This antler-handled knife came from an old ranch house in Wyoming.  It is marked: R. BUNTING / SHEFFIELD and stamped with a picture of a swan.  Richard Bunting was a cutler in Sheffield, England who was exporting the new fashions across the Atlantic in the 1850's and 1860's.  Many of the Bunting knives were marketed under the "Boston Works" name of its American agent Wells, W. Ayer of Boston, deliberately being manufactured to copy the 'Bowie' and Frontier trend that was popular at the time.  The absence of the word "ENGLAND" in the maker mark further assists in dating the knife as it indicates a manufacture date prior to 1892.

The handle is attached to the tang by 3 rows of two small nails.  The piece has been in our collection for many years, when it was purchased from another collector.

Overall length: 10 1/2 inches