Hello all, At least I am assuming that it is R Francis and not Pancis as headlined by the seller. It isn't in BSSM and in fact there is no Francis recorded in Sheffield. There is one in Leicester but I think that is later than mine and I think that mine is a later"cheapie". (20 inch blade and thinnish handle). And much as I would love it to be F Francis of Pleasley Forge (1665), there is no chance of that. It has a terrible hang angle with the forefinger pointing down the top of the blade, but from looking at the bodged screws, the handle may be a replacement. In fact the slope of the flattened bottom was what attracted me to it. I have looked in Historical Directories but in the 1879 one alone there are in excess of 1300 listed. So the standard question pertains "Does anyone have any ideas" Fred
Just a stab in the dark, maybe narrow the search to Leicester... as you have indicated there is the one that HSMOB lists an Ernest Francis in Leicester 59 Beatrice Road 1908-1914 But that doesn't explain the Sheffield Stamp.. a search of the Sheffield Genealogy sites didn't turn up any R Francis in any of the available census records, while absence of data is not very conclusive, it does leave the door open for other possibilities, and I'm thinking it could be another one of these fictitious names by one of the other Sheffield makers Ray