Posted 5 years ago
Irishcolle…
(137 items)
Seeing a very interesting rigging knife posted by AnythingObscure recently gave me the idea of showing these two. The first is one of the first things I ever collected. I either traded for it or bought it when I was still at school from another boy. The side panels are wooden and it is missing its suspension loop. I have this now for over forty years.
The second one may be military issue. It is all metal with the addition of a flat turnscrew to one end. It has a small engraved cross over the date 1944. There is a maker's name which is too faint for me to read. Any information on this second knife would be welcome.
I thought I would bring up this old post of mine again because everettvh has posted a similar example.
The second knife is Royal navy. Standard issue. The blank space on the side of the handle was for stamping your force number into for identification, the handle panels being made from cast aluminium.
Thank you Onedtent. it's a pity this one does not have a number.
To answer @irishcollector; if the knife does not have any numbers stamped on the side panel it would indicate that it is new and/or unissued.
Bear in mind that the numbers would be "hand stamped" using a hammer and number punches and therefore uneven or oddly spaced. It wasn't unknown for one set of numbers to be ground off and a new set stamped on as the knife "changed" hands!
One of the first lessons ever taught to, and learned by, a new recruit was to mark all personal items. For this reason number punches were available as were stencils for painting name/number/unit onto canvas kitbags.
Thanks for the extra info.