WWII Aussie Made Army Knives/BAKs

[MultiMat]

Today I got 2 much wanted Aussie made knives. I have been wanting a Whittingslowe BAK(British Army Knife style) for quite some time. Whittingslowe was a firm that made BAKs for, predominately the Aussie armed services during WWII. Whittingslowe BAKs were apparently also issued to Commonwealth & US services during WWII. The cool thing is Whittingslowe was based in Adelaide, my adopted home town.

The second Aussie BAK is a Sterling brand one , I have only ever seen one other for sale , in Oz Ebay & it went for a $100 & was in rough nick.I have not been able to find out anything about Sterling knives Australia. To get 2 rare Aussie made Army knives from the same seller is tops & the seller was a US Ebay knife seller 


At top my 1977 issued Stanley Rogers Aussie Army Knife(made in Japan), middle Sterling Aussie made Army knife ?WWII vintage & at bottom Aussie made Whittingslowe WWII issue.


Sterling at top ,Whittingslowe middle & 1977 Stanley Rogers at bottom


Marlin spike also known as 'Pig sticker'  .Sterling at top , Whittingslowe middle & Stanley Rogers bottom.


Sterling top , Whittingslowe middle & Stanley Rogers bottom.

Interestingly Whittingslowe supplied army knives to the Australian Government at cost as part of the war effort. Ironically the firm went bust soon after WWII & knife suppliers to the Australian Army  have subsequently come from Japan(like my 1977 Stanley Rogers) & the current supplier is Black Wolf knives a Chinese company. The knife has changed very little over the years , the blade almost the same , the can opener has changed the most & the Marlin spike is less meaty .

The Sterling is in GREAT nick  , the Whittingslowe is fairly badly pitted in places  but for a 70+year old knife I am chuffed  . I am so happy to have these 2 Aussie made knives 
In military knife tradition the back springs are VERY stiff, just like the US Camillus Demo knives 

[yud]

thats neat

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Awesome line up there Matt

[Zed]

vey nice, i had the British equivalent for years in my old tool bag, now long gone  , 

[Neil]

Nice to see you finally got some Aussie nail breakers

[sparky415]

A nice collection and pictures there Mat!
After picking up one last week I can now see the attraction in them
Think I will keep an eye out for some more in the future 

[DaveK]

Very nice Mat

[J-sews]

Very sweet! I love the oldies, especially when they've got some military background to them.


So maybe we discussed this before... ....but what does the little upwards-pointing arrow symbol mean again? I've seen it on the Australian military SwissTools and the NATO Leatherman Cores also.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

This way up?

Nice collection MultiMat.

[sparky415]

Very sweet! I love the oldies, especially when they've got some military background to them.


So maybe we discussed this before... ....but what does the little upwards-pointing arrow symbol mean again? I've seen it on the Australian military SwissTools and the NATO Leatherman Cores also.

Typically it is stamped on property of the MOD  Ministry of Defence,
look in the link below 'Use for British Government property' 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_arrow

 
 

[Dutchy357]

Hi Mat

They are a couple of very nice Clasp Knives.

That Sterling is Brilliant.  It's even better than the one I have in my collection and I thought that was good.

If you dont mind, I would like to use some Pic's of it on my web page about Australian Military Knives.  http://military-knives.110mb.com/index.htm

Regards

[MultiMat]

Hi Mat

They are a couple of very nice Clasp Knives.

That Sterling is Brilliant.  It's even better than the one I have in my collection and I thought that was good.

If you dont mind, I would like to use some Pic's of it on my web page about Australian Military Knives.  http://military-knives.110mb.com/index.htm

Regards

Gosh Dutchy  yep feel free to use my pics if you like mate  .
Great web page you have mate  .
My Sterling looks better than it is (floppy back spring & consequently loose locking blade ). But given it is the second Sterling I have seen I am still very much the proud owner 

[J-sews]

Hi Mat

They are a couple of very nice Clasp Knives.

That Sterling is Brilliant.  It's even better than the one I have in my collection and I thought that was good.

If you dont mind, I would like to use some Pic's of it on my web page about Australian Military Knives.  http://military-knives.110mb.com/index.htm

Regards

Greetings Dutchy


By the way, I love your Classic Quotes page: LINK

[65bellett]

Hi Mat they are some really nice knives you have there. I can remember my Grandfather carrying a knife just like that when I was a kid. For some reason I always thought it was a Boatswains knife as he was a keen sailer but it could well have been some thing he kept from his time in the British Army during WW2. I must ring my Mum and ask her if she knows any of it's history.

By the way it is great to see an Australian made knife, I will have to keep my eyes open for one myself. 

[MultiMat]

Hi Mat they are some really nice knives you have there. I can remember my Grandfather carrying a knife just like that when I was a kid. For some reason I always thought it was a Boatswains knife as he was a keen sailer but it could well have been some thing he kept from his time in the British Army during WW2. I must ring my Mum and ask her if she knows any of it's history.

By the way it is great to see an Australian made knife, I will have to keep my eyes open for one myself. 

Thanks mate 

I reckon your Grandfather's knife could well be a BAK(British Army Knife) if he served in the British Army. You are right about this style of knife showing a definite maritime influence with the Marlin spike. I suspect these style of knives were being used by the British Navy first & were then adopted by the army  . I would be interested in seeing photos of the knife if you still have access too it mate  .


Sterling knives are bloody hens teeth mate but made in Adelaide Whittingslowe knives are a bit more common , they come up on Oz Ebay every couple of months, they are going for a bit now though.It is a bit funny I got my Aussie made BAK's from US Ebay 


Dutchy357's website is a great resource for Aussie military knives-----> http://military-knives.110mb.com/index.htm