A.B.L. 1950 Colasse (Picture heavy)

You are welcome. My British knives, with and without the spike, were Army issue. The WWII British Navy pattern had a blade and spike with metal alloy scales.
 
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Great looking old knives! Congratz to that one!

One of them you showed off, has "Friedrichswerk, Solingen" marked on the tang stamp. Do you know in which year it´s made? As I have just seen by googeling that company (which I don´t know, but as a german many of old Solingen companies are known), I found out that Friedrichswerk was closed in the middle of the 1970s.

Maybe it´s been made for the British Navy under some kind of license.

KInd regards
Andi
 
Humppa said:
Great looking old knives! Congratz to that one!

One of them you showed off, has "Friedrichswerk, Solingen" marked on the tang stamp. Do you know in which year it´s made? As I have just seen by googeling that company (which I don´t know, but as a german many of old Solingen companies are known), I found out that Friedrichswerk was closed in the middle of the 1970s.

Maybe it´s been made for the British Navy under some kind of license.

KInd regards
Andi
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No, as I said it was made for the Belgian Navy (ZM -FN stamp on the blade means Zeemacht, Force Naval = Navel forces) but I don't know about the year of production either.
 
I have on with the "1951 Libert" inscription, by the way, what kind of carbon steel is used in this knife?
 
Don't really know. When I asked the guy at the flea market, all he said was: "it's a good steel, can get really sharp." Well, thanks for that explanation I suppose:rolleyes:

Don't have any other source where I could verify. Maybe it's stated in that book by Ron Flook. I don't have it so I can't verify.
 
Forgive me for bringing up a year-old thread, but does anyone know how to work the can-opener on that knife?

I recently found one, amongst my junk. Can't decide whether it's 51 or 54.

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But all my "opening" experience is with the ones like are found on a scout knife or leatherman. This one just puzzles me.

Anybody?
 
Easy enough. Stab the point into the can. Press down until that lip on the top section catches the rim on the can. Pivot upward on that lip. It's slow, but think of it like a SAK/Scout version in reverse.
 
Thanks. Thought that might be it.

Tried it like that Scout, with the lip on the hook under the lip of the rim, so was holding the knife upside down - spring down instead of up like a Scout knife. Worked, but quite slow.

Tried it like you said, hook on the top of the rim, and cutting upward, instead of downward. Also worked, and also quite slow.

Guy on another board said they were designed to cut from the side, under the rim lip, taking the whole top of the can, rim and all, off. Didn't try that one, as it looked like it would be quite messy, if there was any liquid in the can.

I guess I'll stay with my Scout-knife/Leatherman/P38.

Thanks again.
 
I also have one, but the can opener is very loose and the knife and marlin spike are very hard to open. But when I bought it, it was in a far worse condition the the pictures above. barely any metal visible under the rust. even tough I bought it directly from the army. they are still in use in the royal marine cadets (belgium) which I am part of.
 
I didn't notice this thread was revived in February. I can see that people have already answered on how to use the can opener :thumbup:

@Alpo, I guess it's 1951 on that datestamp. Most that I've seen from Belgium are either stamped with 50 or 51, sometimes 52 or younger (49).

patton446 said:
I also have one, but the can opener is very loose and the knife and marlin spike are very hard to open. But when I bought it, it was in a far worse condition the the pictures above. barely any metal visible under the rust. even tough I bought it directly from the army. they are still in use in the royal marine cadets (belgium) which I am part of.
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If you're in the navy (marines), you should try to hunt down an example made by Friedrichswerk in Sölingen. They were specifically made for the Belgian Navy, the others were made for the army. Their quality is better than the other ones too, in general. If you'd be interested, just shoot me an e-mail, I could definitely point you in the right direction as to where to start your search. I'm a Belgian citizen as well, so we all live in a pretty short distance of one another ;-). They can be found very cheap on some flea markets (approximately 5 euros). I carry one of these quite often.

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Galeocerdoshark said:
I didn't notice this thread was revived in February. I can see that people have already answered on how to use the can opener :thumbup:

@Alpo, I guess it's 1951 on that datestamp. Most that I've seen from Belgium are either stamped with 50 or 51, sometimes 52 or younger (49).



If you're in the navy (marines), you should try to hunt down an example made by Friedrichswerk in Sölingen. They were specifically made for the Belgian Navy, the others were made for the army. Their quality is better than the other ones too, in general. If you'd be interested, just shoot me an e-mail, I could definitely point you in the right direction as to where to start your search. I'm a Belgian citizen as well, so we all live in a pretty short distance of one another ;-). They can be found very cheap on some flea markets (approximately 5 euros). I carry one of these quite often.

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Wow! That is inexpensive! Personally, I think a good example of one of these knives, like this beauty here, is worth 10 times that. They're great users, and even older than me! :eek:
 
Its interesting that the army knife has such nautical features. The spike is useful i guess on land and sea and there is that British infatuation with the lambsfoot blade. Wonder which came first, fondness for lambsfoot or familiarity from naval or military service?
 
Strange, but I had a student show up just today in my "Summer Fun With a Pocket Knife" course in Winfield BC with a knife just like that except it was marked "1942 Richards Sheffield"
 
Jack Black said:
Wow! That is inexpensive! Personally, I think a good example of one of these knives, like this beauty here, is worth 10 times that. They're great users, and even older than me! :eek:
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Yep, I've seen them on the bay for often at least 4 times as much. At the local flea market there's one who sells them for cheap. A lot of clean-up to do on them since they're still in the factory oil. And they smell bad :D

MarkPinTx said:
Its interesting that the army knife has such nautical features. The spike is useful i guess on land and sea and there is that British infatuation with the lambsfoot blade. Wonder which came first, fondness for lambsfoot or familiarity from naval or military service?
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I agree. The spike is definitely handy on land as well, for knots etc. I find it handy for opening cans of soda in a more brutal way :-). Good to punch holes in leather or plastic as well.

mrrampro said:
very cool finds I love those and the history was interesting
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I agree completely. They're cool blades.

Mr. Chips said:
Strange, but I had a student show up just today in my "Summer Fun With a Pocket Knife" course in Winfield BC with a knife just like that except it was marked "1942 Richards Sheffield"
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Indeed, the British army and navy have had knives of this design for a long time, even pre WW1 I think. The Belgian models were based on that design, and often manufactured in the UK (and some in Germany) but at a later date (late 40s, early 50s).
 
Thought I'd add a couple of pics of my 1951 Libert :)



 
Galeocerdoshark said:
Those are some great pictures of a really good looking clasp knife, Jack! Gorgeous!
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Thank you my friend, I got a lovely British Taylor's Eye Witness model this afternoon, coutesy of ScruffUK. Photos to follow :)
 
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