Two strange knives

[cheddy]

When my grandmothers husband (my step-grandfather) died, she told me I could have some of his knives that he had collected. I have about a dozen different kinds of knives but there are two out of the group that really impress me and I want to share them and see if anyone can tell me a little about them.

This knife has 5 blades which all appear to have very different shapes, if sombody could please tell me a little, maybe what each shape is called and the differences in the kinds of uses for each blade. I apologize for the low quality image, the big blade is engraved with “Knife World / 20th Anniversary / 1 of 350” then there is a small “317” etched in the upper corner and the base of the blade says “Winchester”. The silver emblem on the side of the knife says “Knife World”. The box says “Winchester 5949 – 5 blade sowbelly”

I like this knife alot because it has one really big weird looking blade on it. I have no idea what this knife might be used for and it’s oddness is what appeals to me, there are two smaller blades on the other end of the knife, one a small regular shaped blade and a razor shaped blade. The UPC on the box says “Case XX / Item No 01184 / Seahorse / Jade”

Would love to hear anything anyone might be able to tell me about these blades, especially the names of the shapes of these blades and their uses or point me in a direction where I may find out. Thanks!

 

[sunnyd]

Welcome to the forums cheddy!

Your Grandad had fine taste in pocket knives. I am sorry to hear of his passing.

The first one is a somewhat vintage five blade Sowbelly and its fairly valuable because its a Knife World commemorative.

The second is a pretty recent Seahorse whittler. in a Beautiful jigged Jade Bone.

Stick around and you will learn much more from many here.

Best~

 

[smiling-knife]

Hello Cheedy. Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to learn about knives. Here is my attempt. The first knife is a sowbelly pattern. There is a thread just down the page on this knife. This is a version of a stockman or cattleman knife. The sowbelly name comes from the curve in the handle. The biggest blade and the similar smaller one at the other end are clip-point blades. These are good for general cutting or puncturing type tasks. The second one on the left is a spey or castrator blade. Need I say more. It is also useful for skinning. The blade at 45 degrees on the right is a sheep foot blade. This is very good for trimming hooves and cutting things on a flat surface. Finally, on the right looks like a little pen blade for smaller cutting tasks. The second knife is a wharncliffe whittler or, as Case calls it, a Seahorse whittler. That is a very old design dating back to the early-mid 1800s. The large curved blade is supported by two backsprings and is designed for some heavy duty cutting. The razor shaped blade is called a coping blade. This is useful for cutting on flat surfaces and working in tight spaces and the latter applies to the little pen blade as well. I hope this helps and that I've at least provided an introduction. I am sure others will jump in too.