Northampton 8" Bullnose Butcher Carbon Steel Pewter & Ebony W Star 1870s-1920?

Northampton Cutlery Co 8" scimitar with a stamped carbon steel blade, cast pewter or brittania (a pewter like low temperature melting alloy) ferrule and ebony handle scales with a star shaped rivet.

This knife is a great example of the cutlery made in the North East during the American Industrial Revolution in Massachusetts and Connecticut in the 19th and early 20th century. Northampton Cutlery Co operated from 1871 to 1987 along the Mill River in Northampton Massachusetts. In the 19th century the bulk of American cutlery manufacture was done in this area and grew to be a competitor of major European cutlery manufacturing centers. American knife makers were early adopters of machinery to speed manufacture and make cost competitive knives. 

This knife has been sharpened and thinned as it became thick behind the edge with sharpening. It is back to a good working thickness and has a sharp edge.