All stainless steel made in Sheffield, England. Labour and Wait (one of my all time favorite stores and early ACL material) sells them, or you can get one direct from the manufacturer via their website. These knives are classic. Equal parts function and weapon. If you made a close inspection of The William Brown Project site, you would have noticed he saw them in London.
I suspect New York City police will not take kindly to their presence, but I suppose that just makes carrying one more fun. Same goes for the TSA, and no one wants to be on the full-body-cavity-search-list. [Update: British Military Knife $32 via Garrett Wade Thanks Tom]
NYPD and TSA don’t take too kindly to shoes, hats, bags, underwear, spoons, contact solution, eye drops, The Onion, M.I.A.’s last album, etc etc. Just add the knife to the bunch, you’re getting searched anyway.
Aw, rats. You’ve got us covered as far as nabbing a knife here in the states, but Labour and Wait ships the rest of its awesomeness only inside the UK.
You can get the same knife for half the price through Garret Wade:
http://www.garrettwade.com/product.asp?pn=58B01.01
Here’s an NYPD/TSA proof knife that you could carry on to any airplane:
http://www.garrettwade.com/jjs-childrens-faux-knife-kit/p/66B01.01/
TOM you are the man. Good work! That also reminds me of another old ACL post. Garrett Wade also sells some great office supplies. http://acontinuouslean.com/2008/05/27/obsession-office-supplies/
For the record, the knife pictured is listed by Garrett Wade as the 3-bladed Navy knife. The “Army” knife in their catalog does not have the marlinspike.
Other good knifes in the marlinspike family include the classic Camillus version used by the US Navy, and a slightly more modern family of sailing knives by Myerchin.
Despite the likes or dislikes of the NYPD, this should be legal, provided it is carried out of sight. New York City has a surprisingly liberal knife law*, especially when compared with Great Britain.
*YMMV. I wouldn’t want to test this out without a good lawyer handy. Not intended as legal advice. Don’t be a dumba**
I love me a knife with a good marlinspike–or any excuse to use the word.
though slightly different in some aspects of design a quick search on ye olde ebay.com for marine knives always yields some real gems (price/surplus/NOS) from the french and italian navy where design was always a bit more at the heart of function.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Italian-Navy-WW-2-Sailors-Rigging-Knife-Unissued-/120560075886?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c11f0c46e#ht_500wt_928
Amongst active servicemen these knives are universally derided for being blunt, poorly designed and little more than a paperweight. It is the first piece of issue kit to be thrown in a box somewhere never to be seen again.
City law allows carrying a folding knife with a non-locking blade of 4 inches or less. However, the NYPD has a de facto “no knives allowed” policy, and if you carry one the cop thinks is pretty, he’s going to “confiscate” it.
It’s a pretty object, but I don’t relish the thought of a bunch of drunken-anglophile-hipsters on the L late at night carrying “blunt, poorly designed … paperweight[s],” however pretty.
Thanks for giving them the idea.
Maybe these things should really just be used as paperweights. Next thing you know we’ll be seeing them pop up all over your desk series, which by the way is missed … when’s that coming again?
My dad had one of these. Was always fascinated with the marlin spike. You need to publish instructions on how to use it to splice together two pieces of rope. Another one of those lost arts.
The Canadian Army Knife by Grohmann. Now there’s a marine knife, with marlin spike, worth having. Unfortunately, they lost the contract and the DND will likely go with a knife from China rather than down east.
The pictures don’t do it any justice. It’s a beauty.
http://www.grohmannknives.com/pages/r3s.html
There is one of these in every draw and tool box and desk pocket in my house. I don’t know where the appear from and I have never bought one but they are nice to hold, there is something very tactile about polished, weighty, stainless steel. I think its very unfair of Smity to blame a blunt blade on the knife, if a serviceman can’t keep his knife sharp thats is own lacking, not the knifes.
What a shame Sheffield is but a shadow of its former self.
I got popped by an over eager rookie while in the subway and spent 24 hours in jail for carrying an Emerson knife with the clip exposed on the exterior of my pocket.
I was under the impression that the knife was good if the blade was under 4″
But I was ignorant of the fact that ‘wave’ opening knives are illegal
The police call them gravity knives
Whatever you carry make sure it’s concealed but accessible
You cant carry a knife in New York?
Shit we can carry guns in indiana.
Thers like 5 guns in my car right now, how else im i supposed to go to the trap range
Thanks for the timely post as I’ve been looking for a pocket knife to carry on a regular basis. I passed on the Army/Navy knife but picked up two of the fantastic looking small
Douk-Douk knives at Garrett Wade.
http://www.garrettwade.com/product.asp?pn=12T01.01
Dude really! Not sure how many things you are going to claim as your idea that you have taken from JJJound…Follow JJJound people, you’ll thank me for it.
Nemesis — get a grip. JJJJound and I stole it from the same place — THE WILLIAM BROWN PROJECT. Did you notice the photo on JJJJound and WBP are the same?
I lusted after the German fallschrmjager knife when I was in the Army. I’ve only seen a couple. Perfect for cutting yourself away from your main.
http://www.german-knife.com/german-paratrooper-gravity-knife.html
I used to have one of these knives when I kid, in England… my old man gave it to me. He expressly gave me the version with the marlin spike in order to learn how to splice ropes… I can still do back splices and eye splices, and have used those skills on a number of occasions, including several just to impress birds.
The basics are pretty easy to learn and can be practiced on a short length of rope, but having a marlin spike is indispensable; this knife is perfect, and having a blade to cut the rope when and where it’s needed makes it the just the right tool for the job. Instead of carrying it on the L train and getting nicked, why not stay in and teach yourself how to do something useful…
@ K.A. Adams: You are a tool.
thank you for shareing!
Thanks Loopy – Just sharing my mistake so that others can avoid it
Great knife. I actually bought it today from Labour and Wait. Some things are always usefull, and good knife is surely part of it. Too bad LaW don’t carry the three blade, I would have gone for it.
I’m one of the owners of Garrett Wade -thanks for the post on the knife. It’s inspired us to add the Marlinspike Sailor Book. We should have it on the site end of next week (6/25). It should be helpful for all of you who want to know how to use the Marlinspike. Check out the link below on 6/25 for details:
http://www.garrettwade.com/product.asp?pn=58B01.01
Also “brant” put up a post about the Italian Navy Knife. That’s got us thinking we should add that version to our selection. Turns out the same company that makes our British knives makes that version too. Look for it by early July
Thanks very much.
They are a thing of beauty. I just stole my dads (which I think I bought him for Christmas about five years ago)!
http://www.thearchblog.com
drake,
The NY liberal establishment believes that if you ban weapons, crime will disappear–whoosh!–like magic. (Same applies in CA, etc.)
Strangely enough, magic doesn’t work in the real world. The only effect of laws that ban the carrying of weapons is the disarming of the law-abiding populace, leaving the criminals–people who, by definition, break the law–like kids in a candy store. New Yorkers, as well as the denizens of such crime-ridden hellholes like Chicago, Detroit, and DC, are simply easy prey for the bad guys.
The solution is to demand shall-issue concealed carry laws, now found in 36 states (plus the three states–Alaska, Vermont, and Arizona–that require no permit at all).
What a sad state of affairs. 50 years ago, hardly anyone felt the need to carry a weapon because we were safe in the streets. Now, the majority of states have shall-issue laws because we no longer feel safe in public.
Welcome to the Brave New World of liberalism and multiculturalism. Living through the decline of Western civilization is only going to get worse.
To Classics Patriot – Instead of worrying about who’s going to attack you I suggest you go out and buy yourself a really nice suit and matching dress shoes, along with a crisp new shirt and handsome tie. Now, put them on and come into the city. Go to somewhere nice, like the Four Seasons Bar or the Metropolitan Opera, where your sartorial magnificence will be appreciated; who know’s who you’ll meet. Then take a cab home. If you don’t live in New York, well.. come and stay for a day or two. You’ll love it… and you will NOT get into any trouble because you will be so concerned about not damaging your clothes that you will be extra careful to avoid it!
My personal favorite:
http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=45&brand=kershaw