U. S. Navy wood working draw knife

[Flashlarue]

I found this wood working tool at Goodwill and thought it was an interesting oddity to have a U. S. N. stamp on it. What would a draw knife be doing in a Navy tool box?

 

 

[Flashlarue]

By the way the draw knife was manufactured by Greenlee in Rockford, Illinois.

[aznation]

Couple of things come to mind.

 

1) Seabees (from Construction Battalions) were recruited by the United States Navy during World War II. They were skilled construction workers whose task was to assist in building naval bases in the theatres of war. In all, 325,000 men served as Seabees during the war.

 

2) Carpenter's mate (CM) was a United States Navy rating throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

The rating was established in 1797, and separate pay grades were implemented in 1893. The sleeve insignia for the rating depicted two crossed axes. Responsibilities of carpenter's mates included maintaining ship ventilation, watertight control, painting, and drainage. During the era of wooden ships, carpenter's mates were charged with maintaining the integrity of the ship's hull. In times of battle, carpenter's mates would fight fires and use plugs to patch holes in the hull. In 1948, the rating was changed to damage controlman.

 

 

 

[aznation]

By the way the draw knife was manufactured by Greenlee in Rockford, Illinois.

 

Greenlee Bros./Greenlee Tool Co.

Chicago and Rockford, Illinois

1876-1927

 

Tool Types

 

Carpentry Tools

 

Directory of American Toolmakers Information

 

This company was founded by the Greenlee twins, Robert Lemuel and Ralph Stebbins, who were born in PA and moved to Chicago in 1859 to work for the Machine Roller Co. In 1876 they perfected a "hollow chisel" and in 1881 a power ripsaw. "& Co." was added to their name in 1890 and 1904 saw a move to Rockford. They dealt primarily in power tools, not offering hand tools until 1910. They acquired the Reliance Edge Tool Works of Youngston OH in 1910, the Rockford Bit Co. of Kokomo, IN in 1916 and the Jackson Mfg. Co. of Jackson, OH in 1918.

 

Identifying Marks

 

ROCKFORD/GREENLEE/ILL. U.S.A.; ROCKFORD ILL/GREENLEE/G (in a diamond)

 

General Information

 

Products of note include the Greenlee Hollow Chisel Mortiser, a combination four-sided chisel and rotating bit that allowed square holes to be made in wood; a Greenlee Tie Machining Car, a mobile railroad tie milling machine which gained import in the post-civil war western expansion; and a Self-feed Power Ripsaw, a wildly popular power saw that proved both safer and more effective than existing equivalents. After 1910 they became one of America’s most prolific manufacturer of edge and other small hand tools.

[KRIS FORD]

Couple of things come to mind.

 

1) Seabees (from Construction Battalions) were recruited by the United States Navy during World War II. They were skilled construction workers whose task was to assist in building naval bases in the theatres of war. In all, 325,000 men served as Seabees during the war.

 

2) Carpenter's mate (CM) was a United States Navy rating throughout the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

The rating was established in 1797, and separate pay grades were implemented in 1893. The sleeve insignia for the rating depicted two crossed axes. Responsibilities of carpenter's mates included maintaining ship ventilation, watertight control, painting, and drainage. During the era of wooden ships, carpenter's mates were charged with maintaining the integrity of the ship's hull. In times of battle, carpenter's mates would fight fires and use plugs to patch holes in the hull. In 1948, the rating was changed to damage controlman.

 

 

 

 

CM could have also went to Shipfitter..but the wiki description of their duties is basically that of a HULL TECH for it's time.

 

 

HT's run the Carpenter Shops in the Fleet. The Repair CWO is known as the Carpenter. Has a capenter's square as a collar device opposite of the CWO bar.

[General Apathy]

I found this wood working tool at Goodwill and thought it was an interesting oddity to have a U. S. N. stamp on it. What would a draw knife be doing in a Navy tool box?

 

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Hi Flashlarue, A local friend found this item in the sands on Utah beach about twelve years ago, he couldn't think what it was until I showed him a boxed one from my collection ( in the following post ). It is a tool and wouldn't have been dropped by infantry coming ashore, so could be Navy or engineer unit, or such.

 

Lewis.

 

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[General Apathy]

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Hi Flashlarue, This is a perfect unused boxed example from my collection. It's a working tool and as such wouldn't have been carried by infantry coming ashore, so could be Navy, engineer unit, or such.

 

Lewis.

 

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