My first knife, aged 8, was a British Royal Navy rigging knife. Here is an example of a British RN knife, an Army Version, a Luftwaffe version and a civilian model. One theme, three very different knives b
Very nice group of rigging knives! My first encounter with the "Marlin Spike'" was also around the age of 8. My friend, who's father was an avid sports fisher, convinced me that the "spike" was for dispatching marlin (and other large fish ) when they were landed! A couple years later I began sailing and found out his "spike" explanation was "fishy." :) Your German "jump" knife is certainly in museum condition, quite a beauty. Thanks for sharing!
I have one of those German gravity knives my grandfather gave me from when he caught German spies who landed in NJ in U-boats to destroy oil refineries in Trenton and Newark. He was an FBI agent durring WWII and also acted like a student to observe and monitor Albert Einstein. Crazy story but true.
My dad was in the paras and I have his knife he was issued with which is a British army clasp knife like the 3rd example you have - knife, spike, can opener and flat head screwdriver. His is dated 1984 but the writing is sideways to the above and the knife blade is in better nick. He said most soldiers got a knife without the spike but paras obviously needed to open knots. I haven't put it to use - it's in great condition but I do sail and I'm tempted to use it for that purpose.
They are good knives, if a little hard to open sometimes. In my sailing days (dinghies in my childhood and RNR as an adult) most people who used a knife carried a blunt ended sheath knife and a separate spike.
BigRedEDC I only had one from my own service, though I’d bout it as a child. By the time I served, they’d been withdrawn from issue. I suppose a 1938 pattern was a little long in the tooth. The army one was on loan from my brother and the other two were inherited. It’s just a shame that I can’t keep the gravity knife😞😢
Nice collection of marlin spike knives! I’d like to have one, especially a heavy-duty antique one. Since I’m a landlubber, a modern Rough Ryder would probably do the trick. Thanks for another glimpse into your collection.
The Royal Navy ones show up quite a bit for around thirty quid. They were issued for almost fifty years, so they’re not exactly rare. The Luftwaffe ones on the other hand are very valuable, especially this one, but also very illegal in the U.K. 😢
When I was a kid there was a place called the Swap Shop in Croydon, in the sixties we used to buy the army version with the hard rubber scales for 2/6(12.5p). That was a week's pocket money in those days. I actually managed to break the can opener on one of them, generally being 'soldier proof' they were pretty much indestructable, I still have one from 1943 made by WM Slater. I don't know what steel they used but it takes and holds a wicked edge.
Hello. I have two modern versions in the shape of the army knife. One has yellow g10 handle scales and the other has polished wood scales. Instead of a can/bottle opener they have a shackle opener. I use the large flat scewdriver for opening oysters. Good health and stay safe.
Phenomenal. Thank you very much for sharing! I absolutely love tools with Marlin Spikes. So useful. I always wonder why the RN Jack Knife was never issued with a serrated blade? It would have made cutting ropes a lot easier. I have a Victorinox Skipper in my Field Kit, which I take sailing too. I do keep the British Army one from Sheffield Steel in my Washbag. Very helpful to me as a disabled person/ Engineer. Thank you for your lovely video. Subscribed. Warm regards D/P
DisabledPrepper thank you for your kind words. If you like these knives check out Tobias Gibson/Knife Chats With Tobias. He has a few videos and a fairly lengthy article on them. The serrated vs plain edge, I assume comes down to ease of maintenance. Also, you can use the sheep’s foot by placing it on a rope and striking the back with a mallet or a heavy belay pin.
My gradfather had the second one in ww1 used it everyday for opening tins. He was staff sergent royal engineers sapper france mostly. I served in rn, from 1979 to 1993, and was issued the captain currey captain lokspike. The modern version does not have the tin opener blade. These are not knives but utility tools, issued to sailors and marines, a nd members of british army. Not sure about raf.
They are tough tools for tough work and generally they hold up very well. Usually, the Army ones bad can openers as Compo came in tins, whilst RN didn’t use Compo, but Compo now comes in plastic/foil bags, so the opener is really necessary.
@@slick_slicers i We did have compo ratio s in rn. I know ive eaten them. Very good video and informative. Tough bit of kit lent mine to my dad, never got it back, had he stolen by civvy airline going to saudi arabia, hsed it to clean his pipe.
paddys potato peelers it’s a strange coincidence that my father was a leading hand and I got a commission; you were a leading hand and your son got a commission! I think I saw the hard work the ratings did and the mahogany wardroom for the officers and knew which I fancied!
I just bought one these knifes at a Flea Sale for 10 bucks. I said to myself " what is this?" i like its spike claw like tool. Nice inexpensive unusual blade for my collection. Its in good shape by has no markings.
Fantastic collection! About the bail... it’s also called a shackle which is especially confusing for a rigging knife! Strangely, I think the more appropriate term is the one you never hear: a clevis! The paratrooper’s knife is beautiful. The condition is amazing. I think the last of the Sheffield you showed were from the 1960’s to present. The paratroopers in America are indeed part of the Army. But all branches have forces that jump. Hard to explain but all of them are trained in the Army’s Airborne school. Also the German SS also had an Airborne unit but it was never used in a major Airborne operation and mostly acted as ground infantry. As for stamping your name on it... you should also want the knife to be quality. Great video! Thanks for the info !
Knife Chats with Tobias to me it’s always been a shackle or Lanyard ring, never a bail. In fact I’d never heard the term ‘bail’ till about a year ago, and I didn’t know what it meant. The term clevis to me only gets used as part of the term clevis pin, and I’d never thought of calling the skackle a clevis, but it certainly makes sense. The Luftwaffe knife is absolutely banned here in the UK as it’s a gravity knife. In a test case over the general legislation, this exact pattern was used as a example. This established that there was no legal defence to possessing one, so mine is off to a museum on 11 June 😞, but at least it’ll be appreciated.
Slick Slicers, I saw the term clevis show up in older industry papers as well as in patents. Bail makes no sense to me either but it’s the term used heavily in America. I used to call it a lanyard ring or lanyard shackle as both of those terms seem more descriptive and accurate.
My new Rigging knife has a blade with a knife saw combination, a ring tool and a spike. It looks most like the smallest of the blades in your video. I wish it was stamped with a manufacturer's name and county of origin. I don't know who or where it was made although I suspect China as it was inexpensive. It looks new. I like it.
Cube Hire sorry, I only just saw this. Look up Knife Chats with Tobias/Tobias Gibson. He has a lot of information on marlin knives as he collects them. He even has an excellent written article on them.
Unstoppable Tramp both the first and second pattern and the British SOE copy had spikes. I’ve never handled the later plastic, German army version so I don’t know about them.
JohnSwampthingRae that’s what I thought, but I’ve never handled the plastic ones, so couldn’t be sure. All the later ones are stripable too. It’s amazing that this 80 year old example has survived so well. If I’d found it as a child, you can bet it would’ve had its share of throwing practice!
It’s also the only U.K. museum legally allowed to take possession of this WMD! The RAF said they couldn’t, as did everyone else I tried. Gravity knives are absolutely forbidden to own in the U.K. I know it’s ridiculous, but true nonetheless.
if its dated, its more likely army. the R N ones usually have just the pattern number (21306) and the maker’s name. they ran from 1938 to the early 80’s. the only change being that, prior to 1942, they had a copper coloured lanyard loop.
Really interesting. I knew nothing of this genre of knife. Ugly and clumpy (to my eye), and utilitarian in the extreme. As usual, the Germans get the better kit...
David S as that RN knife was my first knife, back in 1974, it has a sentimental attachment. SOE copied the Luftwaffe knife for British Forces, but with plastic scales.
