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SOE Knife

B

Bellifortis

Well-Known Member
Please have a look at the SOE "Knifes,Dagger Jack". These have a very unusual "knuckel" on the upper side to depress the spring and unlock the knife to be able to fold the blade inwards. Does anyone of you know where this design futuere (the "knuckle" on the backspring) comes from ? Who was the inventor ? Does anyone of you know anything about the design history of this knife ? This "knuckel" is very unusual and I have seen this only one time before in a knife in a completely different context. I wonder now,SOE Knife.jpg who was inspired by whom ?
Awaiting any knowledgable answer with great pleasure, I remain with kind regards,
Bellifortis.
 
Thank you for the link Kev. Is there anybody that knows anything about the development background of this knife, especially the use of the unlocking "knuckle" or has anyone seen this design pecuilarity with any other knife ?
Thank you,
Bellifortis.
 
Bellifortis,

In 1941 a self locking clasp knife of a standard civilian pattern with a four inch blade was purchased from Sheffield for issue to agents. It was not very good as a dagger (for self defence purposes) and the locking clasp was modified to improve this function but I do not know whether the knife manufacturer or staff at SOE did the detailed design. SOE Station XII personnel involved at this stage were Lt Col Wood, Major Moreland Fox and Mr Billinghurst. By early 1942 the knife had been modified to include a stiffened blade, a sharpened back edge and some other minor modifications.

In mid-1942 Morland Fox suggested incorporating the blade of the Knife, Circular, Tyre Cutter in the Dagger Jack Knife. Samples were made up by Butlers of Sheffield and after tests the design was approved. No major changes were made to either the double blade or single blade versions thereafter although some minor changes to assist production were introduced during 1943 and 1944. Knives made by Watts & Co had an alternative spring assembly, of their own design, in the locking catch.

Initial production was handled by Butler & Co and, as production targets increased, the firms of Holland, Rogers, Rowbottom, Watts and Wostenholme also handled manufacture. By December 1944 a total of 113,000 knives had been produced.

I hope some of that is useful.
 
Bonnex said:
Bellifortis,

In 1941 a self locking clasp knife of a standard civilian pattern with a four inch blade was purchased from Sheffield for issue to agents. It was not very good as a dagger (for self defence purposes) and the locking clasp was modified to improve this function but I do not know whether the knife manufacturer or staff at SOE did the detailed design. SOE Station XII personnel involved at this stage were Lt Col Wood, Major Moreland Fox and Mr Billinghurst. By early 1942 the knife had been modified to include a stiffened blade, a sharpened back edge and some other minor modifications.

In mid-1942 Morland Fox suggested incorporating the blade of the Knife, Circular, Tyre Cutter in the Dagger Jack Knife. Samples were made up by Butler’s of Sheffield and after tests the design was approved. No major changes were made to either the double blade or single blade versions thereafter although some minor changes to assist production were introduced during 1943 and 1944. Knives made by Watts & Co had an alternative spring assembly, of their own design, in the locking catch.

Initial production was handled by Butler & Co and, as production targets increased, the firms of Holland, Rogers, Rowbottom, Watts and Wostenholme also handled manufacture. By December 1944 a total of 113,000 knives had been produced.

I hope some of that is useful.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for your instructive answer. Have a look at the accompanying picture of a pocket-knife that I only know as the "Kabuli knife". This is the tourist version with the blade acid blackened and a verse on it. These knifes were manufactured in local knife-smith-workshops in Kabul in the 70's-80's. The normal, blank blade working version was for more than a decade my constant companion. I have owned a few, but over the decades they all got lost. The cover of the handle is made from the horn of water buffalo. In the early 90's a german knife-magazine published a call for aid for Afghani children, the first I ever saw in Germany. The children always suffer the most. I called the editor and told him about this Kabuli knife. There is so much high quality steel littered all over Afghanistan, free for the taking and as you can see there are good Afghan artisan knife smiths that have no work. If an experienced german knife smith would have gone there to teach the local knife-smiths the art of Damast-blade manufacture, these knifes could have been sold for a good price here in europe. This would have been a very good help for self-help. The publisher told me, that he was told by aid-experts, that this was too dangerous. A short time later a german knife company brought Leopard tankgun steel knifes on the market. You mention the 3 names of people that were involved in the design of the SOE knife. Has any one of them done duty on the North-West Frontier and there come in contact with this knife or the other way around ?
Regards,
Bellifortis.Kabuli Knife 006.jpg
 
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I am sorry to say that I do not know their service or civilian history outside their time with SOE. My guess is that the engineers at Butlers were probably responsible for the locking clasp since cutlery was their business and they likely knew what ideas had been tried by their competitors, or what patents might be useful.
 
Hello Gentlemen,
I am new to the forum.My name is Brian formerly from Battersea & Essex but now in College Station the home of Texas A&M University.I am retired and am an amateur historian plus collector of artifacts & ephemera from WW1 & 2.
Regarding this thread I am intrigued by the extremely detailed answer from 'Bonnex' regarding Sheffield & SOE .
I would really appreciate it if we could re-open this discussion since I am eager to learn more, so please Bonnex I would like to hear from you.Thanks & regards from Texas,Brian.
 
The "Knife, Dagger, Jack (Single Blade)" uses a locking mechanism similar to some German Mercator folding knives of the WWI and WWII eras.

In particular the locking lever of the Mercator "multi" is almost identical in shape and function.

20181206_170621.jpg

The photo above depicts new-manufactured versions of the following:
Knife, Dagger, Jack (Single Blade), still manufactured to the economy wartime pattern (no nickeled bolsters) to this day in Sheffield and sold by A. Wright & Sons.
Mercator "Multi" sportsman's knife, made in Solingen, Germany. A slightly redesigned new-manufacture edition of a knife which first appeared circa 1910s. Thumbstud is removeable and added by me for useability
For scale and reference - A Mercator K55K "Cat" knife, made in Solingen, Germany. Still manufactured to the original WWI/WWII pattern. This design originated in Solingen in the 1860s. The "Multi" knife above is an extension of the original "Cat" knife design. Thumbstud is removeable and added by me for useability
 
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