German deer foot

[Markco the Mad otter]

I got this Saturday at a gun show in a trade but know next to nothing about it.

Any thoughts I would like to hear.
Sorry once again for the poor pictures.

[kwackster]

The name on the ricasso is is A.W. Wadsworth & Son Austria

This “manufacturer” however is a fake: Wadsworth Austria never built a knife.
Wadsworth was a trademark of the US company Adolph Kastor & Bros. for the purpose of importing knives, supplemented by Austria or Germany depending on the reference.
In US sources the reference from Czechoslovacia is also explicitly mentioned.
Austria = Bohemia, the center of Austrian cutlery manufacturers until 1918, from 1919 Czechoslovakia: two countries, but the same place.
Wadsworth Austria is probably bohemian and possibly older than 1918.

The whole story from USA - Solingen - Austria:

1870: 14-year-old Adolph Kastor comes to the States as an immigrant, where he learns the trading business in his uncle's business.
1876: Hardship turns Adolph K. into an entrepreneur and his uncle's business closes its doors.
On his way from “rags to riches” he uses his contacts in Solingen and Europe to import exquisite goods from the Old Continent.
1897: Necessity turns Adolph K. into a producer of cutlery and later a major entrepreneur.
The restrictive import policy forces him to produce in his own country.
In 1902 he bought a small business in Camillus NY and turned it into the Camillus Cutlery Company, an empire in the knife industry.
After the restrictions are relaxed, he will resume imports.

Since 1892, his brother Nathan has been building the Kastor & Co. factory in Solingen, which later became one of the largest exporters of cutlery, especially to the USA.
Coincidence or strategic entrepreneurship, in any case both business areas complement each other excellently.
So XLNT, this symbol was registered by Kastor & Co, Solingen in 1896 - the US brother also used it for his Wadsworth import mark.
Tragic: While Adolph led his US business to prosperity, another Adolf (Hitler) destroyed the existence of the Solingen branch of the family, as they were of Jewish origin.

[Markco the Mad otter]

Thanks for all that information!!