What the heck is this for??

[JenHel]

Hi Everyone,
Can anyone give me some info on this small pocket knife? What is the foldout curved tube all about? We thought maybe it was some sort of whistle but we can't make it work if it is. We don't see any makers marks either. Thanks for any info.
Jen

[cody6268]

The purpose is medical. The blade is specially shaped for cutting an incision into the trachea, and the round piece is to be used as a breathing tube once inserted into the incision. But, I would say it could possibly be used as a guide to insert an endotracheal tube. The whole package is stainless steel as to be autoclavable for cleaning. Basically, it's a tracheotomy knife, made for doctors to carry as a "just in case" kind of thing. I think drug companies gave them out in the 1980s and 1990s.

[kootenay joe]

Cody are sure about this emergency tracheotomy use ?
I am a doctor and practised in the 1980's & '90's and i never saw one of these.
Furthermore, regardless of what tools you gave them, in excess of 90% of non-surgical MD's would not have a clue how to do an emergency tracheotomy and would be too frightened to attempt one.
My emergency trach kit is a #10 gauge intracath, the barrel of a 3cc syringe and a 15MM blue #7 endotracheal tube connector. Poke intracath through crico-thyroid membrane and slide flexible catheter into trachea and insert the narrow end of the 3cc syringe barrel and then push the blue endotracheal tube connector into end of 3cc syringe and attach other end to the ambubag and begin to ventilate. Expired air can escape around the catheter and out the mouth.
I'll go find it and take a picture.
kj
Edit to add these pictures. Note after going through crico-thyroid membrane you slide the plastic catheter down the trachea and remove the steel needle that is inside it. Needle is to puncture skin & membrane to get into trachea.
The last picture shows a connector with a port. Very useful to administer resuscitation drugs. They are rapidly absorbed from lung tissue, just as fast as giving IV.

[knife7knut]

I have NEVER seen anything like this before in all my years of collecting;hope someone will be able to ID it.Definitely has a specialized use.

[orvet]

I have heard it said before by many people:
"It never ceases to amaze me what I learned on AAPK!

[doglegg]

Cody, I have read the same thing. Don't know if it is accurate but I also read that explanation.

[kootenay joe]

The purpose is medical. The blade is specially shaped for cutting an incision into the trachea, and the round piece is to be used as a breathing tube once inserted into the incision. But, I would say it could possibly be used as a guide to insert an endotracheal tube. The whole package is stainless steel as to be autoclavable for cleaning. Basically, it's a tracheotomy knife, made for doctors to carry as a "just in case" kind of thing. I think drug companies gave them out in the 1980s and 1990s.

The steel tube is far to narrow to insert an endotracheal tube through it. The tube is also rather short. If you managed to get it into the windpipe, the knife handle would need to be pressed and held against the neck. Note: patients with an obstructed airway, if not already dead, are fighting for their life, struggling to breath with the trachea being tugged down with every attempt to breath in and the respiratory rate can be 80-90 per minute. It is a very challenging situation even for an experienced Ear, Nose & Throat surgeon. (otolaryngologist)
This multitool is too small for these conditions.
The only possible way it could help is if you did manage to get this 'pipe' into the trachea, you could then insert a guide wire through it, remove the 'pipe' and pass an endotracheal tube over the guide wire down into the trachea and then remove the guide wire.
But if you have a guide wire and endotracheal tube then you have emergency supplies with you and will have better tools than a pocket knife.
Knife history and knife lore is full of misinformation. Someone says or now posts, "i think company "X" made your knife" and the next person says "i heard that knife was made by company "X" and soon others will say, "that knife was made by company "X" ".
Maybe someone did design this knife with an emergency tracheotomy in mind but if so it is a poor design and i doubt it has ever been used successfully by anyone for this purpose.
I think it is more likely for some other use, possibly veterinary, but i don't know any veterinary medicine to suggest what.
Would be great to find the original advertising associated with this knife because this would give us the answer as to intended use.
kj

[just bob]

I went to Google and searched for tracheotomy knives and then clicked on images and no knives like this came up., but did find this one so apparently pocket knives were made for this purpose and given out.


https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... 1810626203


https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ ... 1888076234

[Sharpnshinyknives]

I’m going to take a stab at it and I am probably wrong. Each time this type of knife comes up I immediately think of this as something a Vet would use on animals. I seem to remember on the farm that cows would consume too much of certain feed and bloat w/ air in their stomachs and one way to relieve the pressure before it would kill the cow was to cut a small area and release the gas. I live w/ cows in pastures that come up against my property on three sides and I have seen cows die from this problem. The son of the farmer that now takes care of them doesn’t catch this the way his father did when he took care of the cattle.

[bestgear]

The other tools look tobacco-pipe-like to me i.e. smokers implements could the curved tube have anything to do with pipe or tobacco smoking?

[Colonel26]

I’m going to take a stab at it and I am probably wrong. Each time this type of knife comes up I immediately think of this as something a Vet would use on animals. I seem to remember on the farm that cows would consume too much of certain feed and bloat w/ air in their stomachs and one way to relieve the pressure before it would kill the cow was to cut a small area and release the gas. I live w/ cows in pastures that come up against my property on three sides and I have seen cows die from this problem. The son of the farmer that now takes care of them doesn’t catch this the way his father did when he took care of the cattle.

You're thinking of a trocar which is used in severe cases of bloat.

[zzyzzogeton]

I believe it is a trocar, used by veterinarians to relieve gas from a bloated cow or goat rumen, by an undertaker to drain body cavities of liquid, or by a surgeon for laproscopic surgeries.

Since it is pocket knife form, I'd vote for it being a veterianrian trocar.

[Froe]

I actually have a knife exactly like the one in question. It came in a black leather pocket sheath. I had heard the 'tracheotomy' knife story before and recognized the 'unknown use' knife from the description I had heard earlier. I snapped up the knife quickly out of the bay on a 'buy it now' pretty cheap. The version of the story I heard was that it was a give away knife for doctors, but it was decided that maybe a pocket DYI tracheotomy knife wasn't a great idea and so the idea died. Who really knows?
I just liked the story enough to use the knife for show-and-tell with my friends. Of course I'm going to stick to the story! It's probably more fun than the truth.
Froe

[just bob]

I've been looking in my books for a knife similar to the OP knife and came up empty. I did find this knife with a similar incurved shaped blade that the author says was for cutting quill pens. Is that an indication that the incurved blade on the OP knife might have that shape for cutting tubing or other trach supplies?

Anyone know the maker of the knife in the OP or what that shaped knife is called? I have a feeling there is a lot of info out there on this if we just had a few more clues. I'm coming up empty on my searches.

[edge213]

I actually have a knife exactly like the one in question. It came in a black leather pocket sheath. I had heard the 'tracheotomy' knife story before and recognized the 'unknown use' knife from the description I had heard earlier. I snapped up the knife quickly out of the bay on a 'buy it now' pretty cheap. The version of the story I heard was that it was a give away knife for doctors, but it was decided that maybe a pocket DYI tracheotomy knife wasn't a great idea and so the idea died. Who really knows?
I just liked the story enough to use the knife for show-and-tell with my friends. Of course I'm going to stick to the story! It's probably more fun than the truth.
Froe

I like your post