The pocket knife has existed since at least 600 BC, and the earliest examples have been found at the ancient site of Hallstat, Austria.
As well as in Austria, ancient examples of pocket knives have been found in Spain which pre-date the Roman Empire.
The earliest pocket knives were exclusively folding knifes, with blades that slotted into handles of iron, bone or wood, without locking into place.
Though this type of knife first appeared in Pre-Roman times, it would not become widely available or affordable until the Industrial Revolution, which made large-scale production possible.
Large scale production of pocket knives began in 1700, in cutlery centres such as Sheffield, where the Industrial Revolution was at its height. Among the earliest models mass-produced in factories were Fuller’s Penny Knife and the Wharncliffe Knife, neither of which are still produced today.
The significant drop in the knife’s cost made it a favourite tool of farmers, herdsmen and gardeners in Europe and across the Americas, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, earning the tool the colloquial name of ‘peasant knife’.
Around 1700, some peasant knives began using bolsters, or tensioning screws, to apply friction to the blade, locking it in an open or closed position. Knives with similar designs are still used today.
