In traditional Sheffield parlance, a penknife has a hinge at both ends and includes a small spear point blade intended for sharpening quill pens. Any friction folding knife that doesn't conform to both of those requirements is a pocket knife.
I'm ignorant so I call any knife a pocket knife
I was under a general impression that pen knife is a term used more commonly by the British to refer to a pocket knife. I agree that the Secretary and Pocket Pal best fit the technical definition.
You learn something every day. Turns out I own some pen knives, but haven't a clue how to go about sharpening a quill.
Seems in UK English, it has become the defacto name for a pocketknife. Here in the US, it's a specific style of knife.
A wise man once said...A pen in the knife is worth two in the pocket Hope that clears things up
There you go:
Presumably that was Carl Elsener Sr. in 1985 when they first put out Plus Scale models?
Another UK MTO'r chiming in, penknife has always been a certain kind of pocket knife, and pocket knife has always been the overall term.As for why penknife is so widely used here, I'm going to hazard a guess at the actual pen knife form factor being more popular than others, with a good dose of every x is y ignorance thrown in. Same reason our dyson is a hoover.