Jacob's ladder (knife)
Encyclopedia
The "Jacob's ladder" is a type of pocketknife consisting of two handle segments joined by a pivot, with a blade connected by a second pivot to the end of one handle segment.
The design presumably takes its name from the multi-jointed wooden toy also known as a Jacob's ladder
, which is itself named after the ladder to heaven
witnessed by the biblical patriarch Jacob
(Genesis 28:12).
("butterfly knife") in that it has no mechanical lock or spring pressure, but is kept in the open position during use by the leverage imparted by the user's hand.
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The design presumably takes its name from the multi-jointed wooden toy also known as a Jacob's ladder
Jacob's ladder (toy)
A Jacob's ladder is a folk toy consisting of blocks of wood held together by strings or ribbons. When the ladder is held at one end, blocks appear to cascade down the strings. However, this effect is a visual illusion which is the result of one block after another flipping over...
, which is itself named after the ladder to heaven
Jacob's Ladder (Bible)
Jacob's Ladder is a ladder to heaven, described in the Book of Genesis, that the biblical patriarch Jacob dreams about during his flight from his brother Esau.-Source:...
witnessed by the biblical patriarch Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
(Genesis 28:12).
Design
It is conceptually similar to the balisongBalisong (knife)
A Butterfly knife, also known as a fan knife or Balisong, is a folding pocket knife with two handles counter-rotating around the tang such that, when closed, the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles. It is sometimes called a Batangas knife, after the Tagalog province of Batangas in the...
("butterfly knife") in that it has no mechanical lock or spring pressure, but is kept in the open position during use by the leverage imparted by the user's hand.
History
This type of knife was out of production for decades, but was revived in the 1990s by two manufacturers: Fred Perrin (both made by himself and those outsourced) and Cold SteelCold Steel
Cold Steel is a Ventura, California-based maker of knives, swords and other edged weapons and tools. Cold Steel was founded in 1980 by company president, Lynn C. Thompson...
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