MAS36 Posted September 23, 2007 Share #1 Posted September 23, 2007 just picked up this nice old pocket knife, I think it might be USN or British navy? it measures about 4" long with black plastic handles anybody know what era this pocket knife dates back to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAS36 Posted September 23, 2007 Author Share #2 Posted September 23, 2007 another photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted September 23, 2007 Share #3 Posted September 23, 2007 That's a British Army Clasp Knife with a marlinspike and a forked blade for, among other things, cutting line. Worth about $30 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAS36 Posted September 23, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted September 23, 2007 I got a good deal for $10 British sailors probably used these knives as well, the spike could be used to loosen knots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunbarrel Posted September 23, 2007 Share #5 Posted September 23, 2007 Here is a photo of a British sailor with one of these knives... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted September 23, 2007 Share #6 Posted September 23, 2007 I got a good deal for $10 British sailors probably used these knives as well, the spike could be used to loosen knots Yes it primarily a sailor's knife: the spike is specifically for loosening knots and that type of cutting blade specifically for cutting rope. When I owned a sailboat I always carried one (without the forked blade). How it became the British ARMY knife is beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted September 23, 2007 Share #7 Posted September 23, 2007 I own a knife very similar to that but all steel construction (looks like stainless steel) and maker marked CASE. I'm told it was Canadien military and made by a CASE subsiderary up in New Foundland. It has the marlin spike but not the forked blade. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAS36 Posted September 23, 2007 Author Share #8 Posted September 23, 2007 I heard the forked blade is also used for opening tin cans / rations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QED4 Posted September 23, 2007 Share #9 Posted September 23, 2007 They were issued to all British troops as part of the mess equipment and that blade is a can (or tin as the British say) opener. You will see many picture of soldiers with them hanging from their belt. They are more closely associated with sailors though and have been copied for commercial sales which is probably what the Case made one is. I am fairly sure that at least one other country copied them for issue also so if it is not Broad Arrow marked it is probably not British. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtbrown Posted October 3, 2007 Share #10 Posted October 3, 2007 As QED4 mentioned, the knife was issued to all Brit troops. After the war, other countries patterned their equipment after either Brit, US or even German examples. Two notable Brit imitators were Belgium and Greece. Most of the non-broad-arrow-marked pocket knives that show up these days are Belgian. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now