Old sheath knife info please?

Helping to clear out a sadly deceased old friends stuff and this old sheath knife came to light.

It has a worn out old sticker on the handle "Rodgers British made" and on the blade which is 4 1/8" long it has the legend " I cut my way, William Rodgers, Sheffield England".

It seems in VGC but the end of the pointed end has a slight burr.

Any info from the knife experts as to the age and possible value, not much I'm sure?

https://i.ibb.co/wY35g5q/DSCN3647.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/bgSd4gD/DSCN3645.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/LtxqCxX/DSCN3646.jpg

I suggest a Google search on William Rodgers bowie knife. That brings up quite a few sites from Etsy to eBay and various auctioneers.

This looks like the modern version...link.

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/th...y-good.144581/

A Google finds one on eBay USA for £60ish but it hasn’t sold.

Could be as old as 1950’s.

Prices vary a lot on these early 'sheath knives'. I've seen them sell for as little as £20 and as much as near £100. Don't try to clean the blade up unless you know what you're doing, it would be easy to ruin it and any value would be lost.

Ebay is no longer an option to sell in the UK, so would have to be sold in a private ad on a forum or in an auction. (It's illegal to post knives to residential addresses in the UK unless it's an age verified service.)

Some great info there already Gents, thank you.

Out of curiosity will the handle be real horn/bone?

It looks just like the sheath knife I had as a youngster in the 60s - very nostalgic.

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Originally Posted by JonRA

It looks just like the sheath knife I had as a youngster in the 60s - very nostalgic.

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You can't beat a bit of nostalgia!

I'd love to know how old it actually is but I expect they kept the same models going for years.

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Originally Posted by Neil.C

Some great info there already Gents, thank you.

Out of curiosity will the handle be real horn/bone?

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Given the maker, I'd say it's made from the antler of a stag.

The brand is now owned by the Eggington Group (Wostenholm IXL, Joseph Rodgers.....)

A little bit about the branding and logo:

https://www.eggintongroup.co.uk/william-rodgers/

Looks like they were renowned for Fairbairn-Sykes knives during WW2 and then scout knives.

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Originally Posted by PickleB

Given the maker, I'd say it's made from the antler of a stag.

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Yup. It’s stag.

"and in the 1950’s The Boy Scout movement allocated William Rodgers knives (The Scout Knife) to its young adventurers "

can you imagine that happening now! Lend us your sons and we'll give then knives..
Of course to do those courses you probably need one so were they that much more responsible then or do we just hear of those using them for heinous pastimes now?

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Originally Posted by DavidL

"and in the 1950’s The Boy Scout movement allocated William Rodgers knives (The Scout Knife) to its young adventurers "

can you imagine that happening now! Lend us your sons and we'll give then knives..
Of course to do those courses you probably need one so were they that much more responsible then or do we just hear of those using them for heinous pastimes now?

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Most kids had 'sheath knives' or similar when I was growing up. And air pistols, air rifles, bow and arrows, throwing arrows, catapults, penknives and more. How we survived must be a miracle!
And that's without sticking balls of clay on the end of sticks which flew for some distances.

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Originally Posted by oldoakknives

Most kids had 'sheath knives' or similar when I was growing up. And air pistols, air rifles, bow and arrows, throwing arrows, catapults, penknives and more. How we survived must be a miracle!
And that's without sticking balls of clay on the end of sticks which flew for some distances.

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Yep all that - the homemade throwing arrows were great fun!

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Originally Posted by BillyCasper

The brand is now owned by the Eggington Group (Wostenholm IXL, Joseph Rodgers.....)

A little bit about the branding and logo:

https://www.eggintongroup.co.uk/william-rodgers/

Looks like they were renowned for Fairbairn-Sykes knives during WW2 and then scout knives.

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Oh they made the Commando knives - very interesting.

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Originally Posted by JonRA

Yep all that - the homemade throwing arrows were great fun!

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They were indeed!

Fairbairn Sykes commando knife by William Rodgers.https://i.imgur.com/KEvFLuQ.jpg.https://i.imgur.com/y0LDXKW.jpg

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Originally Posted by JonRA

It looks just like the sheath knife I had as a youngster in the 60s - very nostalgic.

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Likewise (albeit the '70s!).

I think I still have the knife somewhere in my tools, the sheath has long gone and I think I managed to break the tip off at some point!

Might see if I can dig it out!

I have one near identical I bought from Austria!

I bought my son a swiss army knife when he was about 10. He cut himself whilst closing the blade. He had a career in the RAF and has a total respect for anything with a sharp edge now. As for today's youngsters who carry a knife for "protection", God help them.

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Originally Posted by greasemonkey

Fairbairn Sykes commando knife by William Rodgers.https://i.imgur.com/KEvFLuQ.jpg.https://i.imgur.com/y0LDXKW.jpg

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Thanks for that, so interesting. Made by Rodgers 'eh?

- - - Updated - - -

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Originally Posted by SimonH

Likewise (albeit the '70s!).

I think I still have the knife somewhere in my tools, the sheath has long gone and I think I managed to break the tip off at some point!

Might see if I can dig it out!

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Please do.

your knife is a Rodgers scout knife and could be much earlier, 1900 -1940. I have one - mine, which I inherited, is about 1920 with a bone handle. People had a habit of grinding off the Rodgers name and engraving the scout's initials on the blade or where the shaft joins the handle.

Mine also has the magnetic spot in the handle for all sorts of useful things (fishing etc)

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Originally Posted by Brian

Mine also has the magnetic spot in the handle for all sorts of useful things (fishing etc)

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I have been fishing for 69 years and am struggling to think of an occasion when a sheath knife's magnetic-spot handle would have come in handy.

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Originally Posted by Brian

your knife is a Rodgers scout knife and could be much earlier, 1900 -1940. I have one - mine, which I inherited, is about 1920 with a bone handle. People had a habit of grinding off the Rodgers name and engraving the scout's initials on the blade or where the shaft joins the handle.

Mine also has the magnetic spot in the handle for all sorts of useful things (fishing etc)

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Thanks for the info.

I guess dating them accurately is nigh on impossible as they probably kept the same line going over the years.

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Originally Posted by Neil.C

Helping to clear out a sadly deceased old friends stuff and this old sheath knife came to light.


https://i.ibb.co/bgSd4gD/DSCN3645.jpg

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Snap! This was my great uncles which he kept in his garage for various dirty jobs, hence the condition. Not identical, and the only text I can see is 'Made in Sheffield' , no makers mark.

https://i.ibb.co/tp8RDKt/PXL-20240331-192542487-MP.jpg

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Originally Posted by unclealec

I have been fishing for 69 years and am struggling to think of an occasion when a sheath knife's magnetic-spot handle would have come in handy.

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I always wondered that - I remember that my dad informed me that very old flies were made with magnetic material but that is all I've got:untroubled:


Oh and testing that your compass was working

B

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Originally Posted by alzone

Snap! This was my great uncles which he kept in his garage for various dirty jobs, hence the condition. Not identical, and the only text I can see is 'Made in Sheffield' , no makers mark.

https://i.ibb.co/tp8RDKt/PXL-20240331-192542487-MP.jpg

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That does indeed look very similar.

Will the logo on the sheath give any clues?