Historical information

A penknife, or pen knife, is a small folding knife. It was originally used to describe a knife used for cutting or sharpening a quill to make a dip pen nib. Originally, penknives were used for thinning and pointing quills to prepare them for use as writing instruments and, later, for repairing or re-pointing the quills. They did not necessarily have folding blades, but resembled a scalpel or wood knife by having a short, fixed blade at the end of a long handle.
Today a penknife can have single or multiple blades, and with additional tools incorporated into the design.
The most famous example of a multi-function penknife is the Swiss Army knife

Physical description

A folding pen-knife with 2 stainless steel blades

Inscriptions & markings

on long blade end; STAINLESS / MADE IN / SHEFFIELD