Duties of Deck boy /JOS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

First trip deck boy on the cargo ship Trevose out of Cardiff, the crew from Cardiff, all old wartime hands, the Bosun a big North Welshman who promised my father he would look after me; and he did. We sailed for Galveston Texas, through the Caribbean where all my heroes like Capt Morgan used to attack Spanish ships; it was a boys dream come true. Loaded wheat for Hamburg; saw a black waterside worker lose his head when the sheave on the runner block to the winch came adrift and took it off, not something I wanted ever to see again. Walking ashore in Hamburg the place still a pile of rubble, then back to Tilbury to load cars for Australia. What a great start for a 15 year old's sea career.
Cheers Des

[j.sabourn]

With ref to the green river knife , my memories of same aren’t great. It was considered the best blade for working on deck with , due I think partly due to good advertising on how it kept its sharpness, was made in.Britain from good Sheffield steel, and beleive it was on or just under the stipulated 6 inch blade length then in existence for carrying in public , so would also have been useful to the Boy Scouts movement who were out of uniform without their sheath knife. How times have changed.. JS.

[Tony Taylor]

With ref to the green river knife , my memories of same aren’t great. It was considered the best blade for working on deck with , due I think partly due to good advertising on how it kept its sharpness, was made in.Britain from good Sheffield steel, and beleive it was on or just under the stipulated 6 inch blade length then in existence for carrying in public , so would also have been useful to the Boy Scouts movement who were out of uniform without their sheath knife. How times have changed.. JS.

GREEN RIVER KNIFE still available at £34.80.
Tried to attach pic but failed

[thomas michael]

GREEN RIVER KNIFE still available at £34.80.
Tried to attach pic but failed

you can buy them on line at john nowill seventeen pounds ninety nine.
tom











17 95

[Keith at Tregenna]

Though, at a guess the man with the knife was on deck,
suggest Evan open a new thread.

K.

.

[Des Taff Jenkins]

On My second trip as deck boy bought a Green River in Gravesend, had it for years along with a good marlin spike which is still in the garage still a handy thing to have, made a sheaf out of some pig skin. Did have a Swedish knife that my brother gave me with a wolf's head but lost it down the hold of some ship. Now; now; John I know a wolfs head would be heavy to carry around.
Des

[j.sabourn]

On my second trip to sea Des if there was such a thing for an apprentice as officially the second trip would be after 4 years. I was a bit it more mercenary and bought a second hand wind up gramophone and the old 78 records. Terrible things to play in bad weather but some of the broken records were quite sharp for cutting rope yarns. You couldn’t really hear it either on deck when chipping. As to the wolf’s head did it have any teeth , Cappy would have bought them. Cheers JS

[Tony Taylor]

you can buy them on line at john nowill seventeen pounds ninety nine.
tom











17 95

Thats a good price, just proves you need to shop around, there was also an American "Green River" knife but it looked more like the old packing knives we had, like a mini machete.

[John Pruden]

I made a new handle for my green river knife the blade always kept a good edge on it? jp

[j.sabourn]

#66.. Bet it wasn’t as big as Crocodile Dundee’s John. It’s a wonder they didn’t have in the credits after the movie the makers of such. Some enterprising person missed out there in the advertising game. Maybe it was made of cardboard. Cheers JS