Maker of this very old butter knife is not known to us and we have been unable to identify same.
Family heirloom from yonks ago, it's been sitting in with our other silver plate items for many years and I am pretty sure this was an inheritance from my grandparents who died in the 1950's and apparently they bought this and other items back in the late 19th, early 20th century period. So we are guessing that it is from around the 1890's ~ 1910 period
Butter Knife (Master)
Why or what is a master butter knife?
The story (from my Mum) ... in day's gone by, the butter would be served from the kitchen to a central "butter dish" on the dining table. The knife used for this transfer of butter was called the "master" butter knife. The dinner guests then get their own serving of butter using their OWN butter knives from that central butter dish - a guests butter knife(spreader) is usually much plainer in design and often is referred to as a butter spreader, not knife (it has no sharp edges)
Maker is unknown - I have looked very closely all over the knife for any kind of stamps, hallmarks etc but nothing has been found EXCEPT the etched design in the blade is primarily leaves and flowers but in the centre of that design are two medium sized circles, within which there could be indistinct letters (perhaps a C and a D) but I have stared and stared at this and been unable to decipher it is is a makers mark or not. Those circles just don't appear to be part of the design theme.
The design is cut into the blade metal (hand crafted?) and is only on one side.
Metal is definitely silver plate (grade unknown) - responds to cleaning exactly as silver plate would although nowhere does it say EP/EPNS or similar
The handle is definitely bone, looks to be deer antler as the bone is not smooth but "bumpy" - confirmed bone with the hot pin test and also I can see tiny little black dots in the bone allowing for positive identification. These spots are extremely tiny (only clearly visible with a loupe) so normally the user wouldn't notice them - this is normal for genuine bone material.
The bone colour is a light yellow/brownish blend
There is one crack in the bone (age crack) near the blade, the handle remains completely stable and secure
I "think" a piece of decoration is missing between the top of the handle and the blade - there is a gap which doesn't look quite right
Highly ornate handle end piece which appears to be silver plate
Dimensions: 8" length (202mm)
Blade at the broadest point: 22mm
Weight: 50g
COSMETIC CONDITION:
Blade is straight and substantially unmarked although some very light useage scratches can be seen top and bottom but nothing substantial
Bone handle is in great shape, note the single crack though
Silverware always has the oxidisation/tarnishing issue over time, so to reduce this to a minimum I have now placed this butter knife within sealed plastic to reduce the amount of contact with "air" reducing the period of time between cleans.
