Military Clasp Knives

R.c.s. gifted me this 1943 Slater two-blade when we met up the other day to visit Stan Shaw, and to hear Geoffrey Tweedale give a talk on Joseph Rodgers :) Thanks again mate :thumbup:





 
Wow Jack! From the looks of the blade, someone got a lot of use for a few decades out of it! But it's still here and able to work, I guess they really built those old clasp knees t take the hard work. Maybe all those young guys I see in the general forum who post that they are looking for a good 'hard use' knife, ought to go get themselves a British military clasp knife! LOL.

I love seeing all those old military knives that have stood up to so many years of use and abuse. Good stuff.
 
jackknife said:
Wow Jack! From the looks of the blade, someone got a lot of use for a few decades out of it! But it's still here and able to work, I guess they really built those old clasp knees t take the hard work. Maybe all those young guys I see in the general forum who post that they are looking for a good 'hard use' knife, ought to go get themselves a British military clasp knife! LOL.

I love seeing all those old military knives that have stood up to so many years of use and abuse. Good stuff.
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Carl, I have examples that have even more wear my friend. A lot of those old army clasp knives ended up as tool-box knives, and were used very hard indeed. You occassionally find one with the tip of the blade snapped off, and others covered in paint and all sorts of stuff, but rarely is there any blade-play in them, they are tough knives for sure :thumbup:
 
Here are a couple of knives I put up in the old knives, but My good mate Jack suggested I should put them in here...
I remember when Jack first showed us his Harrison Stag Rope knife- it was in a pretty dirty condition - he cleaned it up with a bit of oil - - and I was just blown away by how lovely that knife was - just amazing, so I couldnt quite believe it when I saw this massive Tank of a knife come up for grabs...it cost me a bit - but I was in the mind that you just do NOT see these lovely and very old knives come up for grabs in this condition.
This knife is as tight as the day it was made - and I tell you what - DO NOT.....get your fingers in the way of the closing blade OR Rope Spike - because it will cause a nasty injury - real Bear Trap material here!!












I also picked up this as old Ibberson, this if it werent for the massive and olde sharpening marks would be SUCH an impressive knife - well it is to me anyway but the knife did have a very large stamping and "bookend" scroll work - an someone decided to grind the whole face of the blade...man I tell you, but this old girl actually both these knives are 100+ years old and still snap like a "Gator" very cool....





I took a shot with a mixture of Claps knives/ Rope knives where the scales are Bakelite, Horn, Stag ( and beautiful Stag at that ) and Jigged Bone....

 
Why do army models have a marlinspike? Are they used for tying/untying transported materiel?
 
Thank you S-K, the Stag is great - especially from that era, and no body knows that better than you my friend.

Kcub, I can only see that being the main use for the Spike, that with untying stubborn knots, and a general purpose tool for whatever comes up in a situation - a good darned tough Spike will come in handy I guess. I just tried to Google the question you asked just to see if there were more uses or a more original idea that perhaps I have missed - man - in youtube alone theres videos galore to answer your question Sir.
 
Hi Jack, That's the photo I was thinking of when I messaged you. It must be a WWII Navy knife rather than the WWI as it seems the spike is opposite to the blade. It almost looks like there is a bolster though? A great bit of history. Thanks

Jack Black said:
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Many thanks for showing those here Duncan, the knives, and your photographs are beautiful :thumbup:

Thanks S-K, it would be great to see more pics of these old knives 'in situ' :) :thumbup:
 
Hello I am new to the Blade Forum. I have recently purchased a clasp knife and from reading the Forum I have found out the scales are checkered Buffalo horn, and is a pattern 6353. On the Blade it has an eye, below the eye is Witness, below Witness, is Sheffield. The only other marking on the knife is a very slight, partial arrow on the tin opener. It is in quite nice condition and has been sharped very little if at all. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
Taylor's eye witness is a Sheffield maker and the arrow ( crows foot ) is the British military mark . nice find use photobucket and paste a picture :thumbup:
 
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Thanks! R.c.s; first try with photo bucket hope it works!
 
That looks to be in very good condition, congratulations :thumbup:
 
Great knife Lindsey. Thanks for sharing it. The knife was made by Needham, Veall and Tyzack who owned the Taylor's Eyewitness name and trademark. The pattern was made 1905 to 1939.
 
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pertinux said:
Something moved out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to see this sting-tailed beauty scampering across the sidewalk....

IMG_4994.jpg~original


It retracted its opener-appendage when I drew near, but left its stinger out.

IMG_4998.jpg~original


Once I'd soothed the savage beast, I saw it was a beauty of a Belgian Clasp Knife, artfully reclad in ebony by the inestimable glennbad.

IMG_4996.jpg~original


Okay, okay: alert readers may note that this very knife has already appeared in this thread, courtesy of Kamagong:



I was shocked to discover it in my mailbox recently, the funny and sweet thing being that I didn't recognize his (real) name on the package, but I recognized "Kamagong's ebony clasp knife" right off!

It's not truly savage, but I have named it Beast-- what a substantial knife.

IMG_5000.jpg~original


Hard-use gear, indeed.

Its only mark:

IMG_5012.jpg~original


(ABL-195)

I am easily and happily wooed by all manner of knife covers, particularly enjoying the variations and possibilities in bone. However, at the end of the day, ebony is probably my all-time favorite for a knife handle. Picking up an ebony-clad knife is somehow the knife equivalent of coming home, and I am thrilled with the deep expanse of ebony that covers this upscaled Clasp Knife.

Thanks, Christian!

Now, for some Opener lessons.... ;)

~ P.
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Hello Members,

This is signifies my grail knife. Does anyone know much about these??? I have been looking at a Bundeswehr BUND German Navy Clasp Knife for sale, stamped BUND, with locking Marlin spike and knife blade only, but I don't know if it is a replica. I am only interested in original Military issue with the knife blade and Marilin spike. The reason I seek this knife is my Grandfather brought one back from WW2 Normandy, but it was sadly claimed by my Brother, who lost it. Also is this real ebony wood and was this issued, and if so what year? All the military clasp knives I have seen, unless they are pre WW2, do not ordinarily have wooded handles unless they were pimped???

I am really after an as new, and or would like to know more about the contemporary German military issue Bundeswehr Navy knife. I heard it has locking knife blade or Marlin spike, but I don't know. I also heard there are replicas and I would like to steer clear of these. Does anyone know where to find an original mint or new one of these?:confused:

I guess I would prefer the newer issue knife with stailess steel and locking mechanism, but I am intrigued by Pertinux's ebony example here and would like to know more about it as well ;) Beautiful knife Sir! Thanks in advance :) Any assistance much appreciated. :)
 
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Welcome to Traditionals Dr Jones, Pertinux's knife was originally a Belgian issue knife, like you'll find earlier in this thread. It was customised by another member here (Glennbad), and is replete with ebony wood covers. While I don't think you'll find another knife like it, there are absolutely loads of the basic military issue knives of all types knocking about the flea-markets and antique stores of Europe, as well as on the internet. Did your grandfather's knife just have a blade and marlin-spike (ie no tin-opener blade), and was the blade a Sheepsfoot (like the one Pertinux has)? If so, you can probably find knives of the same type earlier in this thread.
 
I hope this fits in here. It's not mine; I came across it in Shrewsbury Castle Museum. If memory serves correct it's WWI.

Owk47gc.jpg
 
Interesting knife Donn, thanks for adding it :thumbup:

I need to take some pics myself :o
 
DrIndianaJones said:
Hello Members,

This is signifies my grail knife.
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... I tried to respond to your email (which I received before reading your post here), but my message failed to send to the email address provided. You didn't miss much; I really can't add anything to what Jack (our resident Military Clasp Knife expert) has written:

Jack Black said:
Welcome to Traditionals Dr Jones, Pertinux's knife was originally a Belgian issue knife, like you'll find earlier in this thread. It was customised by another member here (Glennbad), and is replete with ebony wood covers. While I don't think you'll find another knife like it, there are absolutely loads of the basic military issue knives of all types knocking about the flea-markets and antique stores of Europe, as well as on the internet. Did your grandfather's knife just have a blade and marlin-spike (ie no tin-opener blade), and was the blade a Sheepsfoot (like the one Pertinux has)? If so, you can probably find knives of the same type earlier in this thread.
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Good luck with your search!

~ P.
 
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