A History of Folding Knives – by Simon Moore (Extended Free Preview)

A History of Folding Knives
Origins, and the Evolution of Spring-backed Knives in Sheffield
By Simon Moore

Timeline Introduction and Erroneous Terminology
Caveat. This article is intended to give an idea of the rather complex evolution of spring-backed pocket knives (spring knives) in England. There are still familial areas that may be further investigated, but hopefully this article will call attention to the complexities of these often-overlooked and under-appreciated artifacts. The dates applied to these knives are only a guide. The exact period of when they were made is dependent on how long the cutler was working; this only after he had achieved the required standard as a jobbing cutler and been admitted to the Cutlers’ Company, having then entered his mark.
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Folding knives, clasp, pocket and penknives are often erroneously clumped together by today’s terminology; penknives being the most commonly used. Penknives probably have almost as long a history as folding knives in general, being used by artists and scribes to shape quill pen points and to correct errors in both ink and paint. During their 2000-plus year history, pocket knives only evolved the familiar spring back c. 400 years ago, a time when Sheffield was evolving its own more widely-marketable cutlery.
The first folding knives, per se, seem to have been made somewhere in Austria as part of the Hallstatt Iron Age culture c. 500 BCE, but evidence for this appears to be somewhat nebulous. Ancient Greek and Roman pocket knives seem to have been the first extant folding knives to appear in history, although the latter are more commonly found as the Roman empire expanded into many lands. Most were made from the 1st century CE (=AD) onwards. The mechanism comprised a simple hinged blade that, when opened, backed onto the front end of the haft. The latter was often manufactured by casting in bronze or by carving out of organic materials, especially bone and ivory. As most have been excavated from land sites, few blades have survived intact but the hafts were designed in so many formats that they are worth examining in more detail.
The ivory or bone handles were hand-carved into many different forms – protective deities, gladiators, wild animals, body parts and zoomorphic ‘table legs’, modeled on those of a Mensa Delphica or three-legged table (Fig. 1).
The majority of hafts were cast in bronze, and many reflected the Roman love of the chase – the ‘coursing’ hound chasing a hare or other game being the most frequently found (Figs 2-4).
Other bronze hafts have been modeled from other wild animals, parts of the human body, even what bodies did. Intimate body imagery and erotica seem to have been much-favored, showing lovers cuddling or actually fornicating (Fig. 5).
Each haft was cut with a slot for the blade and occasionally the blade has survived but rarely in good enough condition to preserve such detail as a possible maker’s mark.
Multi-bladed items, incorporating a spoon bowl-cum-fork, spike, ear scoop and other personal hygiene-related blades, also evolved during the later Empire period, likely due to demand and the developing skills of makers (Fig. 6).
By the end of the Roman Empire, many cultures had acquired the skills to make their own pocket knives although their rarity suggests that the universal knife-in-sheath was more popular.
Medieval folding knives are also scarce, most likely for the same reason, and these, with many of their forbears, fall into the category of clasp knives. The blade was hinged and could swing freely; an extension of the blade’s tang allowed the thumb to hold the blade open and the close-fitting haft slot prevented the blade from accidentally opening when closed by, literally, clasping it (Fig. 7).