Half Penny Knife [#461]

This style of knife is very old dating back to the middle ages. It is very simple a turned piece of beech wood with a slot cut for a knife blade. A brass bolster is wrapped about the hinge end with a brass pin holding the blade in place. The blade is held open or closed by the friction of the wood against the metal. There is no blade lock. Many knife’s in their advertising tout a blade lock as a safety feature. I haven’t had any problems with the Half Penny. The blade is carbon steel and was sharp when received a little honing has made it sharper. The sharpened part of the blade is 2 1/8 inches. Closed it is 3 ½ inches, open it is 6 inches long. It is very light weight at 1.1 ounces. In contrast my Barlow knife is 2 ounces. Mine had a little bit of corrosion on the blade enough though there was some oil on the blade. The wood did not have any finish on it. The knife I received does not match the picture. It has a brass bolster and one small turning on the handle not two as in the picture. This knife would easily fit in a reenactor’s kit, or, it could be used as a everyday pocket knife. Great knife for the price.