Most men carried a knife of some sort in the 1930’s/40’s and 50’s which is the era of this one. There would be a myriad of uses, not least of which would be the cutting of ‘plug’ tobacco for a pipe. This particular one was found in an old box of tools which once belonged to the Boyle family in Glen Roy. The Boyles were crofters and shepherds, indicating that it wasn’t just ‘Scouts’ who bought the knife (see advert) We see they are calling the metal spike a ‘leather puncher’ and ‘hole borer’ in the advert.It is also a marlin spike which would have been used for opening the lay of hawser laid ropes and undoing knots that have been tightened under strain. We’ve put our knife in an old tobacco tin which we thought was rather appropriate – particularly as we don’t have a spare boy scout!