Joh Engström Small Barrel Knife Eskilstuna Sweden 1874-1895

Small 2 3/4" barrel knife made by the John Engstrom company between 1874 and 1895 in excellent condition. 

These Swedish folding knives are an ingenious design; a brass cartridge holds a pivoting blade with a tab to stop the rotation and the end has a spring and tab attached to the buttplate; the cartridge is held into the handle with the spring either open as a sloyd knife or closed. 

This knife has never been sharpened, it has been used but never ground, a hard thing to come by these are typically always ground on. Mechanics are great and there is no damage.

I opted to not clean it or sharpen and would encourage not sharpening at all, it will devalue it and remove the original geometry and form. 

2.75" closed, 5.75" open.