Old photo featuring traditional knife

[Pete1977]

I was reading about gillnets on Wikipedia a few weeks ago and came upon this historical photo. The caption stated it was a fisherman in Seattle mending gillnets. I caught a glimpse of the knife in his hand and it looks to me to be a sodbuster style. The nail nick and lanyard hole are visible. I enjoy looking at old photos of the commercial fishing industry and occasionally come across hard working men using traditional knives in their work.

Enjoy

 

[Pete1977]

A close up of the knife...

 

[kamagong]

Thanks for the photo. It might even be contemporary, the clothes look like something a man may still wear today. Doubt it though, most seem much more casual now with t-shirts the preferred apparel.

Surprised me a bit with the sodbuster? knife. I would've expected a rigging knife of some sort.

- Christian

 

[cfoster2003]

That's an awesome pic! Thanks for sharing.

 

[jwren]

Thanks for the photo. It might even be contemporary, the clothes look like something a man may still wear today. Doubt it though, most seem much more casual now with t-shirts the preferred apparel.

Surprised me a bit with the sodbuster? knife. I would've expected a rigging knife of some sort.

- Christian

I was curious about the date of the photo too. Checked wikipedia: September 1969

 

[jwren]

Wish we could see just a bit more of the knife. Is the placement of the nail nick telling?

 

[Pete1977]

Thanks for the photo. It might even be contemporary, the clothes look like something a man may still wear today. Doubt it though, most seem much more casual now with t-shirts the preferred apparel.

Surprised me a bit with the sodbuster? knife. I would've expected a rigging knife of some sort.

- Christian

My guess is it is probably from the 1960s. The net appears to be nylon monofilament twine which was first introduced in the early '60s. His hair and clothing style also seem to be from that period. What I thought was a lanyard hole may just be a rivet for the back spacer or even for a bail that was removed. It is definitely a pocket knife evidenced by the nail nick, most likely non-locking as i dont see the lock release on the handle, and carbon steel. The patina is visible on the blade above the shinier sharpened edge. I thought it was a pretty interesting photo because it showed a working man using his slip joint knife.

 

[JAlexander]

Maybe a well-sharpened Herder sodbuster? I don't think it's a modern photo, though, based on the style of the tattoo and a few other things.

ETA: Or I could have just found the photo on Wikipedia and checked the date.

 

[Pete1977]

Here is another... Titled "Sig Carlson repairing fishing net, Seattle, 1940."

The knife appears to be a large folding knife. The net needle is under his arm.

Close up of his knife