DetectingWales.com

As you know - I can't get out and about at the moment due to a broken trotter (as Mike would say! ;D)

So, spent the afternoon going through a crate of old toys from my youth and came across my old fishing knife. I found this in gramps shed in the late 70's and was immediately given it, as it was his daily tug boat knife from the 40's when he was in the Merchant Marine. I got a feeling its a tad older than that though - any ideas anyone? Plus can any one decipher the inscription on the blade and the blood run?

All help much appreciated.

cheers
Neil

reminds me of the vintage rapala knives , top quality , looks to be a fillet knife , not the long flexi type but the type that would have been used many years ago in fish factories by the ladies , a lovely looking knife indeed ,

be carefull neil it looks sharp and you know how accident prone you can be  ::) ::) ::)

Intriguing knife Neil ??? The pommel is classically "filleting knife" shape but you certainly don't get a blood channel on those, so it could be a cut and shunt job. I can't make head nor tail of the writing but the spelling does remind me of Gaelic, when the better half gets back on Tuesday I'll ask her if it makes any sense in Irish. Hopefully a linguaphile might look in before that and know what it says ;)

Cheers guys - as I said I have had this 30 years, and always wondered every time I occasionally see it what the inscription means.

Its still sharp as a razor, and you are bang on the money Mike - I have been keeping it at arms length with my reputation.

Interesting you both see it as a filleting knife. It fits in with Grampy bill and his seafaring life. Any ideas on age guys?

I am thinking its older than the 40's, but genuinely have no idea.

Be great if you can ask your beloved on the inscription Cheffy? I did think at one time it may have been French - Nordine any idea as a Chef and a Frenchie?

tTanks for the help
Neil

the scandanavians have always produced the best working knives , filleting , boning utility etc .

rapala , rapala/nomark , helle all been around many years , i have an old rapal fillet knife with engraved lettering from the factory but its in storage at the moment so cant check it .

i have a leaning towards , swedish , finn , norwegian languge , its a high quality item and looks scandinavian to me and age i would guess at 1920's / 30's

First thing that jumped out at me was  'INSTOW'   Which is in Devon. I had Ancesters who lived there.

Dont know about the word on the top end.

Val

Well Mike is right about the Rapala's having an inscription, just went and found mine and it does. I still can't help thinking that it started life as something else or at least the blade did as there is no use for a blood channel on a blade that small.

Its a Scandinavian hunting knife, like this one...... and would have had a sheath like this too

Quality ID Eric - any idea on the website of the dates of them?

cheers
Neil

Great bit of research there Eric, well done.

There is a knife maker in Finland called marttiini that operated from the 1920's to the present. He signed his knives J Marttiini and this design was one of his earliest, based on a lapland skinning knife. There is no front hand guard so it was intended as a cutting or carving knife rather than a stabbing weapon.

The factory is in Leukhor in finland. I am not sure that the signature is his but it is very similar.

This is the link to their website
http://www.marttiini.fi/epages/MarttiiniShop.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/MarttiiniShop/Categories/Ilves-ja-Lapinleuku (http://www.marttiini.fi/epages/MarttiiniShop.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/MarttiiniShop/Categories/Ilves-ja-Lapinleuku)

Can't read the letters, but the blade looks very much like a Swedish Mora knife. Looks very much to be an all-round everyday knife that any decent Scandinavian would have in the belt.  ;)

That's a great find ;-)))

Nice Knife Neil and a great I.D Eric