Old Victorinox Sailors knife?

KYenglish

KYenglish

Joined
Nov 26, 2010
Messages
7,567
Hey all,

Just picked this up in a trade with a friend, after some research I believe it to be some sort of Victorinox Sailors knife, with sacking awl instead of a marlin spike, and missing it's pruning blade.

After striking out in the Bernard Levine i thought i'd post it here in case anyone finds it interesting or knows something else about it.

It's main blade looks distinctly different from other examples I've seen, with an almost handmade look to it, it fees solid and nice in the hand, the main blade has a half stop, the others not


norfolk for comparison

Here is everything, although itseems one was lost next to the sowing awl(?)


The sacking awl has some nice working on it



Main blade grind, also it really looks to have been made from something else to my eye and the stamp is definiteness missing

it's sharp though

One thick one thin liner


Saw looks good to, and it's nail nick goes right to the end of the blade, which is different from what I've seen


You can see where the missing tool is here


Finally here is a picture of what i think it is

show_image.php

note: picture taken from ICANFIXTHAT's post in the thread linked here; http://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=25628.0


I signed up and sent ICANFIXTHAT a pm, but so far he has not responded.

Hopefully they're half as friendly as folks around here :)

Doesn't this look close to the one above though? If the blade had been replaced/modded and it had lost it's pruner blade and the one in this picture has a saw not deployed....lot of if's there but heck

thanks for looking
 
KYenglish said:
Hey all,

Just picked this up in a trade with a friend, after some research I believe it to be some sort of Victorinox Sailors knife, with sacking awl instead of a marlin spike, and missing it's pruning blade.

After striking out in the Bernard Levine i thought i'd post it here in case anyone finds it interesting or knows something else about it.

It's main blade looks distinctly different from other examples I've seen, with an almost handmade look to it, it fees solid and nice in the hand, the main blade has a half stop, the others not


norfolk for comparison

Here is everything, although itseems one was lost next to the sowing awl(?)


The sacking awl has some nice working on it



Main blade grind, also it really looks to have been made from something else to my eye and the stamp is definiteness missing

it's sharp though

One thick one thin liner


Saw looks good to, and it's nail nick goes right to the end of the blade, which is different from what I've seen


You can see where the missing tool is here


Finally here is a picture of what i think it is

show_image.php

note: picture taken from ICANFIXTHAT's post in the thread linked here; http://forum.multitool.org/index.php?topic=25628.0


I signed up and sent ICANFIXTHAT a pm, but so far he has not responded.

Hopefully they're half as friendly as folks around here :)

Doesn't this look close to the one above though? If the blade had been replaced/modded and it had lost it's pruner blade and the one in this picture has a saw not deployed....lot of if's there but heck

thanks for looking
Click to expand...

Very cool! They are very friendly and extremely knowledgeable in everything SAK...

If you don't get a response from ICANFIXTHAT, start a thread in the Swiss forum over there! Lots of traffic from around the world.
 
thanks SAK guy, I'm sure he's friendly but a message out the blue like that can sometimes send up alarm ells, plus, hit junk folders and spam filters :)
 
Not sure if yours is a Victorinox, but i'm sure the guys over at MTO can figure it out. They are extremely friendly over there and there is probably more knowledge under one roof on SAK's and MT's then anywhere else on the planet. Start a thread introducing yourself. :thumbup: You might even see me over there. ;)
 
Thanks for posting.
Interesting knife. The condition of the bolsters and the pins looks like it may have been rebuilt which is not uncommon.
The awl/marlin spike looks less refined in finish than the Vic example, the eye hole is smaller and less defined. But they are very close. Keep us posted.
Bet she's got some stories.
 
your first one to say that wouldn't be uncommon, thanks

billym said:
Thanks for posting.
Interesting knife. The condition of the bolsters and the pins looks like it may have been rebuilt which is not uncommon.
The awl/marlin spike looks less refined in finish than the Vic example, the eye hole is smaller and less defined. But they are very close. Keep us posted.
Bet she's got some stories.
Click to expand...
 
I think what you have there is a parts knife. A couple of older knives have been scavenged for the parts, and home built into one knife that the builder made into the single knife you see. THe saw blade has been shortened to fit into the existing frame, and the sewing aw is from some other tool. It's a Frankenknife, but interesting. No doubt the individual who made it thought it was the perfect combination of tools for his lifestyle, so that in itself makes it interesting. Like was said, what stories could it tell? It was defiantly used over many years by the person who made it.

There are some French knives that look a bit like it, but rough workmanship on these bolsters ad pins look like it's been taken apart and reassembled in a less than smooth manner.
 
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Closest so far to the answer I've just been given, I've asked if I can share the info (since it was on another forum) so hopefully I'll get abck here with it son!

jackknife said:
I think what you have there is a parts knife. A couple of older knives have been scavenged for the parts, and home built into one knife that the builder made into the single knife you see. THe saw blade has been shortened to fit into the existing frame, and the sewing aw is from some other tool. It's a Frankenknife, but interesting. No doubt the individual who made it thought it was the perfect combination of tools for his lifestyle, so that in itself makes it interesting. Like was said, what stories could it tell? It was defiantly used over many years by the person who made it.

There are some French knives that look a bit like it, but rough workmanship on these bolsters ad pins look like it's been taken apart and reassembled in a less than smooth manner.
Click to expand...
 
seems to be a french version of a German design, that also lead to the vic and wenger versions in the 40s, if i'm understanding it right, pretty cool!
 
As always, I defer to jacknife and SAK Guy for knowledge and experience.

SwissBianco has recently built for sale some colored anodized seaman's knives with the sewing needle awl (a little pricey@ $735 for each color in the collector set to begin with). I do not know if singles are currently available.

SwissBianco's various older colored and splash anodized alox knives are very nice.

Mike H.
 
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