consistent with the provenance that this knife was kept as a treasured heirloom and passed down through the family and was probably stored in the proper way. So, though it may have cracked it would have maintained a white color and not yellowed over time. The item “Antique American Bowie/Dirk knife California gold rush San Francisco” is in sale since Wednesday, November 4, 2020. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Western Americana\Antique Western”. The seller is “atthediggings” and is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. This item can be shipped worldwide.
Antique American Bowie/Dirk knife California gold rush San Francisco

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]]> https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/11/antique-american-bowiedirk-knife-california-gold-rush-san-francisco-3/feed/ 0 Antique American Bowie/Dirk knife California gold rush San Francisco https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/10/antique-american-bowiedirk-knife-california-gold-rush-san-francisco-2/ https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/10/antique-american-bowiedirk-knife-california-gold-rush-san-francisco-2/#comments Sun, 18 Oct 2020 11:32:42 +0000 http://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/10/antique-american-bowiedirk-knife-california-gold-rush-san-francisco-2/

Made in Gold Rush era San Francisco, this early, California, silver-mounted dirk knife may, or may not, be the oldest San Francisco made dirk knife known. Proving it one way or the other would be a real challenge. If I had more info. That could date the knife before 1854 it would be priceless. Could it “possibly” be an early, unmarked, Hugh McConnell knife? (SEE THE LAST IMAGE IN THE PICTURE GALLERY). No one knows when he arrived in California but according to Levine’s book Hugh McConnell was making his knives in S. The article in Levine’s book could help to explain the Jewelers stamp on this knife. I’m not saying this is, or isn’t, a McConnell knife but there are some very different and unique things about this particular knife that sets it apart from “all” of the other known San Francisco knives and it sure makes you wonder. And it’s – obviously – a very old knife. Regarding a question about the white handle, a reliable expert & dealer in this natural material is quoted at bottom next to the. The provenance that came with this knife has a note pasted to the photo that mentions a “silver knife” that belonged to a gold seeker named R. Baugh who traveled to California to find gold. This knife is 9-3/8″ with a 5-1/2″ blade and comes with it’s original silver sheath with stepped throat and period leather over-sheath. The provenance is an old 8″x 10″ photograph of an etching of R. Baugh who later became mayor of Memphis Tenn. From 1857 to 1861. The photograph and note is, I believe, c. Late 1800’s and not later than 1920’s. The back has a short history of the photo penned in old iron ink. This photograph of your great Uncle Richard D. Baugh was made from a negative from an engraving of him in a book – hence the markings on his face……. According to an online search, during the Civil War he served as a Col. In the 7th TN. The provenance can’t prove that this knife is the one mentioned in the note but if we dismiss the provenance and evaluate the knife by itself it would reasonably date to around the 1850’s to 1860’s. But taking into account that the provenance is old and mentions a silver knife that belonged to a gold seeker, and it’s early construction design, and the rare stamp associating it directly to San Francisco I have to assume that the knife and provenance belong together. Levine’s: “Knifemakers of Old San Francisco” There was only one other inconsequential knifemaker in S. In 1852 besides Hugh McConnell. But, there were a total of seven great fires in San Francisco from 1849 to 1851 which may have wiped out any previous records of knife making in the city. There is no makers identification on the knife but there is a fascinating, unique, stamp on the silver band around the riccasso: S. , in tiny letters not much bigger than 1/32 of an inch. It looks like a jewelers stamp or a silversmith stamp. I had to have a friend with macro photography equipment take a good picture of it. This great stamp renders the knife an inescapable part of the California Gold Rush. Please see the last image in the gallery (from “Knife Makers of Old San Francisco”) for an interesting piece on Hugh McConnell. It explains the possible reason for the jewelers stamp. NOTE: Included with the knife is an extremely rare San Francisco newspaper (“THE GOLDEN ERA / March 12, 1854″) with a historical, early knife maker ad for “Hugh McConnell”. McConnell was the earliest known knife maker in S. And the ad is probably the only one like it. There are only a few other similar Hugh McConnell ads known but this particular ad has more meat than the other ads that only have three lines with no mention of Bowie knives or dirk knives. This ad has 12 lines beneath the word “CUTLER”. Two lines say: “Will make to order”…. “Bowie knives of the best quality / mounted with either gold or silver”. Construction: The silver sheath was finished in-the-rough revealing the seams and joints as you can see in the last two images. It would probably be very hard to find any sheath made for the high quality San Francisco knives that didn’t have a silver plated finish to hide the seams and joints. This is probably a good indication of a very early make. Also the round nut secured to the tang is iron, or steel, and is not the silver slotted type of nut usually seen on the S. These construction differences might be expected on a knife made in the very early 1850’s before the new & improved versions were developed. Overall Condition is very good. The blade is full but in used condition. The handle has dark, hairline cracks. The silver mounts have scratches and the flush mounted nut on the end has heavy rust. The sheath is covered with a heavy-duty, hand tooled and hand stitched, leather over-sheath that is definitely of the period. The old brown leather is beautifully worn from use and has a gorgeous old western frontier look. The stitching is strong and completely intact. The only thing is that the leather has shrunk tight around the sheath so you can’t see the rest of the sheath and taking it off is not possible without destroying it so it’s best left on. There’s been a question about the color of the handle material and whether or not it’s the original handle. I emailed two qualified collectors & dealers in this natural material and both agree that the white color would be consistent with the age as described. It’s tapioca-white color does show sufficient age but hasn’t yellowed as have many examples of S. Knife handles see M. Price knife, #8 in picture gallery since the 1800’s. Perhaps contacting a carbon dating company and see about having it carbon dated. Stored properly, with humidity control and heat control, it will hardly age at all. If left in the sun, exposed to oils or chemicals, or kept in a hot dry place, it will crack, yellow, and pit. But if it were say, in a trunk wrapped in a clothe inside a house, it might crack but not yellow. So, again there are so many variables. I own” examples “I know are from the 1800’s that are snowy white. This explanation would be consistent with the provenance that this knife was kept as a treasured heirloom and passed down through the family and was probably stored in the proper way. So, though it may have cracked it would have maintained a white color and not yellowed over time. The item “Antique American Bowie/Dirk knife California gold rush San Francisco” is in sale since Thursday, September 17, 2020. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Western Americana\Antique Western”. The seller is “atthediggings” and is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. This item can be shipped worldwide.
Antique American Bowie/Dirk knife California gold rush San Francisco

]]> https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/10/antique-american-bowiedirk-knife-california-gold-rush-san-francisco-2/feed/ 0 RARE Will & Finck Cased knife and garter, San Francisco California, gold rush https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/08/rare-will-finck-cased-knife-and-garter-san-francisco-california-gold-rush/ https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/08/rare-will-finck-cased-knife-and-garter-san-francisco-california-gold-rush/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2020 21:52:42 +0000 http://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/08/rare-will-finck-cased-knife-and-garter-san-francisco-california-gold-rush/

RARE Will & Finck Cased knife and garter, San Francisco California, gold rush

Very light surface patina, bone is in excellent condition as well as silver work. Blade measures 6″ in length overall knife is 11″ case measures 13. On top cover Will & Finck Special is marked as well as “Rosarita”. Case itself is also in very good condition. Please use photos as part of the description. The item “RARE Will & Finck Cased knife and garter, San Francisco California, gold rush” is in sale since Sunday, May 19, 2019. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Knives, Swords & Blades\Collectible Fixed Blade Knives\Vintage Fixed Blade Knives\Custom & Handmade”. The seller is “us.trouv” and is located in Cranston, Rhode Island. This item can be shipped to United States.

Year: 1850
Brand: Will & Finck
Handle Material: Bone
Blade Material: Carbon Steel
Blade Length: Over 5in.
Type: Dagger
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
Authenticity: Original
Tang: Encapsulated
Color: Gold

]]> https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/08/rare-will-finck-cased-knife-and-garter-san-francisco-california-gold-rush/feed/ 0 Antique American Bowie/Dirk knife California gold rush San Francisco https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/08/antique-american-bowiedirk-knife-california-gold-rush-san-francisco/ https://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/08/antique-american-bowiedirk-knife-california-gold-rush-san-francisco/#comments Sun, 30 Aug 2020 08:20:29 +0000 http://sanfranciscosanfrancisco.com/2020/08/antique-american-bowiedirk-knife-california-gold-rush-san-francisco/

Early silver mounted dirk Knife made in Gold Rush Era San Francisco. The provenance that came with this knife has a note pasted to the photo that mentions a “silver knife” that belonged to a gold seeker named R. Baugh who traveled to California to find gold. This knife is a 9-3/8″ silver mounted double edged dirk with a 5-1/2″ blade and comes with it’s original silver sheath with stepped throat and period leather over-sheath. The provenance is an old 8″x 10″ photograph of an etching of R. Baugh who later became mayor of Memphis Tenn. From 1857 to 1861. The photograph and note is, I believe, c. Late 1800’s and not later than 1920’s. The back has a short history of the photo penned in old iron ink. This photograph of your great Uncle Richard D. Baugh was made from a negative from an engraving of him in a book – hence the markings on his face……. NOTE: Included with this knife is an extremely rare San Francisco newspaper (“THE GOLDEN ERA / March 12, 1854″) with a historical, early knife maker ad for “Hugh McConnell”. McConnell was the earliest known knife maker in S. And the ad is probably the only one like it. There are only a few other similar Hugh McConnell ads known but this particular ad has more meat in it than the other ads that only have three lines with no mention of Bowie knives or dirk knives. This ad has 12 lines beneath the word “CUTLER”. Two lines say: “Will make to order”…. “Bowie knives of the best quality / mounted with either gold or silver”. There is no stamp or mark on the knife to identify the maker but there is a fascinating, unique, stamp on the silver band around the riccasso: S. The stamp is so small it had to be photographed with a macro lens. Each letter is not much bigger than 1/32 of an inch and looks like a jewelers stamp or a silver smith stamp. The deep scratches running through the letters were caused by the rough edges on the inside of the throat. The old western style font is just right for this early period. This great stamp renders the knife an undeniable part of the California Gold Rush. The silver sheath was finished in the rough revealing the seams and joints as you can see in the last two images. It’s very hard to find any sheath made for the high quality San Francisco knives that didn’t have a silver plated finish to hide the seams and joints. This is probably a good indication of a very early make. Also the round nut secured to the tang is iron, or steel, and is not the silver slotted type of nut usually seen on the S. These construction differences are what might be expected on a knife made in the early 1850’s before the new & improved versions were developed. The provenance can’t prove that this knife is the one mentioned in the note but if we dismiss the provenance and evaluate the knife by itself I’d estimate a date of 1850’s to 1860’s. But, taking into account the age of the provenance that mentions a silver knife that belonged to a gold seeker, the knifes early construction characteristics and it’s rare stamp associating it directly with San Francisco I have to assume that the provenance belongs with the knife. The provenance doesn’t say when he got his knife or when he went to California, more than likely in 1849 or early 1850. According to Levine’s book: Knife makers of old S. The records in San Francisco mentioned only one inconsequential cutler working in S. In 1852 but the great fires in early S. (seven or eight great fires from 1849 to 1851) may have wiped clean any earlier records of any knife making in the area. The overall condition is very good. The blade is full but in used condition. The handle has dark, hairline cracks. The silver mounts have scratches and the flush mounted nut on the end has heavy rust. The sheath is covered with a heavy-duty, hand tooled and hand stitched, leather over-sheath that is definitely of the period. The old brown leather is beautifully aged and worn from use and has a gorgeous old western frontier look and feel. The stitching is strong and completely intact. The only thing is that the leather has shrunk tight around the sheath so you can’t see the rest of the sheath and taking it off is not possible without destroying it so it’s best left on. The item “Antique American Bowie/Dirk knife California gold rush San Francisco” is in sale since Monday, June 22, 2020. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Western Americana\Antique Western”. The seller is “atthediggings” and is located in Honolulu, Hawaii. This item can be shipped worldwide.
Antique American Bowie/Dirk knife California gold rush San Francisco

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