Multi-blades an Anglo-Saxon thing?

[Jack Black]

Some of them were also originally specific to particular manufacturers :thumbup:

 

[supratentorial]

Another good point, Jack.

Here's an interesting old ad (around 1890 if I recall correctly)... Back before the "Dixie Stockman" (GEC) there was a "Colorado Stock Knife". The ad also throws in some politics. "Not a mugwump knife. But a genuine stalwart cutter; True blue." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugwumps

I'm not sure who came up with the name "Railsplitter"... maybe Queen. Levine calls it a "Surveyor" (which is also a modern collector term) or a "swell center canoe". He classifies them as cattle knife derivatives, not stock knives.

Also, notice that these knives were available in many variations, including 1, 2 and 3-blades. There were also variations intended for sale to boy's and stronger or extra strong knives intended for sale to men and knives with pearl covers for gents or ladies.

 

[jackknife]

There are certainly specific patterns that are more common for certain countries. But in general, a knife with more than one blade is not an Anglo Saxon thing. Jack gave some history. Jolipapa's post showed French multi-blades. And my post showed Swiss multi-blades that were not intended for export. There are definitely multi-blades from Germany as well. Those are just a few examples.

There's always been the multi blades that the extra "blades" were a tool of some sort. Corkscrew, awl, or such. What I am saying is, that in a lifetime of travel and working in different parts f the world, I have never seen a stockman, trapper, congress, or other pattern that we love here on the porch, in use outside of the continental United States. I've worked with the local populations in southeast Asia and North Africa as well as England and then West Germany, and I've never seen an "American" style of knife. Never. I've returned to Germany and gland for touring and hiking, and still have never seen one, in spite of being on outings that involved outdoors peole, like pony trekking in the Black Mountains of Wales, or hiking/camping in the Black Forest of southern Germany.

Being a knife nut, I pay attention to the knife that someone pulls out of a pocket to cut the wax covering off a round of cheese, or slice open a package of something on a backpacking trip. Depending on what part of the world it is, it's always some regional knife or a SAK or SAK type of knife. The SAK type of knife is maybe the most common multi blade knife I see. Extra tools seem to be appreciated by most people.

Some ten years ago, our older boy, John, got sent to San Jose, Costa Rica for 6 months on business. We made plans to travel down to see him, and as a surprise to us, knowing how his parents were nature watching buffs, he arranged for a rain forest tour of hiking and camping. For almost five days Karen and I had a ball hiking by day, seeing some outstanding country, and by late afternoon arriving at the nest camp the guides had set up on the trip. I watched the guides carefully and they did wonders with a small 10 to 12 inch blade machete for almost all the camp work. Almost. On each guides belt was a leather sheath of this machete, but there was also a leather or nylon pouch that held a SAK of some sort and a Bic lighter. Both were used in camp. The SAK took care of small cutting chores, on the spot maintenance on camp stoves, opening cans/packages, and whatever. They al had a SAK. One of the medium size ones, two layers. The machetes where used for cooking as well. I never saw potatoes, carrots, and peppers diced up so quick. On our last night in the jungle, they had a traditional pig roast. The well roasted pig was sliced up and served with a very sharp machete that did both carving and serving. I can home with a new appreciation for small machetes. The stores in San Jose had lots of machetes and whole displays of SAK's. A few "hunting knives" that were like large butcher knives. I saw not a single knife that we would call 'traditional' on the porch. The Costa Rican's do love their SAK's. The majority of San Jose had a pouch with one on the belt.

When I was stationed in Germany, I had a VW bug I was trying to put a certain amount of miles on before I left so I could get it shipped back at a very nominal cost. So I toured around a lot. Camping out is a poplar past time in Europe, and there's lots of parks and forest areas. Again, when I ran into others, the only knives I saw were typical of that country. Some SAK's, with F. Herder's, Puma, Weidmanshiel (Spelling?) Eye Brand, and some others. They were almost a universal spear point blade with a wood or stag handle. The German stag handles were exceptional. After the Buck knife craze hit, Puma made their knives look like the American Buck with brass frames and clip point blade. Heavier and not nearly as classy as the stag handle one they made before. But again, I never saw a "American" style of knife. No trappers, congress, Barlow, muskrat, or whatever. I did see some nice little two blade pen patterns, old Bruckman's and some nice shadow pattern puma's with stag scales that I should have stocked up on. But that was it.

I drove over into south eastern France and my experiences in France was a mirror of Germany. SAK or SAK type of knives were there, but way outnumbered by the French patterns like Lagioule's and Opinels. No stockmen, trappers or other multi blade pocket knives. The Opinel seemed as universal as a Bic pen.

There is no question that multi blade knives have been made in large numbers. But after traveling in Vietnam, Germany, Libya, France, Mexico, Costa Rica, England and Wales, I wonder where they are. I have never seen one in spite of working, fishing, and even hunting in some of these countries. It makes me wonder why?

 

[Jack Black]

Another good point, Jack.

Here's an interesting old ad (around 1890 if I recall correctly)... Back before the "Dixie Stockman" (GEC) there was a "Colorado Stock Knife". The ad also throws in some politics. "Not a mugwump knife. But a genuine stalwart cutter; True blue." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugwumps

I'm not sure who came up with the name "Railsplitter"... maybe Queen. Levine calls it a "Surveyor" (which is also a modern collector term) or a "swell center canoe". He classifies them as cattle knife derivatives, not stock knives.

Also, notice that these knives were available in many variations, including 1, 2 and 3-blades. There were also variations intended for sale to boy's and stronger or extra strong knives intended for sale to men and knives with pearl covers for gents or ladies.

Thanks Jake, I love those old ads :thumbup:

A fascinating read Carl, travel certainly broadens the mind and gives you a fresh perspective

As a point of interest, according to Ken Hawley of the Kelham Island Industrial Museum in Sheffield, the extra tool/blades, such as corkscrews and awls (punches), were always referred to in the trade as "accessories" :thumbup:

 

[GaiusJulius]

My take, for what it's worth. People seem attached to their own "traditional" style of knife. The marketing war of foreign vs. local manufacturers gets played out in every country. It's hard to fight against the overwhelming practicality combined with low cost, of the SAK. The Swiss have their manufacture and distribution down to a science, and it would be almost impossible for some other manufacturer to beat them in terms of cost, quality, and pure utility, plus the notoriety of the red covers and cross. On the other hand if you reject pure practicality and don't carry an SAK, or carry some other knife too... At that point it's likely either for aesthetic reasons, or because you just like knives, or because you have specific cutting needs that the SAK with its meager offering of one of two little spear blades, doesn't quite measure up to.

In America we gravitate toward either a modern folder (for either utilitarian practicality, tacticool aesthetics, or both) or what we think of as traditional knives here -like stockman, barlow, congress, etc. Some of these are more ancient than others. The stockman seems to be an elaborated and specific type of double end jackknife. The congress, we know, was devised in Sheffield and probably named because it's blades "congress," ("come together," in Latin) in an interesting way as they meet in the middle. It appears to have been designed mostly for aesthetics and marketed mostly in the South. We know the "Trapper," "Toothpick" etc. are really, with their curved butt-ends, recreations of the old horn or wood clasp knife, with slipjoint technology applied to them. They're quite similar in shape to the Spanish Navaja or French Laguiole which come from the same traditional design. The Barlow used to have this curved butt too, but over time seems to have just become a regular "English jackknife" with a longer bolster.

I think a previous poster is probably onto something when he says that in the new nation of the USA it was easier for new knife patterns to establish themselves as tools. People were willing to buy and use Stockmen or Congresses, they didn't seek out the kinds of knives their fathers or grandfathers may have used in the Old Country, which probably were simple friction folders like the Opinels we all know today (without the neat locking collar.)