All About Pocket Knives

smiling-knife wrote:Hi Jim, No sorry I don't know about the specific units. I think they were widely distributed. This is the three piece version.
Hope you have a great weekend too.

Thanks for sharing!!

As a former Naval officer I have a thing for Navy items and I might, eventually, focus my collecting on such knives. For now, I'm just a hoarder!

Jim

Hi Jim, As you mentioned Navy knives, these are the standard British Navy patterns from WWI and WWII respectively. The WWI era knife is the Admiralty pattern 301 and was in service from 1910 to the 1930s. In the 1930s they went from stag to metal alloy handles. The pattern evolved and became smaller in WWII.

Now I'm smiling too Mr smiling-knife!

Thanks for the pics and the history! I will certainly keep looking for British knives but they are not easy to find over here.

By the way, is there any good reference litterature out there?

Cheers!

Jim

I posted this one in "General Knife Discussion" but I think it would feel right at home here also.

tjmurphy wrote:I posted this one in "General Knife Discussion" but I think it would feel right at home here also.

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tjmurpjy, it is awesome!! Congratulations on a great find!

Jim

Yes, nice Wostenholm. Thanks for adding it to the thread.

Do you know if this knife is common or not? This is the very first one I've seen in all my searches.

I've seen a few but they are rarer than some of the common patterns shown earlier. You did well to find that one. Congrats!

sakoblade wrote:Now I'm smiling too Mr smiling-knife!

Thanks for the pics and the history! I will certainly keep looking for British knives but they are not easy to find over here.

By the way, is there any good reference litterature out there?

Cheers!

Jim

Hi Jim, Ron Flook's book British and Commonwealth Military Knives is an excellent resource.

smiling-knife wrote:

sakoblade wrote:Now I'm smiling too Mr smiling-knife!

Thanks for the pics and the history! I will certainly keep looking for British knives but they are not easy to find over here.

By the way, is there any good reference litterature out there?

Cheers!

Jim

Hi Jim, Ron Flook's book British and Commonwealth Military Knives is an excellent resource.

Thanks a lot! Will try to find it ASAP!

Have a great weekend!

Jim

Hello all,

I've just received this Wostenholm knife from my father. It belonged to his father who served in the British army during WW2 with the Royal Engineers.

My limited research would indicate that it is a Canadian knife, which would be possible as he served alongside the Canadians in 30 corps in NW europe, is that right ?

Also, what is the number stamp on the marlin spike for ? My initial thought was that it is a soldiers service number.

Thanks for looking,

Mac.

Welcome to AAPK Mac. I have very little expertise regarding British Commonwealth military knives.

Do you see a MoD ownership stamp on it anywhere (see image below). I think you're on to something Re: the service number. It appears to be stamped with individual hand stamps. The two I have are stamped with the year (1943) and the MoD broad arrow on the main blade tang.

Thanks for looking and reminding me Jerry !

I did mean to say that there is not an MOD 'crows foot' on it, although i believe this was not that unusual ?

I'm going to post on a WW2 forum that i use regarding the possible service number.

Mac.

As far as I know, until 1964, the British Army and Navy are separate structures. The knives ordered by the army are stamped with arrow and year on the blade or the can opener, and the knives ordered by the admiralty are stamped with number on marlin spike.
Another thing I've read somewhere is that the knives ordered by the navy never have a can opener because the ships have a galley, and the sailors have not given cans.
Regards,
Georgi

My British army knives

I just scrolled through the thread and discovered I haven't posted my BAK's and Fairbairn Sykes. The India BAK I did post went to a new home in a POS roundtable and now I regret that decision. The things we do out of ignorance.

Both are 1943. One with the marlin spike, the other without.
This Fairbairn Sykes, nine ring "rings and beads" is a scarce edition, made even more so because most were private purchase and this one has the MoD broad arrow and inspectors stamp, meaning it was a government purchase and issued. There is another one with six rings that is even more scarce. In fact it's so rare the even pictures of it are rare.

Were ALL British military issued knives marked with the broad arrow or inspection/serial number?

tjmurphy wrote:Were ALL British military issued knives marked with the broad arrow or inspection/serial number?

The "Broad Arrow" (sometimes called "crow's foot") is a mark used by the British government from at least the 17th century to designate government ownership. Read the "Use for British Government property" section on Wikipedia ---> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_arrow

The Inspector's number seems common on WWII F/S knives but I don't recall seeing it on BAK folders but then I've only seen a few of those. As for "serial number", are you referring to the service member's serial number?

This is the knife I am wondering about. It has the earmarks of WWII issue: black, checkered plastic handles, all steel construction and bird's-eye rivot with no bolsters, same build features as the WWII knives posted. Think it's WWII issue or post WWII civilian sales? No broad arrow stamping.

T.J. it just hit me you already know all that stuff I posted. I apologize for treating you like a newbie.

Compare the handle material to that of the ones you already have. Does it look the same? It's just from a picture but I'm thinkin' no. Plus, no crow's foot would mark it as post WWII civilian sales? Until proved otherwise, I'm going with that.

Where's Iron Hoarder or smiling-knife when ya need 'em?

Only have one other British WWII knife and it is a different breed of cat. Not a knife at all but a lineman's knife with slick handles. I'm kind of inclined to go along with the post WWII, but don't know how "post" it is. Yeh, where's those Brits when ya need 'em?? Maybe they're from across the channel

Can any of you guys educate me on this pocket knife? I know it was only made between 1914-1916 but I can’t seem to find anything that says if it was used during WW1. No arrows or serial numbers on knife. There is an “R” Appreciate the help.

That is a maker I haven't seen before but it certainly fits the 6353/1905 pattern. It is pretty common to find them unmarked. Some have the soldier's service number, a few have the broad arrow usually on the marlin spike. The exception seems to be the Canadian knives. I have several Camillus and Schatt & Morgans and the majority of those have the C/|\ on the spike.

Now I'll have to go look through them and see what the balance. Most of the Boer War era knives I have has a service number burned into the scales.

The photos are from a Bulgarian online trading site. The manufacturer is clear. What is this knife and why there is a British military mark? It looks more like a kitchen than a military knife.

It most likely is a kitchen knife. The broadarrow /|\ is the British government property mark. It was used by all branches of the government, not just the military. However, the military did use kitchen knives. Feeding soldiers is a big part of the military. I have a nicely marked meat cleaver. Given that there were British troops in Greece and the Balkans during WWII it wouldn't surprise me to see it turn up in Bulgaria. Looks like a nice, useful knife.