Sword & Shield German 10.5" Forged Carbon Steel Chef Knife 1960s

Sword & Shield brand drop forged and hand ground (and hand ground again) German chef knife from approximately the 1960's (or very early 70's) judging from the non-forged straight tang and brass rivets but with solid wood handle scales. Hand ground carbon steel knives like this largely ended in the mid 1970's in Solingen Germany being supplanted by stainless steel and less hand grinding. As the older skilled workers retired and the cost of labor rose hand grinding on carbon steel was no longer the norm in Solingen. Stainless steel became very popular and the bigger names in Solingen began to produce larger quantities of stainless knives with less hand work. 

While it's certainly not the last of it's kind and forged carbon steel is still done in Solingen, this knife represents the last of the era of carbon steel and hand grinding as a mainstay of produciton. Look for the shape of the bolsters (narrow and tapering) and well as the slight curve on the face of the blade.