British Army Knife question,

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Cosmic Superchunk

Cosmic Superchunk

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I picked up a British Army clasp yesterday at a surplus store with a stainless steel handle and marlinspike. On the handle it reads: "The Genuine British Army Knife, Stainless Steel, Made in Sheffield England." There is no manufacturer name listed, but the sheepsfoot blade and can opener have the Sheffield, England stamp on them. Does anyone know who manufactures these? Also, are these legitimate issue knives?
 
le71700.jpg

If it looks like this it is.
 
I found this pic from 1sks.

lew-71700.jpg


This is the exact model I have, which 1sks says is from Lewis International. Another source mentions Joseph Rodgers of Sheffield and Stephenson & Wilson of Sheffield, England, but I could not find any additional info on them. Any Brits out there know anything about these manufacturers? Am I correct in assuming the steel is 420 stainless or other equivalent?
 
This appears to be the contemporary version of the wood scaled knife we see fairly often. As I understand this stands in a long line of military style contracted knives(also available to the public) which are liable to have been made by any number of makers. Interesting though. (I had not seen a new one before) It wonder if this one is actually British "issue' or just "in-the-manner-of?"
 
I found Stephenson & Wilson's website: http://www.armyknife.co.uk/
but there's no mention about the army folder. I did find this pic from
http://www.sheffield-made.com/index.html

pk02.jpg


The pic confirms it's from Stephenson & Wilson, but according to http://www.timefactors.com/military.htm the actual "issue" models would have a MoD (Ministry of Defence) contract date stamp on them. Still, there's not much info I could find on them.

I also came across this pic:

3pcarmy.jpg


This one's a Joseph Rodgers model, but I could not find any info on the manufacturer.
 
If you apply a little lateral logic....the presence of the identical pattern made by two purveyors indicates a market exists for that exact pattern......Governments often do not like to have just one supplier for an item.....this could be a military purchase item. I would accept the claim on face value that they are official product as manufactured for the military.
 
Yes, I think George has been trying to get the British military account for a while ;) Just kidding, of course. El Cid, I think you have your answer. There is no way to know which of the chummy Sheffield knife factories made the one you have. I'm sure if you got one that had actually been issued to a British soldier, it would have some proprietary markings. Nevertheless, all the knives should be the same or close enough that neither you nor I would readily tell the difference. Take Care.

Fred
Knife Outlet
http://www.knifeoutlet.com
 
Thanks Fred. ;) It's an interesting knife which appears to be quite useful. By it's rigging knife appearance I would have expected it to be British Navy issue rather than army.
 
The same basic pattern has been around since the second world war and was used in almost all British commonwealth country's armed forces.

The marlin spike has been modified a bit but the knife is almost identical to one I had as a kid, assembled in Picteau Nova Scotia from parts provided by Case. All branches of the forces were issued the same knife. The blade and can opener have obvious uses but the marlin spike was used differently by each branch. The army used to recieve gasoline in sealed cans that had to be punctured to get at the contents so the spike became a petrol can opener.
 
I've had one for years, and I used it hard. It's marked with an asterisk and cross, Joseph Rodgers, Sheffield England, and Stainless. It looks like el cid's 6. but the bend at the top of the blade is very sharp, not rounded, there is no nail nick and the blade is really stiff and hard to open, and the handle has a teardrop cutout. Is that what they call a "shackle key"?

The edge was really hard to restore when I finally managed to dull it, but the Sharpmaker helped!

My first regular use for the marlinspike was to stir hot coals in our barbecue grill.

The bail is so obviously tough and reliable that I used to carry the knife clipped to a toy carabiner I wear on my belt.
 
Hey, I have the Knife in Question. I've found it VERY reliable. I've had it for many years, and put it through a lot. Its very easy to sharpen, I prefer to use a DMT diamond sharpener to get the blade sharp very fast, and then smooth it out with a less aggressive sharpener.

The knife is a genuine Army issue one, although I think its possible that the Armed forces use the Locking version now days (I read it in a British Army magazine once). The Locking version is smaller, and has a 2 inch blade, a can opener but no spike.

These knives are SERIOUSLY useful. I own the spiked version and the locking version. The Lambsfoot blade gives you a lot of power and stirdyness.

The only issue I have about the spiked version is its stiffness when opening the blade or can opener. You also have to be quite careful when closing the blade as it has the potential to close on your hand if you're not careful.

I've only just purchased the Locking Version (recommended by Woodlore.co.uk, Ray Mears's site). It's blade is thinner, but this shouldnt be a problem if used in a sensible way, its can opener is a bit less curved then its older brother too.

The Genuine British Army knives are very good all round pocket knives though.

Simon
 
Esav Benyamin said:
I've had one for years, and I used it hard. It's marked with an asterisk and cross, Joseph Rodgers, Sheffield England, and Stainless. It looks like el cid's 6. but the bend at the top of the blade is very sharp, not rounded, there is no nail nick and the blade is really stiff and hard to open, and the handle has a teardrop cutout. Is that what they call a "shackle key"?

The edge was really hard to restore when I finally managed to dull it, but the Sharpmaker helped!

My first regular use for the marlinspike was to stir hot coals in our barbecue grill.

The bail is so obviously tough and reliable that I used to carry the knife clipped to a toy carabiner I wear on my belt.
Click to expand...

Esav- you are correct. The spik is for tightening screw pin shackles, as well as for splicing lines to make eyes, splicing 2 lines together.
 
Here is one for you. It is from a site of a knife maker. All the other knives on the site are made by this company so, while not certain, one could hypothesise that they also make this knife.

http://www.penknives-and-scissors.co.uk/shop/Specialist_Knives2252.htm

Sadly, there is no knife maker with the name Joseph Rodgers or Wostenholm. The names and trademarks are owned by something called the Eggintongroup. They make something similar under the Rodgers name.

http://www.eggintongroup.co.uk/rogers1.htm

I hope this helps
 
Basically, the ones that have “Genuine British Army Knife” engraved on them are contemporary copies- made in the manner of, so to speak. This is a proper army issue one, (not issued to me).
j1g7HMC.jpg

j1g7HMC.jpg

QhMisMv.jpg

Actual British Army issue equipment used to have the War Dept. broad arrow on them, later they would also have a NATO issue no. These knives were made by quite a number of different makers under contract. Some have the maker’s name on, some, like mine, do not.
Hope this info helps.
 
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All is not bad. I just had to rummage in my truck to find the Australian issue clasp knife I leave in there.
 
Still relevant as long as it does not create a brand new thread discussing the same thing. :p And we are encouraged to use the search function.
 
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