John Nowill Navy Knife

I bought this primarily out of sentiment as I used to have an old rusty British army WW2 jack knife with M.O.D. broad arrow that was given to me by my father when I was in my twenties and I always thought it had belonged to my grandfather but I think it probably came from an Army & Navy surplus store bought at some point in the 1970’s and then left in a tool box in the garage unused for over 30 years.It was a heavy chunk of metal and felt like you were walking around with a brick in your pocket so not an ideal EDC but I liked the old school hardcore look of it with the knobbly black plastic grips and crude ‘bayonet’ spike which I believe someone said was for opening tins of food but I now know is a marlin spike thanks to the internet and used for rope work, it also had a can / bottle opener which this newer navy version doesn’t.I regret that I sold it to some scumbag antiques dealer in Bath 10 years ago and took £3.50 for it just to get rid of it as it was of no practical use to me.Well I purchased this new knife for £40 and have paid for my mistake and I was quite impressed with the one I received - the quality seems reasonably on par with the original albeit not as heavy, also there is no manufacturer’s name or anything else engraved on the knife just MADE IN SHEFFIELD ENGLAND stamped on the blade probably to keep the cost down though at least I know it wasn’t made in China, and the blade itself is nice and sharp and still made with that stiff closing snap as per the original that could cut your fingers if you don’t get them out the way quick enough.The newer version may seem a little dinky and basic to some and there are better knives available for the same price or thereabouts but as I said my reason for buying was mainly sentimental and I am not interested in gimmicky knives as most tend to be nowadays.

Great little pen knife. Got this to use instead of my fathers Navy knives, WW2 issue. Still has stiff blade opening as per issue knives. Solid penknife.

I think this is a Chinese copy. There is no stainless Sheffield mark on the blade. The scales are very flimsy.

Uncle managed to nab one at a surplus 40 years ago, still in mint condition, general maintenance (vegetable oil soak to remove unseen rust, mineral oil coat to keep it fresh then syringe grease into mechanism, finally sharpen). Still in top condition, lovely kit.

I bought mine from the Pusser's Store at HMS Claverhouse aged 8! I was a keen sailor and my dad had an issued one as an RNR rating. So he took me in and I bought it, along with a white lanyard with a fixed Turks head and running one... standard RN kit back then. This knife is still in regular use and is sitting on my desk pending a review on my YouTube channel Slick Slicers'. These were issued to all RN personnel from 1939 (ish) till the early 80's. More than a decade after I bought mine, and after they'd stopped being issued, I carried mine as a Sub Lt RNR. It's seen good use ever since, but it's a bit heavy for edc, especially as mine has metal scales, as all RN ones did. Unfortunately, the lanyard died long ago! Oh, and they do loosen up just a little after the first couple of decades!

Built like the proverbial brick outhouse, blade and spike lock up very well, not too sure about the EDC due to the spike, but as someone said, no worse than a Philips driver. I may run this past a cop friend of mine to be sure.

Bought this knife as an EDC. Can't fault it, solidly built, sharp enough out of the box sharpen it up if you need to but I cut through conveyor belting with it and it slices through nicely. Like the fact that it's stuff to open as you know it's not going to close on your fingers. Like others have said it's bomb proof, but it was designed for the military. Over all great knife and will probably last a life time.

I was just on the point of making my purchase of this traditional old knife with all it's design flaws and quirks, but the spec says the blade length is 8.4cm which is 3 and 5/16 inches. I doubt your average bobby would really care about something like this but technically it is illegal here in the UK.

The bloke called Jason below is talking out of his arse - the marlin spike is NOT, I repeat - NOT considered an offensive weapon. Not anymore than a philips head screwdriver attachment would be.