Antiques Roadshow expert Marc Allum was given more than he bargained for when evaluating one guest’s penknife and ended up cutting his finger with excitement during their conversation.
Throughout the episode, which airs at 7:30pm on BBC One tonight, treasures such as a necklace made from some of the largest pieces of Baltic amber leave jewellery specialist John Benjamin gobsmacked.
Elsewhere, Jon Baddeley admires a humble compass once owned by local man Edgar Evans, who was part of Scott’s ill-fated Antarctic expedition and one of the first of the party to lose his life on the ice.
However, it was Allum who was left stunned when he picked up a 48-piece penknife which put his daily one to shame, telling the guest: “So I am a bit of a boy scout really.
“And I wouldn’t dream of going out on any given day without my own multi-tool which I literally use on a daily basis, this one knocks mine into an absolute cocked hat, doesn’t it.
“It is the most exceptional multi-tool I have seen for a long time. Please tell me where it comes from,” leaving the guest to simply explain: “All I know is my father acquired it, but I know nothing at all about the history of it.
The 48-piece penknife was valued between £2,000 and £3,000
BBC
“I have a theory. I think it may have been some salesman tool when he went round the local, asking if they wanted pen knives made and these were the options they could have made into a pen knife.”
Eager to explain what the use of the penknife was, Allum revealed: “You’re not a million miles off the mark to be honest with you because this is not something that is really made to be used in the sense that my multi-tool is made to be used.
“This is really a force of the cutler’s art, and it is an exhibition piece. It was primarily made just to show how good a particular company was when this is a 48-blade multi-tool.
“Now I say blades because of course there is a massive kind of variety of tools on this, everything from scissors, to gun cartridge removers, to bone saws, the sky is the limit really.
The guest was left stunned at the valuation of his fathers penknife
BBC
“But 48 blades, do you know they made these with up to 100 blades? Sometimes even 200 blades. I studied it very carefully and I did manage to find a makers mark on it and it says Godson, Sheffield.
“That is great, we know it is a Sheffield-made multi-tool. I reckon this dates from the late 19th century, now that we know it is not really meant to be used, it’s more of a display item, how do you feel about that?”
The guest simply replied once more: “Oh yeah I am just amazed at the amount of factoring really.”
Getting onto the main point of the valuation, Allum revealed: “It is a wonderous item, I absolutely adore it and I think you really really like it too. Value. I know it is very personal to you, I know it was your father’s but the market for these is very very strong.
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Marc Allum swiped his finger over the blade
BBC
“It is also very strong in America as well where they adore these multi-tools. If this was to go into auction I can see this easily making £2,000 to £3,000.”
Stunned at the large numbers which Allum had said, the guest exclaimed: “Gracious me, that is amazing. That has absolutely shocked me to the ground, really has shocked me to the ground.”
As Allum went to say thank you to the guest for bringing it along, his finger brushed the top of a blade and left him to shout: “Thank you so much, for bringing it along. Sugar! I just stabbed myself!”