Traditional Folding Military Knives

Jack Black said:
A beautiful example :thumbsup:

Sadly, the only Wade & Butcher Clasp Knife I have is an ugly example of the pattern which came next, and which has a broken tin-opener blade, something which really must have taken some doing :eek: o_O





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I guess it wasn't squaddy proof.
 
afishhunter said:
Maybe someone tried opening a 55 gallon drum with it?
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I dunno, but I suspect the 55 gallon drum would have lost! These things were built for opening Panzers! :D :thumbsup:

Danke42 said:
I guess it wasn't squaddy proof.
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A lot of these knives ended up in tool boxes, and got all sorts of abuse. I guess it's also possible there was a flaw in the blade.

I have a LOT more WW2 era clasp knives, picked up an IXL just today in fact. I don't have photos of them all, but I'll post pics of the ones I have pics for, and maybe cover the others at some point too :)

This is one made by Richards, dated 1945.



Sheffield Steel Products 1942.



Richards 1944.

 
I really enjoy seeing all of these clasp knives. They look like overbuilt tanks that happen to have some sharpness to them. I have a bit of a soft spot for such things. :D
I have been following this thread with a great amount of interest, thanks to all who are contributing such excellent examples.
 
Lovely thread. I had to give out a month's quota of likes. :)

r redden said:
... the saw blade is broken.
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Still awesome.

What is the intended purpose of the small blade with the stud on it that I see on several of the knives?
 
SpySmasher said:
Lovely thread. I had to give out a month's quota of likes. :)

Still awesome.

What is the intended purpose of the small blade with the stud on it that I see on several of the knives?
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It is a can opener from what I understand. An old school style.

I think Jack mentioned earlier that Rough Rider currently includes that style on their Scout. Which I just so happen to have sitting in front of me right now.

Or5rp92.jpg
 
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So I have a question.

The clasp knife seems to consist of a fairly universal pattern amongst the various cutlery firms. To my untrained eye, I am sure I am missing various subtleties and such, but have you noticed any varying degrees of quality that would separate the different cutlers from each other?

Or is it largely dependent on date of manufacture and quality of materials used? I hope that makes sense.
 
Pàdruig said:
So I have a question.

The clasp knife seems to consist of a fairly universal pattern amongst the various cutlery firms. To my untrained eye, I am sure I am missing various subtleties and such, but have you noticed any varying degrees of quality that would separate the different cutlers from each other?

Or is it largely dependent on date of manufacture and quality of materials used? I hope that makes sense.
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Dylan, I have this 1940 HM Slater clasp knife, that I picked up for £8 at the St. Georges Market in Belfast.

IMG_5652.JPG

It was fairly rusted up, so that I could only just make out the tang stamp. Even so, the quality of manufacture was evident compared to the various other clasp knives that the stallholder had.

Disregarding the elements of three-quarters of a century of wear and tear, once this knife was cleaned up, it showed very competent and assured construction. All tools have excellent, tight, snappy walk 'n' talk, the bolsters are cleanly soldered to the inner scales, and the fit of all the metal parts is generally outstanding.

It's a really well made tool - and I note that the previous owner was so attached to it, that they held onto it until the blade tip was sharpened well clear of the blade channel.

As Sheffield cutlers were put to 'war work' during WW2, it's interesting to consider that clasp knives would have been made by the whole gamut of working cutlers, including the very best at their trade.

Here's a quick pic of part of a friends collection of clasp knives, including some Australian variants.

IMG_6163.JPG
 
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(Just bringing this over from Jake's Stranger Things thread.)

Here are a few less common, wartime variants (not mine) - dating from the Second World War, and produced for British Commonwealth forces, I think.

These two knives are sterile (unmarked), and presumably intended to equip Commandos, and possibly other 'partisan' users with handy tools for sabotage, and other 'behind-the-lines' functions.

IMG_6145.JPG IMG_6147.JPG

The black knife with parkerised, pressed steel handle, has a thick, sturdy punch, that would easily penetrate sheet metal fuel tanks, storage drums, and the like.

The other knife features a strong, hawkbill shaped tyre sidewall cutter, which would also make short work of slashing open soft material quickly, like enemy stores of grain bags, opening gaps in tent walls etc.

IMG_6148.JPG

Both main blades are optimised in shape for piercing, as well as their standard cutting function.

IMG_6150.JPG

This small Joseph Rodgers knife only offers a piercing function. It's intended to be included with emergency inflatable life rafts, which may need to be swiftly deflated and hidden, on making it to shore.

IMG_6151.JPG

As a sidenote to these knives, here is a page from my grandfather’s WW2 field notebook - he was a combat engineer in the 2nd AIF (Australian Imperial Forces), in the South Pacific theatre - which identifies eleven priority targets for 'Demolitions in Raids' - Petrol/Gasoline dumps and water supplies are number one and two on the list.

IMG_8553.JPG

(Interestingly, his notes also identify four non-priority targets, 'unlikely to have serious effect' - roads, culverts, aerodromes and telegraph equipment.)
 
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Pàdruig said:
So I have a question.

The clasp knife seems to consist of a fairly universal pattern amongst the various cutlery firms. To my untrained eye, I am sure I am missing various subtleties and such, but have you noticed any varying degrees of quality that would separate the different cutlers from each other?

Or is it largely dependent on date of manufacture and quality of materials used? I hope that makes sense.
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The patterns were set by the Government Dylan, but there are variations. A basic level of quality would have been expected, and certainly by WW2, the Sheffield cutlers had a lot of experience of producing knives like this. Cutlers were exempt from conscription, but many joined up anyway. This may have meant that the oldest, most experienced cutlers produced a greater percentage of the knives than previously, but some work would also have been done by young lads, and women who came into the factories to assist in the war effort. The cutlery firms and individual cutlers had more consistent work than they had had previously, and were guaranteed to be paid for that work. They were also taking part in the war effort, at a time when Sheffield was directly affected by the German war machine (it was very heavily bombed), and where fathers, brothers, sons, and former work-mates were overseas and in peril. Despite the shortages and deprivations, the knives produced, during both WW1 and WW2, seem to be outstanding work-horses, worked hard during the war, and often for decades after. Cosmetically, the knives made earlier in WW2, with the bolster and copper bail, are certainly more attractive than the later ones, and a little more time could perhaps be spent on them. There are differences between knives from different firms, but there are differences between knives from the same firms in different years. I'll try and show as many examples as possible, and perhaps examine them in more detail than previously, so you can get a flavour. I regret now getting rid of a few of the ones I had which had a lot of wear, since they would still be interesting to examine. Generally, the better knives are produced by the firms you'd expect, but none of them are bad, and some of the less-prestigious firms still turned out excellent knives. I've had scores of these knives, and the only one I've had a fault with, was a Richards example from 1944, which was a particularly attractive knife, but the spring on the tin-opener blade broke. Possibly, that was just me putting it to use after decades of the knife being in storage. They were often used as tool-box knives after the war, and frequently abused, but I don't recall seeing one with blade-play, even where the blade has obviously been used for prying. They're ugly knives, but tough as old boots. I don't think the knives produced after the war are of quite the same quality, though they're still very robust knives overall. I've seen quite a few Belgian-made clasp knives, similar in appearance to the British WW2 pattern, with broken springs, and I don't think they're quite as well made. Similarly, I've seen a great many broken springs on British stainless 'Burma Knives'.

Cambertree said:
Dylan, I have this 1940 HM Slater clasp knife, that I picked up for £8 at the St. Georges Market in Belfast.

View attachment 761852

It was fairly rusted up, so that I could only just make out the tang stamp. Even so, the quality of manufacture was evident compared to the various other clasp knives that the stallholder had.

Disregarding the elements of three-quarters of a century of wear and tear, once this knife was cleaned up, it showed very competent and assured construction. All tools have excellent, tight, snappy walk 'n' talk, the bolsters are cleanly soldered to the inner scales, and the fit of all the metal parts is generally outstanding.

It's a really well made tool - and I note that the previous owner was so attached to it, that they held onto it until the blade tip was sharpened well clear of the blade channel.

As all Sheffield cutlers were put to 'war work' during WW2, it's interesting to consider that clasp knives were made by the whole gamut of working cutlers, including the very best at their trade.

Here's a quick pic of part of a friends collection of clasp knives, including some Australian variants.

View attachment 761860
Click to expand...

Cambertree said:
(Just bringing this over from Jake's Stranger Things thread.)

Here are a few less common, wartime variants (not mine) - dating from the Second World War, and produced for British Commonwealth forces, I think.

These two knives are sterile (unmarked), and presumably intended to equip Commandos, and possibly other 'partisan' users with handy tools for sabotage, and other 'behind-the-lines' functions.

View attachment 761869 View attachment 761865

The black knife with parkerised, pressed steel handle, has a thick, sturdy punch, that would easily penetrate sheet metal fuel tanks, storage drums, and the like.

The other knife features a strong, hawkbill shaped tyre sidewall cutter, which would also make short work of slashing open soft material quickly, like enemy stores of grain bags, opening gaps in tent walls etc.

View attachment 761866

Both main blades are optimised in shape for piercing, as well as their standard cutting function.

View attachment 761867

This small Joseph Rodgers knife only offers a piercing function. It's intended to be included with emergency inflatable life rafts, which may need to be swiftly deflated and hidden, on making it to shore.

View attachment 761868

As a sidenote to these knives, here is a page from my grandfathers WW2 field notebook - he was a combat engineer in the 2nd AIF (Australian Imperial Forces), in the South Pacific theatre - which identifies eleven priority targets for 'Demolitions in Raids' - Petrol/Gasoline dumps and water supplies are number one and two on the list.

View attachment 761871

(Interestingly, his notes also identify four non-priority targets, 'unlikely to have serious effect' - roads, culverts, aerodromes and telegraph equipment.)
Click to expand...

Your posts are always a treat to read my friend :thumbsup:
 
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