The OP said that he lives in New York City where BX (armored cable) was
required in the 1920s (and still is today). Cloth covered wires with
armored sheathing is standard in older building in NYC. This is not knob
and tube. It is BX and it is grounded (although some may question whether
the armor provides an adequate ground.
--
Peace,
BobJ

wrote in message
ups.com...



Sounds that ye old Knob and Tube stuff. I used to own a house that was
full of it. It looked like 18 gauge black cloth or paper wrapped
wires. The wires were run through ceramic tubes where they went
through a stud or joist and were suspended off of the wood surfaces
with ceramic blocks that were nailed down.

Yeah my hunch too, I asked about grounding since I helped a friend.
Turned out she had K&T and it APPEARED grounded

The trouble was a former owner connected grounds and neutrals together.
We found this opening a wall after a fire.On the outside a nice box
with 3 prong outlet. Buried in wall K&T grounds and neutrals tied
together.

The homes wiring was a patchwork quilt of bad stuff it was all replaced.