Hey guys, just picked up 2 British clasp knives, 1 with the marlin spike and 1 without.
Now the one without seems genuine, dated 1944 Sheffield where pretty much all these knives seem to have came from to my knowledge.
However the one with the marlin spike, shown in the image does not have any info listed on it's blade, no date, no city of origin, manufacturer etc. Which seems strange, even stranger it has some numbers/symbols that I do not recognise on the tin opener.
https://i.redd.it/eabwo77k8ab21.jpg
Symbols from what I can tell are
Top bar - "L D UP ARROW 5"
bottom bar - a backwards 'h'. backwards 'L', 4, 1?
I know an upwards arrow (crow feet) normally means WW2 military, however never seen it like that.
Something else to add is that the knife has a brass ring loop, which I believe means pre-1940.
Anyone know if this is genuine and what these symbols mean?
Thanks
The "upwards arrow (crow feet)" you mention is properly called the "broad arrow" and does not normally mean just WW2 military although it was used on British and Commonwealth Government property and particularly Military property and equipment since at least the 1500s until now. The LD preceding the mark in your example may indicate a particular Government Department. The Australian military currently uses DD with the Broad Arrow to mean property of the Department of Defence. See here a Broad Arrow on a piece of Australian Army equipment from the 1980s https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/REL33849/
You seem to be asking about an iteration of the British and Commonwealth defence forces "Knife, Folding, Clasp", versions of which were issued from prior to WW2 until at least 2008 (to the Australian Army) so it isn't clear what you mean by "genuine"
There were, over time, many variations, both with and without the "marlin spike", sometimes called a "splicing spike" or a "hoof pick" . In the Australian Army (and often in the British Army) that type of knife is called a Sapper's Knife although until about 2008 it was issued to every soldier, not just engineers, as part of their basic equipment for use in the field.
Because there were so many variations there are a lot of possible different markings. "Sheffield" was common over many varieties and for a long time.
This is more a question for a knife collector or militaria hobbyist.
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