Please define a "Sheath Knife" for me

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sambo.

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Dec 30, 2009
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I would appreciate it if my bladeforums.com colleagues would kindly give me their definitions of the term "Sheath Knife".

thank you in advance, i'll let you know a bit more about why i'm asking such an odd question after we get a few definitions.

cheers
sambo.
 
It's the old name by which fixed blades knives are called.
 
In my Boy Scout activities back in the early 90's, fixed blades were called "sheath knives".
 
Usually when someone says "sheath knife", they're referring to a fixed blade (non-folding knife) that's carried in a protective sheath - usually worn on the belt. However, in some parts of the world, an "Out the Front" (OTF) knife is also known as a "sheath knife". Can get a bit confusing but the first description is the most common these days
 
Generally, a fixed blade. That's at least what I've always thought of when someone says "sheath knife."
 
antonio_luiz said:
Usually when someone says "sheath knife", they're referring to a fixed blade (non-folding knife) that's carried in a protective sheath - usually worn on the belt. However, in some parts of the world, an "Out the Front" (OTF) knife is also known as a "sheath knife". Can get a bit confusing but the first description is the most common these days
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ok, so what, exactly, is an "Out The Front" knife?

please link me to an example of such a knife.

thank you for the responses so far. keep 'em coming please!
 
OTF's are exactly that... the blade does not fold out, it literally comes out the front of the handle... youtube search for "microtech scarab" and you will see what I mean
 
A knife that is carried in a sheath. Not to be confused with a knife stored in a pouch or sleeve (such as a gentleman's knife or a collector's knife that you don't want to get scratched up stored in a protective sleeve).

That's what I think of, anyway.
 
To me sheath knife was always the way older country folk referred to almost any fixed blade knife. I've heard the term 'belt knife' used pretty much the same way.
 
sambo, in what country do you live? That probably makes a difference in this discussion.
 
Not a great exercise. We prefer the original poster to tell us up front what he's looking for. It wouldn't hurt to give us an idea about yourself -- no profile, no contacts, no location listed. But you want information from us?

The question could have been answered by a dictionary, which you could have posted and asked if we agreed.
 
Marion David Poff said:
On the head.


A sheath knife, is a knife which requires a sheath, or can be found in a sheath, as opposed to a folding knife which requires no sheath.


Marion
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I still call them that most of the time. :)

It was either pocket knife or sheath knife for me growing up. :thumbup:

Only on the forums I call them Folders or fixed blades. ;)
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Not a great exercise. We prefer the original poster to tell us up front what he's looking for. It wouldn't hurt to give us an idea about yourself -- no profile, no contacts, no location listed. But you want information from us?

The question could have been answered by a dictionary, which you could have posted and asked if we agreed.
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ok, here's why i ask:

I contacted the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service with a query on several blades I wish to order from a US based online retailer. Australian laws are, to say the least, rather restrictive when it comes to such things.

The Customs officer simply sent me the following list of "Prohibited Imports"

Aust Customs "Senior Officer" said:
"Daggers, flick knives, butterfly knives, trench knives, ballistic knives, concealed knives/blades, throwing knives/blades/axes, star knives, push knives, sheath knives, non-metallic knives are all prohibited imports without the permission of the Minister for Home Affairs. If you don't have one of these types - they can be imported."
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The officer in question didn't offer me any definitions of these terms. when I replied, stating that such a list is a little unhelpful without exact Customs definitions, the officer in question jacked up and refused to assist me any further because he felt I had been rude.

I am in the process of going through the complaints procedure with Australian Customs and I started this thread to get an idea of what a reasonable, knife-knowledgable person would regard as a "Sheath Knife".

apparantly in the eyes of Australian Customs, a Sheath Knife is:

Australian Customs said:
Knives with a sheath that withdraws into the handle by gravity or centrifugal force and/or pressure applied to a button, spring or other device and made of any material
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looking through this thread, it is clear to me that almost no-one would immediatly think of this sort of description for a "Sheath Knife".

in fact, i don't think i've ever even heard of a knife like that described by Australian Customs. if you have any idea what they are talking about, please post a link to such a knife.

thank you all for your help.
 
Sounds like those customs officers have been smoking a little contraband, ifyouknowhatimean...

I've never heard of or seen a knife like that before.
 
Asking us for a definition to offer to Australian customs is futile. They aren't interested in what anyone else calls anything, only in what their own definitions point out. You need to ask anyone from whom you buy a knife to avoid using the term "sheath knife" then, and the intellectually adept Australian Customs agents will be happy.

I only know of one knife from the 1970s or 1980s that used that system. It was a rather flimsy thing with a blade of 420J2, I believe. They had a variety of small EDC items, I can't remmber the company name, though.
 
So to Australian Customs a 'sheath knife' is sort of a 'reverse switchblade' where the sheath slides off the blade as opposed to the blade sliding out of the handle?

Never seen such an animal.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Asking us for a definition to offer to Australian customs is futile.
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i would disagree.

for Customs to use the term "Sheath Knife" to describe something that is not what the average "man in the street" would use the term for is very confusing.

Esav Benyamin said:
They aren't interested in what anyone else calls anything, only in what their own definitions point out.
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this is exactly the basis of my complaint.

simply sending out a list of Prohibited Imports is completely useless unless you define the terms used.

the officer in question did not send me any kind of definition for the terms used and didn't even have the decency to provide a link to where said terms are defined.

i have a bee in my bonnet about this as you might be able to tell. there is something about petty bureaucrats that really peeves me.

Esav Benyamin said:
You need to ask anyone from whom you buy a knife to avoid using the term "sheath knife" then, and the intellectually adept Australian Customs agents will be happy.
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hence why i feel the term used by Customs is both deceptive and misleading.

how am I supposed to obey the law when they don't have the decency to tell me what the law is?

elkins45 said:
So to Australian Customs a 'sheath knife' is sort of a 'reverse switchblade' where the sheath slides off the blade as opposed to the blade sliding out of the handle?
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as best i can tell, yes.

elkins45 said:
Never seen such an animal.
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i'm very interested to see if anyone knows what they are on about.
 
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