Mystery tool part 2

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rob1713

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Right here's the next item that came in the lot of tools I bought last week. It's very well made and it looks to be made for purpose (not user adapted) there is no makers name on the blade which seems odd for such a nicely made tool.
I'm thinking its a marking knife but this is a wild guess. ( it does sit in the hand rather well for this purpose so that's what it may be used for)
What do you think?
 

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I'm pretty sure that it's a chip carving knife, assuming it's sharp or looks as if it used to be.
The nice Holtzapffel style handle suggests it would have been a quality tool for use by a lady or gentleman for their hobby, rather than by a tradesman. Carving has been popular like that for a long time.
 
Here's some evidence:

Melhuish catalogue 1921

Melhuish_1921_chip_carving.jpg


Marples catalogue 1928

Marples_chip_carving_1928.jpg


This tightly angled form of knife seems to have fallen out of favour among modern makers but seems to have been fairly common in catalogues a century or more ago.
 

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Is the blade angled down?
Looks like it's angled off to one side, with a corner about ¼" forward of the ferrule. If that is the case, I'd have guessed it was angled for marking in/through tight angled kerfs, or perhaps for getting the blade flush against the registering surface without the hand or knife body getting in the way...
 
Thanks Andy I think you may be right, about its original purpose, but it will now live out its days as my 'go to' marking knife as you really can get some pressure on the blade in a controlled manner.
The blade is angled down Tasky and it is in line with the handle
 
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