GB2153283A - Survival knife - Google Patents

Abstract

A survival knife having a blade (1) connectable to a handle (2) with a guard (3) and a sheath (23) (Fig. 7). The handle is partially hollow to provide a housing (11) closed by a plug (4) which can house accessories useful for survival. The blade has a toothed edge (5), an angular scale (10) and an orifice (8) for connecting cooperating tools to the blade, for example an end of the sheath via projection (32) (Fig. 7) which can cooperate with the blade in a shearing action. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Survival knife The present invention relates to an improved survival knife in which the essential elements of which it consists, such as the blade and the handle, and the complementary elements such as a guard and sheath, have been planned and designed to perform multiple functions.

An object of the invention is to provide a knife which is capable not only of effecting operations associated with the process of cutting, but also of fulfilling other essential needs for the purpose of survival, such as the transport of minor items, orientation, distance measurement and communication.

The invention provides a survival knife, having a blade and a one piece handle, the blade having a rear shank by means of which it may be secured to the handle, the handle having a bore and a plug for closing the bore to provide a housing, the blade being formed with a first transverse orifice having a section in the form of two parallel straight lines and two arcs, this orifice serving as a means of securing to the blade, elements which may be movable or fixed with respect to the blade.

The cutting blade preferably in addition to an arched surface sharpened on one side is saw-toothed on the other. With advantage in its central part and on the side opposite to the sharpened edge the blade has a small through-bore which, in addition to a possible securing point, forms the centre of a graduated angular scale by means of which, with the aid of an improvised plummet, the distances of different objects can be calculated.

The handle, into which the blade is inserted by its rear shank, enables the two parts to be interconnected by means of a transversal element of the nature of a stud bolt or the like.

Preferably the plug is screw-threaded and includes a toric joint which hermetically closes the internal housing of the handle of the knife, the said plug containing a small compass of which the operation is not affected by the metallic nature of the plug, which is preferably made of a non-magnetic, stainless material.

A container in which small accessories, such as wax tapers, fish hooks, needles etc., can be conveniently transported may fit in the handle housing. The outside of the said container may have the Morse code or similar diagrams printed thereon.

The said container, closed with a screwthreaded plug, preferably has its base and cover made of transparent material, in the manner of lenses, enabling it to be used, once emptied, as a telescope with an adjustable focal distance.

With advantage the knife is provided with a sheath formed by a body made in one single piece of synthetic material including a wearresisting metal upper bushing. Externally the sheath may be provided, on its inner face, with a suitable housing for a signalling mirror.

At its point the sheath may incorporate certain metal elements designed to cooperate with the knife particularly in a shearing action. The front face of this sheath may be provided with a housing for other accessories.

An embodiment of knife in accordance with the present invention, will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Figure 1 is an elevation of the knife, shown with the parts disconnected, Figure la showing the teeth of the blade in detail, Figure 2 is a diagram of all the components and accessories of the knife, which are capable of performing functions useful to survival, Figure 3 is an elevation of the other face of the blade, partly in section, Figure 4 is a schematic plan view of the knife when adapted as a harpoon, Figure 5 is a view, in perspective, of a buckle of the knife, with its two parts not interconnected, Figure 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the two parts assembled, Figure 7 is an elevation of the sheath of the knife, Figure 8 is a view of the sheath sectioned longitudinally in accordance with the plane VIII-VIII shown in Fig. 7, and Figure 9 shows a container of the knife in section.

As may be seen from Fig. 1 the knife proper essentially consists of a blade 1, a handle 2 having bores opening to the ends one for receiving the blade and the other closed by a rear plug 4, and a guard 3; the whole of this equipment can be accommodated in a sheath 23-see Fig. 7.

The blade 1 defines, a curved sharpened edge for cutting purposes on one side and an upper system of teeth 5 on the other side, the teeth being formed with upper edges inclined in the opposite direction to the edges of adjacent teeth, as may be seen from the details in Fig. la, enabling materials such as wood and the like to be cut in such a way that the resulting chips and other residues are completely removed. The rear end of the blade 1 forms a short shank 6 with a cross bore 7, by means of which this element can be simply and safely fitted onto the harrdle 2.

The blade 1 is provided, on its flat lateral surface, with a transverse orifice 8, which has two straight and two curved sides and by which it is possible to mount on the blade 1 elements such as a magnifier or hooks 14, as seen in Fig. 4, in the formation of a harpoon, or else movable elements by which shearing movements such as those of scissors can be effected in relation to the blade 1, or pliers and a variety of other tools as described later.

The orifice.also enables shearing functions to be performed in relation to the sheath.

The blade 1 is provided, in the vicinity of its upper edge, with a bore 9 of small diameter, which forms the centre or pole of a graduated angular scale 1 0. This hole 9 gives passage to the thread of a plummet which may serve as a "hair" for marking the desired angle, while the angular scale 10 is a protractor of which the zero corresponds to the vertical of the plummet.

This plummet level or clinometer serves to determine the angle of inclination of any object in respect of the horizon, and also the height of the stars, and can also be used as a basic theodolite for determining heights or distances.

The blade also incorporates a scale 1 3 for measuring planes, and also (not illustrated) the international code for ground-to-air signals with at least its five fundamental characters "V" = ASSISTANCE, "N" = NEGATIVE, "X"-MEDlCINE, "Y" = POSITIVE, Ct-= DI- RECTION.

The handle 2 is of anatomic shape to fit the hand, as may be seen in Fig. 1, being defined by a single-piece element, preferably of a light alloy of injected aluminium. As well as the bore opening to one end to receive the shank 6 of the blade 1, the handle has a bore 11, preferably cylindrical, opening at the rear, which can be closed by means of a threaded plug 4, having a toric joint 1 2 which provides a completely hermetic closure for the said bore 11, thereby forming a sealed housing. A compass 30, as shown in Fig. 2 is provided in the internal housing of the plug 4, which is of material not to affect the compass.

With the clamps 14 mounted on the aperture 8 of the knife, as shown in Fig. 4 and a haft 22 cut out of a single branch of a tree partly inserted in the handle 2, the knife is converted into a lance or fishing rod, a fishing line incorporated in the knife being then mounted in the hole 9.

Fig. 2 also shows how the hollow part 11 of the handle 2 can accommodate a multiplicity of small elements such as for example, a needle and sutures, a scalpel, sewing needles, fish hooks and line, a magnesium bar and flint type matches, all of which items can be accommodated and duly protected in a container 1 5 (with a screw-threaded closure) of cylindrical configuration, which fits perfectly into the bore 11.The Morse code 1 7 is imprinted for easy reference on the periphery of the said container 1 5. The base and the cover of the container 1 5 comprise transparent convex elements of the nature of lenses 18,19, thus enabling the container 15 to be used as a telescope of which the focal distance can be adjusted by simply rotating its screw-threaded cover to a greater or smaller extend or else by means of a telescopic construction such as shown in Fig. 9.

The guard 3 has opposite orifices shaped to receive the top of the blade 1 and the shaft of the plug 4 respectively, the plug being the component which firmly secures the guard 3, which, for possible use for military purposes, has a vertical front prolongation which is eyeshaped in order to accommodate the barrel of a firearm. If the knife is grasped by this guard 3, in the inverted position. it can be used in the manner of a hammer.

The sheath 23 is a one-piece element, preferably made of synthetic material. In the entry zone, as may be seen from Figs. 7 and 8, this material is reinforced by a metal bushing 24 of the same geometrical shape as the zone of the "cross" of the knife and constituting a component firmly fitting the sheath 23 by means of a number of locating pins.

The outside of the sheath 23-see Fig.

8-defines a housing 20 capable of accommodating further elements or materials which assist survival, this housing 20 being closed by a screw-threaded sealing cover 21.

The internal hollow part in which the blade is accommodated is provided with a number of ribs 34 on one side serving to avoid contact over a wide area and facilitating the withdrawal and insertion of the knife. Opposite the ribs 34 there is also a band or bushing 35 which acts on the blade 1 and firmly secures the knife. The band 35 is undulated to provide elasticity and extends to the outside of the sheath, where it is riveted to the actual sheath 23 and to a strap 36 enabling the entire assembly to be hung up, the said strap being prolonged to cover a recess 37 in the sheath containing an item such as a mirror.

The sheath 23, as may be seen from Fig. 7 is also provided (covered by a removable protective cap 33) with a point 29, already known in connection with side arms and/or survival knives, the said point 29 being made of a hardened metal suitable for complementary functions. For example the end 31 can perform the function of a screwdriver or similar implement, and its mushroom-type projection 32 (corresponding in shape to orifice 8) enables it to provide a fulcrum for the blade 1, so that the said blade can turn and trap cables or similar elements against a cutting edge of the point 29, thus performing a scissor-like shearing operation.

The sheath is also fitted with a number of belts 25 to enable it to be attached to the user's leg, for which purpose it includes a buckle 1 6 which can be rapidly adjusted and secured.

The buckle 1 6 consists, as may be seen from Figs. 5 and 6, of two pieces of synthetic material defining orifices 28 receiving the belts 25. Of these two pieces one defines a yoke 26 and the other a head 27 engagable together in one simple operation to fix the knife to a leg once the appropriate length of belt has been selected.

Claims (15)

1. A survival knife, having a blade and a one piece handle, the blade having a rear shank with a transverse bore by means of which it may be secured to the handle, the handle having a bore and a plug for closing the bore to provide a housing, the blade being formed with a first transverse orifice having a section in the form of two parallel straight lines and two arcs, this orifice serving as a means of securing to the blade, elements which may be movable or fixed with respect to the blade.

2. A knife according to Claim 1 including a guard adapted to be fitted to the handle, the guard comprising a curved strip with orifices at each end which receive parts between the handle and its plug, and between the handle and blade respectively, the guard acting to protect a user's hand which is holding the handle.

3. A knife according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which the blade in the zone opposite to the cutting edge and in the part nearest to the handle, is provided with a system of teeth of which the upper edges are inclined in alternate directions and which is suitable for sawing operations.

4. A handle according to any of Claims 1 to 3 in which the blade is formed with a bore of small diameter forming the centre of an angular scale by which, with the aid of a plummet or similar device, angles between distant points and therefore distances can be measured.

5. A knife according to any of Claims 1 to 4 in which the blade has engraved on its face a set of code letters suitable for intercommunication, as well as a millimetre scale suitable for topographic measurements.

6. A knife according to any of Claims 1 to 5 in which the plug is made of a material which is non-magnetic and contains a compass.

7. A knife according to any of Claims 1 to 6 in which the plug is screw threaded and includes a toric joint of elastic material which renders the housing of the handle hermetic.

8. A knife according to any of Claims 1 to 7 including a container fittable in the housing this container consisting of a plurality of bodies of cylindrical configuration mounted on the telescopic principle and having a cover, the base and the cover being transparent and formed in the manner of lenses enabling the said container to be used as a telescope of which the focal distance is adjustable by the movement of its components with a telescopic action.

9. A knife, according to any of Claims 1 to 8 including a sheath for receipt of the knife.

10. A knife according to Claim 9 in which the sheath has a casing body made in one piece and of synthetic material, with a housing having ribs on its internal face in order to reduce the friction with the blade and facilitate the extraction of the knife, as well as a metal upper bushing and a rib on its opposite internal face consisting of an elastic bushing of material having a break in its central part and inserted by its lower curved part into an opening of the housing, thus enabling the knife to be elastically centered by interacting with the bushing and the ribs, the upper part of the bushing serving as an intermediate securing means between the body and a suspension belt.

11. A knife, according to Claim 9 or Claim 10 in which the sheath has an internal housing capable of accommodating other survival elements, this housing being hermetically closed by means of a cover.

1 2. A knife, according to any of Claims 9 to 1 2 in which the sheath is provided with bores through which the sheath, bushing and belt can be interconnected by riveting, while the said sheath body, on its rear outer face, and concealed by the prolongation of the suspension belt, defines an open rectangular housing of limited depth forming a recess suitable for the transport of one or more elements.

1 3. A knife, according to any of Claims 9 to 1 2 in which the sheath has securing straps each passing through a piece provided with an elastic engagement assembly, thus forming a rapid-acting buckle.

14. A knife, according to any of Claims 1 to 1 3 including a further member having a cutting edge and a projection 32 shaped to be received in the first orifice in the blade, whereby the blade and cutting edge can cooperate in a shearing action.

15. A knife, according to Claim 14 together with Claim 9 in which the further member is attached to the sheath.

1 6. A survival knife substantially as described herein with reference to or as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.