grinder Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Hi grinder - sounds familiar; I had one too - it looked like this. I spent my boyhood trying to find horses with stones in their hooves... That's the fella , they had the war department stamp on them too. They were built like the proverbial outside toilet..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterw Posted October 29, 2009 Author Share Posted October 29, 2009 Wikipedia says: “ A penknife, or pen knife, is a small folding pocket knife, originally used for cutting or sharpening a quill to make a pen nib.” The internet and Wiki-whatnot are marvellous things but Wiki-whatnot, alas, only knows what has been fed to it by some folk who DO know and some folk who DO NOT KNOW. Had Wiki-thingy been a Sheffielder whose grand-daddy had been a ‘little mester’, then Wiki-Doodah would have got it right rather than get it half right. It tells us that a PEN-knife is a small folding POCKET-knife, but not so. A PEN-knife is a pen-knife and a POCKET-knife is a pocket-knife, but it does not tell us that there has been a century or so between the popularity of one, and the other so never the twain shall meet. Not quite true because there was a time when Sheffield’s knife makers made both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beechnut Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Well, I've followed the pocket/penknife debate with some interest. All I can say is that I always carry a small folding knife with me, and use it regularly for all kinds of things - from sharpening pencils to opening tins and cracking walnuts. I can't say that I've ever used it to sharpen a quill pen, but I always refer to it as a penknife and people know what I mean when I call it that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morts Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Do you know I never even thought about my diving knife. It stays permanently attached to my jacket and I think has only ever been out of its sheath a couple of times. Nevertheless a sharp little blighter and would clearly do the job it was intended for. Goodness knows what the police reaction is to this as I'm sure that 99% of divers have one in their equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 The knives I tend to favor of late are the 'Opinel' range. French made and a good knife. They range from a 5'' blade, possibly bigger, down to a small 2''. I always carried one at work and in the garden. They're made from steel which takes a good edge and doesn't crumble. I only wish that some manufacturer in Sheffield had had the foresight to produce a knife like them. A simple design, wooden handle, one blade, and a locking ring, brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabberwocky Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I have a 9 inch blade Bowie knife that I got fom a visit to Kelham island in the 90s, it has a deer antler handle and Im ashamed to say that I use it in the garden to lop branches from trees and bushes. I`m supposed to be a Sheffielder and always waffling on to these damn southerners I live among how great our steel and cutlery is and was and I show them the knife proudly... Next day I`m wrecking it in the garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grinder Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 What a pity that the great Sheffield name was used so badly by some in the Knife and cutlery trade.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanl Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 It wasn't only the boys that had a penknife although us girls didn't carry them in our pockets. I left school in 57 but I always carried a small one in my pencil case....just 2 blades with a mother of pearl covering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melthebell Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 anybody carry machetes around?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanl Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 anybody carry machetes around?? Yes I did actually, but that's another story........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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