Knife attack -- something like this?

[Ausgirl]

I found this in the Old Bailey records and of course I thought of MK.

Not saying this is a suspect!! Just that it reminded me of MK, and various oft-discussed scenarios.

18th December 1865
130. JOHN MULCAHEY (24) , Feloniously wounding Ann Harrington on one of her fingers with intent to do her some grevious bodily harm.

MR.—conducted the Prosecution, and MR. COOPER the Defence.

ANN HARRINGTON . I live at 4, Nassau-street, and am a prostitute—on the night of 6th December I met the prisoner outside the Blue Anchor, in Ratcliffe-highway—he went home with me—he gave me 4s.—he jumped into bed with his trowsers on—I said, "Take your trowsers off"—he then opened his leather belt, which was round his waist, drew his knife, made use of very nasty expressions, and then made an attempt to cut my throat—I put my hand up to save it, and my finger was cut—I jumped out of bed, opened the door, and called for help—I had my fingers dressed at the hospital—I gave the prisoner in charge—he did not go away—there was a light in the room.

Cross-examined. Q. You had been drinking, had you not? A. No—he took me into the Blue Anchor and gave me a glass of gin—that is all I had, and a drop; of half-and-half—the prisoner was rather intoxicated, but he know what he was about—we had been in bed about ten minutes when he pulled out his knife—he gave me all the money he had—he had neither pipe nor tobacco—I have been a prostitute about eleven years—it was my own house we went to—I have one room to myself.

MARY HOLLIDAY . I am the wife of John Holliday, a sailor, and live next door to the prosecutrix—on this night I was sent for, and went in, and saw the pcosecutrix standing by her bedside, with her finger bleeding—the prisoner was sitting up in the bed—I asked him why he did it—he said he did not do it; she did it herself—she said that she saved her throat from being cut and had her finger cut—I saw a knife in the policeman's hands.

Cross-examined. Q. Do not sailors always have a knife with them? A. Yes, I believe they do—the cut was just at the top of the middle finger.

ADAM CARR (Policeman, H 40) I was called to the prosecutrix's house, and saw her bleeding from the finger—she charged the prisoner with attempting to cut her throat, and cutting her finger—the bed was all covered with blood; and this knife I found between the bed and the palliasse—it is an ordinary sailor's knife.

Cross-examined. Q. Did the prisoner appear the worse for liquor? A. I believe he had been drinking—this is a kind of knife all sailors use.

GUILTY of unlawfully wounding.— Recommended to mercy by the Jury.— Confined Four Months.

http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t18651218-130&div=t18651218-130&terms=blood|knife#highlight

[martin wilson]

Hi Ausgirl

An ordinary sailors knife is also called a clasp knife, if you google images you can see it's something like a pen knife and has that wicked looking marlinspike on the other end, which imho is what may have caused the separate wound in Martha Tabram.
Interestingly the knife blade was blunted off to make them useful for cutting but not for stabbing, if sailors got into a fight on board then cuts could be stitched and heal, not so with stabbing.
I'm reading between the lines but drunk sailors were always being robbed, and I'm speculating that may be what happened here.
I've seen a newspaper article somewhere that expressed concern about the large knives sailors were taking ashore with them, wasn't in London, I'll see if I can find it again. It interested me as it represented a possible development from the sailors knife to something more associated with 'the ripper'.
All the best.

[Errata]

Hi Ausgirl

An ordinary sailors knife is also called a clasp knife, if you google images you can see it's something like a pen knife and has that wicked looking marlinspike on the other end, which imho is what may have caused the separate wound in Martha Tabram.
Interestingly the knife blade was blunted off to make them useful for cutting but not for stabbing, if sailors got into a fight on board then cuts could be stitched and heal, not so with stabbing.
I'm reading between the lines but drunk sailors were always being robbed, and I'm speculating that may be what happened here.
I've seen a newspaper article somewhere that expressed concern about the large knives sailors were taking ashore with them, wasn't in London, I'll see if I can find it again. It interested me as it represented a possible development from the sailors knife to something more associated with 'the ripper'.
All the best.

Actually a sailors knife did not have to be a clasp knife, nor did it have a marlin spike. That's a fisherman's knife. What makes a sailor's knife is the shape of the blade, which was sort of squared at the tip, called a sheepsfoot blade. It was used for rigging originally, and then became the best knife for unlashing cargo etc. Sailor's in the Navy carried a few different kinds of blades, but mostly combat types. Fisherman carried different knives depending if they were shore fishers or deep sea (and deep sea is where the marlin spike is used).

Given that the knife is described while a policeman is holding it, I doubt the neighbor identified it by the marlin spike, which would be hidden from view. So it must have been the shape of the blade, making it a commercial sailor's knife. No fishing accessories needed.

It's also kind of hard to draw a closed clasp knife and menace with it. It was in his belt. It's wan't a clasp knife. It was a fixed blade.