shipping & miscellaneous

Here are two interesting Victorinox knives with inlays for two shipping companies. I do believe these two are made for this with the inlays.

I will talk some about these knives and the knife on the top is a Victoria stamped knife that probably is from the mid-1960s. It got +Pat can opener and other details that make the mid-1960s the best date. Both are 84mm category knives and the top knife got a corkscrew and the other Philips with file.

The shipping companies are Wilh. Wilhelmsen and Gotaas-Larsen Inc. Both related to Norway.

The Gotaas-Larsen knife is from around 1970+- because it got no +Pat and some other factors. It is also stamped Hoffritz and also Victoria on the blade. It is a real Victorinox made knife for the Hoffritz Company.

Remember about the backside Victoria on knives, this is important!

On the picture to the right you can see the old file phillips and corkscrew.

Both knives got the cable scraper tool on the flat screwdriver with cable stripper/bender.

PS about the inlays. It is a bit difficult to see the text on the pictures becasue of the patina developed. Many times it is nickel-silver but i would believe there are other materials used at this time in history too.

On the picture below you can see the two inlays on the Wilh.Wilhelmsen knife. You can see the flag with W

On the picture below you can see the tang stamps on both sides.

Brown holder that is common to find on Victorinox knives in history.

Here is one more maritime SAK and this is a 58mm Victorinox Classic with imitation Mother of pearl Cellidor.

The inlay reads Norges Skibshypotek AS that is an important Company in Norway. There are a few history lines to be found on the internet.

The Inlay is stainless steel and the liners are nickel silver at least the different darker tint would suggest so. There are a few spots on the steel but nothing that affect and the mechanism and functionality are completely intact. It is in good condition for sure. It got toothpick and tweezers in the handle scales. The Classic needed a good cleaning and some oil and now it is a little beauty. The small spots on the functions I will not do anything about. The little holder is made of a plastic type material that is common to see on Classic and 84mm knives in the history; also on more categories it is used.

So what is the date of manufacture on this knife? I would not be surprised if it is very early 1980s.

It is always an extra bonus that the holder is with the knife. It is the same as a knife with the original box. This is so because the knife came originally with and therefor the little extra. The drawback is that it is a bit difficult to know if this particular holder is original to the knife. It is not a solid holder but it will last if care is taken. It will protect the handle scales from scratching and protect against dirt. There are variations on them and as you see on the picture there is not much difference between them. For the 58mm Classic you will find that some holders are a bit more narrow and tight.

The material and construction of the holder are almost the same for the 84mm only longer. It is a plastic imitation material. Sometimes this holder is an indication for special models made by Victorinox. Sometimes knives came without a box and only the holder and this is done even today.

I have put the Norges Skibshypotek AS knife as a knife made 1980-1983

Today I would like to show you some pocket knives and which some has been around for a very long time. Not all are pure maritime. I did some research many years ago and I found that the Remington bottle opener knife could be pre 1940s. I guess if this knife could talk it would be a very good story. It’s been repaired one time and the spring has lost its pressure. It got a stainless steel blade and not stainless steel spring. The advertising is for a Company that is difficult to find back then.

In history ships used coal for fuel and it gives me the impression of Coal for this. It says MARINE COAL CO.INC MOBILE, ALA. This is a US Company then. In the 1920s until after WW2 the stainless steel saw it light of day to be used on Pocket knives. The Boart Alox with yellow color is what I call a smooth Alox Bantam. The tang stamp and design on the functions could most likely be early 1980s. When the advertising and assembly was done could be different because of the advertising variations in time. This company makes drilling equipment and it got a very long history. It included drilling for Coal and mining. Mostly on land it seems and you can find some information on the Boart Longyear home pages. Another interesting fact on these 84mm SAKs is the use of the Officier Suisse backside tang stamp.

The old Svenska Lloyd knife is made by B &L Eskilstuna. This should also be a pre-1940 knife. I did some research on Google and several pages there. On maritime or shipping knives the house flags and flags are important. You will find there could be an evolution to their logo and design. This knife got a blue star and I found a different blue star used but also the five pointed one with a different color. On this it is opposite of the normal then again it could be correct and on purpose. For sure these knives were not made for fun because of the quality and hand-made steps back then.

The little knife with silver handle is very old. It could be from approx. 1900. It depicts from the Leiv Erikson discovering America by Christian Krohg(1893) the silver scales got markings that is difficult to tell who made it. Most likely a Silversmith here in Norway made them. The pocket knife could also be made here. If not it could be from Sweden or Germany then. I am open for any input on these knives for educational purposes. Even if they are old, used and worn they give the cozy appearance for something that seen much use.

I am absolutely open for any corrections and input. I am usually a modern SAK collector from the late 1950s until today. My favorite period is actially 1980s until today. From time to time I like older things to learn. I have some really old EKA or Eskilstuna knives.