New York Knife Co. Hammer Brand Timber Scribe

This antique timber scribe, or race knife, was made by the New York Knife Company of Walden, New York, tang-stamped with the company's "Hammer Brand" trademark and its arm-and-hammer logo. The company operated from 1856 until it closed during the Great Depression in 1931. Rather than a cutting blade, the single hooked steel implement was used by loggers and lumbermen to carve identifying letters or numbers into the ends of logs and lumber, functioning as a kind of permanent marker for the timber trade.

The blade carries an even, dark carbon-steel patina consistent with its age, and the wood handle scales show only light wear with solid backspring action and a crisp snap. Closed, the knife measures 3 1/2 inches; open, 6 1/4 inches.