Antique Draw Knife

[Patricia Kindermann]

Hello. My first post and I hope I'm doing this correctly. I have a small collection of draw knives. I am attempting to determine what this blade says and be able to attribute it. Your help, please?
Many thanks. 450267450266

[Aiden Pettengill]

Welcome! I can't see the name well but try and see if you can take a rubbing. I've had luck doing this before. It does look handmade and with the brass I'd say its 1800's.
Aiden

[Patricia Kindermann]

Welcome! I can't see the name well but try and see if you can take a rubbing. I've had luck doing this before. It does look handmade and with the brass I'd say its 1800's.
Aiden

Thanks, Aiden. I have tried the rubbing with no luck. Someone said "warranted" another thought perhaps Warwood. Someone else thought it might have something above the word with the W. I think I'm just going to give up on this. lol This gentleman had almost a dozen antique draw knives. Only one that I had actually was clearly named. Thank you.

[Michael Bulatowicz]

Hi Patricia and welcome to the Creek!

I am no expert on antique drawknives, but I don't believe that one says, "warranted" unless it's an abbreviation. As best I can make out, it looks like "WAR(K? R?) (a few spaces) IL(D?)(C?)(..)."

I hope this helps.
Michael

[John Keeton]

Only one of the ferrules is brass and I believe that side is a replacement handle as it doesn’t match the other. Even in the 1800s most all ferrules are steel/ferrous metal. I have rehabbed several drawknives and looked at hundreds online and I don’t recognize the markings. Since none of these in that condition have much value, if you are really wanting to determine the maker I would use some sandpaper (220) and sand the area. Unless a drawknife is in excellent condition and from a known maker, the value is minimal - $25 to 40 from what I have seen. If the back side is as pitted as the front then it has no value as a user as one could never achieve a good edge without removing a lot of metal.

[Jim Koepke]

Hi Patricia and welcome to the Creek.

That looks to be a Wallhanger.

The line most likely said Warranted Cast Steel. There was likely a name above that. It looks like someone beat on it with a hammer to split wood.

If the name is important an acid etch might reveal a name. That would make it a bit uglyfied even for a wall hanger.

jtk

[Rafael Herrera]

Warranted Cast Steel

I agree with Jim, that was a typical text stamped on the tools in that period. The maker's name would have been above that.

Rafael

[Mel Fulks]

"Warranted cast steel " was a real thing. Small batches were required to make it . Steel making is different now ,but
cast steel is still good stuff. I've forgotten the start - stop dates ,but it's easy to find. It was expensive so it's often found
welded to cheaper iron. It's usually pretty easy to find that line.

[Mel Fulks]

That tool is pretty narrow. If you can't find a clear line between steel and iron then the steel is just used up and the piece
should just be considered a sign of early every day work. Not a useable tool. Unless it's not as old as I think it is .

[Patricia Kindermann]

Hi, Michael, I am enjoying the site. I wish I had hours to simply read through. Such an education.
Well, I agree. I don't see how anyone could get Warranted from those letters. This is the kind of stuff that can make eyes cross lol
Thanks for your input.

[Jim Ritter]

I see ‘WARRANTED CA’ so I agree it most likely said warranted cast steel.
Jim

[chris carter]

I agree on the WARRENTED CAST STEEL. I can see the WAR easily and some of the second R. I can see the TED_C easily and some of the N before the T as well as part of the A after the C. The other warranted letters would fit perfectly in the mystery space. After WARRANTED CA there's not a lot of places you can go other than warranted cast steel.

I have sometimes had luck with a red flashlight making markings on wood tools much easier to read. Don't know if it would work with steel, but worth a shot.

[Michael Bulatowicz]

Jim and Chris,
I can see your point, seeing the letters as a bit distorted by the pitting. I agree that "warranted cast steel" makes the most sense.

Michael