1-OF-A-KIND! 1860s DRESS BOWIE KNIFE MINT! UNSHARPENED! Start Price USD 4,495.00 Current Price USD 4,495.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, September 30, 2008 End Time Friday, October 10, 2008 Location Fairfield, California See more about '1-OF-A-KIND! 1860s DRESS BOWIE KNIFE MINT! UNSHARPENED!' Description Connoisseur Quality! MINT! UNSHARPENED! ONE-OF-A-KIND! ANTIQUE DRESS BOWIE! Circa 1860 Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Click to Enlarge Description: MINT! UNSHARPENED! UNIQUE! ANTIQUE 19TH CENTURY SHEFFIELD DRESS BOWIE by WILLIAM SHIRLEY, with ORIGINAL GERMAN SILVER SHEATH This Connoisseur Quality!, Rare, MINT, UNSHARPENED Dress Bowie Knife is a one-of-a-kind pattern, and is 11 3/4" overall, with a 1" wide X 6 3/4" long spear point blade with a sharpened false edge. This not only gave the knife more functionality, but could also be used as an additional cutting edge when making a return stroke in a self-defense knife fight; a feature found on early fighting Bowies. The ricasso is hot stamped, "OIO", "SHIRLEY", and "SHEFFIELD" in a three-line gang stamp. The blade flat is hot stamped prominently in fancy lettering "OIO", which is Shirley's trademark, along with "HUNTERS COMPANION", and "THE REAL OIO KNIFE" in a riband ribbon hot stamping underneath. Not much is known about William Shirley. He was a Master Cutler and is listed in "A Sure Defense, The Bowie Knife Book" by Ken Burton on page 93 as "Shirley's Celebrated OIO Cutlery, Sheffield, Circa 1850". He is also listed in Goins' Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings on page 253 as "Shirley's OIO Cutlery on Eyre Lane, Sheffield, circa 1865, as a company that manufactured Bowie type knives". He is also listed in Levine's guide to Knives on page 75 as "W. Shirley & Co., OIO Boston Works, Sheffield, circa 1860's-70's". I date this knife Circa 1860-65, around the Civil War period. William Shirley was a Master Cutler, and personally made what I consider the finest set of Sheffield Exhibition Bowie knives ever created; a three knife matching set, all with wavy blades. The two smaller Bowies had 8" and 10" blades that were gold etched, and both had carved Ivory cross guards and carved Ivory hilts. The Master knife had a 14 1/2" wavy etched blade with a file worked birds head hilt and cross guard that was sculptured from a single piece of steel! The blade is finished with the crocus of iron final polish; the fine polish found on early Sheffield knives that makes the blade appear as if it were chrome plated. This was a difficult and time-consuming final polish done with a wooden wheel with a leather strip around the outside that used fine black crocus of iron powder to get this lustrous polish. The blade has a full tip, and when you run your finger along the edge, there are no nicks, damage, or sharpening. Finding a 19th Century Bowie knife that has never been sharpened is an extreme rarity. This Bowie has possibly been lightly carried at one time, but never used or sharpened. There are a few scattered areas of light spider patina, as is desirable on old 19th Century blades. This typically takes 100 years or so to form, and confirms the genuine age of the knife. The hilt of this knife is very heavy and well made. It is definitely cast, and I believe it to be solid German Silver. The hilt has what appears to be scattered very light pit marks; however, these are actually specs from the original casting process; probably from casting in a sand mold. The hilt is a very unusual and perhaps unique style, and I have never seen another knife in this pattern. The blade tang goes all the way through the hilt and is peened at the pommel end, as shown in one of the images. The end of this steel tang has dark, natural aged patina. The cross guard is thick, solid German Silver; with the quillons resembling a snowman pattern in profile. Both the cast hilt and cross guard have a nice aged patina that only comes from decades of natural aging. German silver takes decades to form any patina, and this patina is in the frosted, untouched and unpolished condition that advanced collectors love to see. Almost all knives have been polished, buffed, or cleaned in their lifetime; sometimes, many times. This unusual Bowie also has another rare and desirable feature. It not only has the original dress sheath, but it is a very scarce style done in German Silver, en suite with the hilt. Very few 19th Century Bowies have original German Silver sheaths; and when found, are usually on dress Bowies or Presentation grade knives. Almost all Sheffield Bowies have a thin, veneer covered cardboard sheath; or sometimes a leather sheath. Dress Bowies were intended for self-defense as a back up weapon. It is likely this Dress Bowie was intended for a gentleman; perhaps a gambler, but certainly intended as a fancy side knife and back up weapon to the then unreliable percussion handguns. This original German Silver Dress sheath is 7 1/2" long X 1 1/8" wide, and is quite heavy and sturdily made. The sheath alone weighs 3.2 ounces. It is constructed in a clamshell design; i.e., made in two halves, and soldered together. The side seams are almost invisible as the seam is so well constructed. The tip of the sheath has an unusual six-sided collar at the base of the ball finial that has a hole in the very end. The mushroom shaped sheath button, used as a stop when the sheath is worn between the body and a belt or inserted in a slit in the belt, is made from steel; and has a dark natural patina. It is affixed to the sheath by a fancy German Silver plate that is identical in shape to the cross guard; en suite, but smaller. The throat is soldered onto the top of the sheath so that the end view looks like an oval with a rectangular slot. This sheath is custom made for this Bowie, as when you insert the blade into the sheath, it only fits one way. Thus, one has to be careful not to force the blade and perhaps chip the sharp edge when sheathing the knife. When this knife was actually carried, the owner would have typically placed a thin piece of leather inside the sheath to adjust the blade to fit tightly inside the sheath. The entire knife weighs 12 ounces. This Dress Bowie came from a California collection, and is one of the few mint, unsharpened Bowies I have seen over the last 20 years. This UNSHARPENED, MINT, BOWIE is for the advanced knife Connoisseur who wants the best possible condition; and understands and appreciates the Investment quality of this top of the line Bowie by a rare maker. This Bowie is in untouched, original condition that is rarely offered for sale. PLEASE CHECK OUT ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS & SERVICES OFFERED BY WEST COAST TRADING POST BY CLICKING ON THE "ME" BUTTON IN MY EBAY LISTINGS; OR, COPYING AND PASTING THIS URL: http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=1knifeguy1Shipping :YOU MUST BE OVER 18 TO PURCHASE THIS ITEM. Shipping & handling are free, and allows completion of the transaction with just a few clicks of the mouse via PayPal. Payment :PAYPAL PAYMENT ONLY! 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