British Sheffield clasp knife

U

Ultraman

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Oct 28, 2005
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Anyone have one of these that they can comment on? Considering one after seeing one dangled from a chain by protagonist in Mad Max :)
3pcbritarmyss.jpg

I read somewhere they have strong springs and are hard to open. They were designed as boat knives, thus the marlin spike for knots.

Any comments on this and its utility (maybe for EDC) will be appreciated - thanks in advance. Any input from any British forumites would be gravy :)
 
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I've got the 'Naval' one, which has FRN grippy scales over the liners, Mine is stiff, like pull your nail out stiff.
A mate of mine was issued one of those like in the pic above by the Army, which is a great deal thinner and lighter, strong though.

I think they're about 20-30 bucks, so give it a try and see if you like it!
 
This is the standard British military issue clasp knife. They are used by both sailors and soldiers.

The blades are soft and do not hold a good edge; the spike is really quite useful, great when trying to get a knot out of some rope. The can opener is just weird.

The military ones, like the one shown, have a broad arrow mark and a date. You can find examples from the 50s on ebay every now and again.

I like mine, and never found it hard to open. The trick is to oil the joints...
 
Ozy, MikeJackmin:

Thank you so much for the responses - I will probably get one for the coolness factor. How are they for pocket carry?
 
Ultraman said:
Ozy, MikeJackmin:

Thank you so much for the responses - I will probably get one for the coolness factor. How are they for pocket carry?
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The one you've shown is much better than my pocket brick of a clasp knife for pocket carry, whack some Paracord on the bail, and it'll sit flat, straight and light!
 
There's a screwdriver-like blade that projects from the front (I think it was intended as a cap lifter or something). It will eat right through your pocket. Use the cord like Ozy suggested.
 
MikeJackmin said:
There's a screwdriver-like blade that projects from the front (I think it was intended as a cap lifter or something). It will eat right through your pocket. Use the cord like Ozy suggested.
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A lanyard it is then! Or maybe a case if I can find one. Thanks!
 
Iv got a pretty old one and a "newer" one I got when I was a kid, its one of those summer holiday knives that I didnt actually loose.
I was/am quite into sailing so did carry it on my boat but it never did see much use on my laser or topper :rolleyes::p
 
In my case I am pretty much landlocked, so it may be out of its element:D
I'm sure it was good to have around even if it did not see much use.
 
Ozy said:
Heres a pic of mine, for comparison

3055218350_76c1f84b6b.jpg
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Solid-looking kit, if you ask me. I believe it has something extra in that there is a bottle opener. Not sure if the solid metal one is a combination can & bottle opener. Nice!
 
I have one of the american-made types, a Schrade Walden & a Camillus. No can opener on either of mine though.Here we called it a "riggers knife" when I was in the navy. The blade on mine is a monster, nice & thick, heavy spring, same for the spike.

I might get one of those "just for the coolness factor", as the OP says.

thx - cpr
 
I have one of these , which I like a lot.

Mine is an Australian Defence force issue , almost the same as the above pic , maybe with a can opener a slightly different shape. Its marked with the govt arrow and Shelham . Also , made in Japan. year 2001 (7/01) Ive also seen other contractors names marked on them .
These were recently rendered obsolete ( I think) by the swisstool.

I heard these knives were adopted from navy use way back in the day by the cavalry, as they used the spike to pick out stones from horses hoofs etc , & thats how it made its way into army use.
good story anyway.

hope that helps.
 
Mad Max was set in oz ,, so thatd likely be the same knife .? just guessing. Ive seen em on ebay ,, maybe search for Australian army knife ,,, they usually go for about 20 AU$.
 
bigbadboom said:
Mad Max was set in oz ,, so thatd likely be the same knife .? just guessing. Ive seen em on ebay ,, maybe search for Australian army knife ,,, they usually go for about 20 AU$.
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Clasp knife works, so does Sheffield Clasp knife....they go for about 20-30 usd, something like 20 GBP, and I got mine from the AKC for $50 aud...
 
The pattern has been standard issue in the British Army from perhaps the Boer War but definitely WW1.
I have my uncle's Royal Engineers 1950 issue with black plastic handles and a 'Church Key' opener.

Where did the OP find the knife shown with the British Ministry of Defense mark?
 
I've got one with the black plastic handles in excellent condition marked:
A.B.L.
Colin Winand 1951

ABL is Armee Belge Libre or something like that. A whole bunch of these were made by the British for the Belgian Army (not Navy, despite the marlin spike) during the Korean War but were never issued. They were stored for many decades in a warehouse.

Actually I have two of these, the other one, also from 1951, I rehandled in canvass micarta thanks to the instruction and encouragement of a French knifemaker on another forum,Ben Cardoso. I really enjoyed taking it completely apart and then putting everything back together AND not having any extra parts left over!

Good folders. VERY solid. They're bricks. Sometimes I try to carry my black plastic handle one but it's usually too much even for me, and I like heavy knives!

Are they hard to open? Well, I can't say anything about any that were made after 1951, but the two vintage ones I have can be pretty damn tough sometimes. Nothing I can't handle but they're not easy. They're built TIGHT.
 
It's actually a pretty useful patern and an amazingly easy knife to pocket carry despite its relative heft. I have a chinese clone (I paid $5 or so for it) and the quality on that is very good. The marlin spike does work very well on knots- you always seem to find uses while carrying it.
 
I had a number similiar to this as a boy growing up in Sheffield. All Rodgers, and all given to me by my grandfather. My first had the chequered brown metal grips, very similiar to one pictured above, and was pre-WW2. Another (WW2 issue) was bigger, but with no can/bottle opener, and just plain chequered grips. I've had others with just a blade or just a can opener. They're generally pretty big and heavy, though the more modern design design is less so. They're a tough, hard-use knife, not the best design I don't think, but will take a lot more knocks and abuse than a SAK. The modern ones are mainly made by Ibbotson's I think, a cheaply-made knife that's probably overpriced.
 
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