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Boer War Jack Knife
Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 7:51 pm
by Unclebob
This is a recent acquisition, but from a good friend, so I've lusted after it for some time! Boer War (late 1890's) period issue Jack Knife, horn scales, with serial number burnt in. It has the W/I\D stamp on one side of the blade root, with Burch and son, Sheffield on the other. The loop is copper.
(Is 'blade root' the correct term?)
Re: Boer War Jack Knife
Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 7:55 pm
by #goldpan
Welcome aboard! And the blade root is referred to as the tang. The marking is known as the tang stamp! Nice old Marlin spike. Its a sailors knife, nice one too!
Re: Boer War Jack Knife
Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 8:37 pm
by jerryd6818
Yes, welcome to AAPK.
The ‘Broad Arrow’ or ‘Crows Foot’, is the standard British military ownership mark. The W D stands for 'War Department'. The British Government has been marking government ownership since at least the 1830's and probably sometime in the 1600's.
Some marks are: (the ^ is used to denote the /|\ broad arrow)
B^D (Board of Ordnance)
W^D (War Department)
D^D ( Department of Defence (Aust)
N^Z New Zealand
There are more.
Those knives are commonly referred to as British Army knives. This one is from 1943. There's a thread on them here;
viewtopic.php?t=9829
Re: Boer War Jack Knife
Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:28 am
by buck16
Nice knife UncleBob. When I was growing up in the Southern U.S., the bolsters on a knife were referred to as the "jaws". I , personally, enjoy hearing knives described colloquially.
Re: Boer War Jack Knife
Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 10:27 pm
by GerryD
These knives were issued to the army as well as the Navy but I don't think the Navy stamped them. At the time of the Boar war the army used lots of horse power so the marlinspike was in rope splicing. I have a number of these some with horn scales and some with wooden scales. You need a proper pocket to carry thses
