id small pretty letter opener

[vitorvt]

Testing.
You can see the use of steel wool at the first third of the blade, counting from the left.
Photographing knives is tricky in terms of lighting.

This one is easier to id:

https://www.hubertus-solingen.com/ka...-jahre_en.html

[vitorvt]

It’s clean. There was some dirt on it. It looks like the black marks won’t come off. Notice the snake’s tail coiled around the handle.


Thank you for watching and comments.

[vitorvt]

It's clean for now, it was a bit dirty. Apparently the black stains won't come out.


Notice the snake coiled around the cable; what I thought was a crack at the top of the blade is actually the snake coiled up in 3D.

[Rick]

I think the blackened areas speak to the age of the Nicker and IMO should they be removed, it would be like refinishing an 18th century piece of furniture. (insert shrug here)

[vitorvt]

Originally Posted by Rick

I think the blackened areas speak to the age of the Nicker and IMO should they be removed, it would be like refinishing an 18th century piece of furniture. (insert shrug here)

I agree, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually dates from the 20th century.

Correction: The AI says it’s a dragon, not a snake.

[gp]

Originally Posted by vitorvt

It's clean for now, it was a bit dirty. Apparently the black stains won't come out.
Attachment 251627
Attachment 251628
Notice the snake coiled around the cable; what I thought was a crack at the top of the blade is actually the snake coiled up in 3D.
Attachment 251630Attachment 251629
Attachment 251631

forget about the black stains; sometimes it is not possible to "clean" every kind of contamination on a blade but what is most interesting to me is to see 2 different type of "saints" on the blade.

Mother Mary one one side but who would be the other? Normally one only sees Christ, but this one is not Christ...
Never seen that double combination...

But what is the male figure exactly holding in his hands? A spear...? Perhaps St George and the dragon...?

Strange to me is also that there is no kind of Coat of Arms, reference or indication of either the religious nature or aristocratic background of the male figure present...
That indication would normally be present one way or another if one looks at drawings, etchings, coins or medails of the like ...from the Middle Ages to the present...

As for the lady and dragon; only I can think of is ancient Byzantine St. Margaret emerging from the dragon...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_the_Virgin
https://www.unexpectedtraveller.com/st-margaret/

also the "tulip" like decoration above their heads shows similarities with Eastern decorations , be it Ottoman, Byzantine or other of that region.
Although that contradicts the type of blade ....unless it might be Hungarian, Transsylvanian and influenced by the Eastern hemispheres ...
But that is me speculating ...and as we all know; assumptions is the mother of all - beep- ups...☺☺☺
and to talk stones language...is it only my imagination running away with me...?
Well..."you don't always want what you get " is the title of a Stones song as well☻☻☻
So who's next..?

Really lookin' forward to find out more and solving this most interesting issue

[vitorvt]

As the dagger doesn’t fit into any category, I suppose it's probably a special order. In that case, I don't think the details matter. That's why I say it could even be from the 20th century — it's irrelevant.

But it would be interesting to know who the cutler is and where he's from.
Is that a common tang? Are there any similar ones? I think that would be a good clue, as well as what appears to be the signature “Jst.”, of course.

"The best-known story of St George concerns the slaying of a fearsome dragon that lived in Silene, in Libya.
To appease the dragon’s fury, the inhabitants offered the monster two sheep a day. At a certain point, the dragon became more demanding and demanded a human sacrifice. The choice fell at random upon the only daughter of the King of Libya.
At that tragic moment, St George appeared, offering to fight the dragon and free the city from that terrible yoke. He mounted his horse and, with a spear, wounded the dragon. Bringing it bound into the city, he killed it before all the inhabitants, after demanding in return their conversion to Christianity."
in https://www.infopedia.pt/recursos/le...rge-e-o-dragao

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_...and_the_Dragon
So there we have St George with his spear and the daughter of the King of Libya, and they lived happily ever after.