One of the holy grails of knife collecting is the SOE knife, produced for the WW2 Special Operations Executive. It has a long locking blade at the bolster end of the distinctively-shaped grip and a short ‘tyre slasher’ at the heel. Issue knives were typically ‘sterile’ i.e. they carried no maker’s mark or other hint as to their source.
Post-WW2, knives based on the same distinctive grip were produced as electrician’s knives, without the tyre slasher or the lock on the blade, and with a long screwdriver which inherited the locking mechanism. Part-way along the screwdriwer blade is a crescent cutout which, presumably, acts as a wire stripper. These knives are clearly well-made and surprisingly heavy.
Some of these knives were made for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority with U.K.A.E.A. stamped on the blade; apart from H. ROWBOTHAM & Co., mine has no other markings.
Source: private purchase