Antique 19th century Native American Crooked Knife With Trade Blade By Frederick

Antique second half of the 19th century Native American Crooked Knife.
The trade steel blade of typical curve shape is stamped by the maker “Frederick Reynolds Sheffield” is sleeved within the antler handle secured to the tang of the blade by two iron rivets.
Frederick Reynolds (1814-1877) was born at Derby, but had moved to Sheffield by 1841, when he was enumerated in the Census as a razor maker working at Sims Croft. This was a backstreet near the parish church (now the Cathedral). A later advertisement dated Reynolds’ firm from 1830. By 1851, he was well-established as a razor manufacturer at School Croft and employed eight men and three boys. In about 1860, he moved to Gell Street and had a workforce of fifteen men. In the 1870s, the address was Monmouth Lane, with Reynolds and his family living in Monmouth Street. He died on 22 October 1877,
Crooked knife blades were some of the earliest trade goods brought to North America from Europe by the Hudson’s Bay Company. They were used by both labourers and Indigenous peoples throughout the fur trade era, continuing while the HBC transitioned into retail.
Blades were easy