A. Norris & Sons tool...what's it called?

[swervncarz]

Anyone know what this is called & what it's used for? Stamped "A. Norris & Sons...... Solid Steel....... Tourbridge?" I'm coming up negative with my searches

[Aunt Phil]

Looks like a chopper for use in a bowl.

[oldgoaly]

leather work round knife.

[anglesmith]

I would punt for vegetable chopper but some times in earlier days tools were multi tasked!
Graeme

[Papaw]

Or even a tobacco chopper.

[rusty]

Probably tobacco, the company is listed in the 1886 Exposition under "tools for farming". there is a comment about the colonial trade...
They seem to have been a victim of the war, by 1948/9 the creditors were counting the assets...

(did not find very much else)

[Billman49]

Is this a UK maker or USA?? I have found reference to a J Norris at Stourbridge c 1887 http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/25722/pages/3954/page.pdf ethey appear to be going bankrupt... The tool is almost certainly a herb or vegetable chopper - for use both in a bowl, or on a flat chopping board.

[Branson]

The deep curve of the blade looks like a leather worker's round or head knife, but all the head knives I've seen have the handle mounted vertically.  Choppers, on the other hand, have their handles fixed horizontally. 

Yours has almost certainly been re-handled.  I strongly suspect it started life with a vertical handle, and was originally a head knife. 

[rusty]

>Is this a UK maker or USA

There is a Stourbridge in the UK, and one in AU, none in the US.

Would go with UK, because a later listing says Leeds, but it's quite a long time after...(1944)
(Leeds is only 130 miles from Stourbridge)

Beyond that it gets ambiguous, there are multiple Norris&Sons...sigh

[swervncarz]

Leather workers knife would make sense, I had a few other leather working tools from the same collection. thanks for all of the input

[wvtools]

Half moon leather knives usually have less blade on the non cutting side and have indentations for fingers and/or thumb.  I would vote for a food chopper.  Someone on here collects food choppers; Bob (amertrac) perhaps?

JMH

[amertrac]

MY WIFE HAS SAVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF THESE .BUT NONE WITH A VERTICAL HANDLE. THEY ARE CALLED ALMOST EVERYTHING FROM PASTA CUTTER TO LEATHER KNIFE.I PREFER FOOD CHOPPER THE ONE YOU HAVE HAS A LONG SHAFT SO THE ORIGINAL HANDLE MIGHT HAVE BEEN VERTICAL BUT IT WOULD BE ALKWARD TO USE HERE ATE TWO UNSUAL ONES ON OUR KITCHEN WALL

[Lewill2]

The tang sticking out of the top of the handle sure would make a nice blister in the palm of your hand pretty quick.

[Branson]

The tang sticking out of the top of the handle sure would make a nice blister in the palm of your hand pretty quick.

That's the first clue that the handle is not original, and that it was originally a head knife.  The other clue is that the section of the tang just next to the blade itself is really wide where it would let into a vertical handle.  Check the anatomy of the head knives in the picture.

[Billman49]

I agree that this may have had a vertical handle, as usually the handle reaches the shoulder of the neck of the blade - which with a cross handle (as fitted) would leave no room for the fingers. When a cross handle is fitted it is usually secured by bending over the tang, or rivetting over with a washer. I would still opt for a kitchen herb chopper over a half moon leather knife, something about its quality says domestic tool rather than trade tool - may be the angle at which the blade has been sharpened, for a leather knife I would expect a much finer edge...

Attached an image of a common herb chopper that IS often mis classified as a leather knife...