Neat knife with a clever blade locking mechanism. This type of lock was originally registered on Feb. 9, 1850 by John Lingard of Sheffield, England.FRJ wrote:I bought this serpentine stockman not for its covers but for its mechanics. The awl locks in place and to fold it into the well you have to press the main blade down. I like stuff like that. I was curious as to how it worked.
Looking in the well you can see two blocks of steel and they are accommodated by the opening in the center liner. Pressing on the main blade pushes on the block just below it and that block pushes the other block thus raising the spring and freeing up the awl.
It was a good system that many German cutlers used in the late 1800s through the much of the 1900s.