Two ivory forks

[Granmaa]

I have these two pronged ivory forks (16cm) with only the lion passant and duty bust hallmarks as is usual for small provincial pieces such as fruit knives and the like.

I was repairing one and extracted the head from the handle. On the spike which extends into the handle I saw a maker's mark and what looks like the date letter for 1794 Sheffield.
Has anyone heard of this sort of marking before?
Also I'd like to know who the maker is (R. Kippax?) and your opinion of the date.
Plus, what are these knives for? Fruit, pickles? I've never seen similar ones before.

Miles

[dognose]

Hi Miles, I agree with you Kippaxand 1794, I suppose that then this was a combination of two trades, the silversmith and the haftmaker, Kippax would have made the head, applied his mark and then sent them for assay ( thus paying the minimum duty ) prior to passing them on to the haftmaker for fitting and finishing. It is surprizing that he did not take the opportunity to put his mark in a more prominent position ( I would have thought he would have been be proud of his skill ) and he would have had the space to do so, prior to assay, unless of course the haftmaker was the retailer and wanted the forks to be considered his work and requested that they be marked only on the tang, but I am just surmising.
As for their use pickles and sweetmeats do seem most probable, regards Trev.

[Granmaa]

Thanks very much for your input.

Much