Old Letter Opener, Sabena Airlines?

Can anyone tell me anything about this letter opener? It says Sabena on it, I hear it is rare and cannot find much on it online. Thank you for all your information.

 

Seeing the name Sabena brought back memories of a short flight we took with that airline. When refreshment time came around we were given a drink and a sandwich in a bun. None of us were given the bun personally. As the stewardesses went along the aisle, they threw the buns at everyone. Very shortly afterwards Sabena went bankrupt. We think the stewardesses must have had an inkling and did'nt care how they treat the pasengers.

 

I don't think that was a one-off. We used to say Sabena was short for Such A Bad Experience Never Again.

 

Like the Portuguese airline TAP aka "Take Another Plane."

Debora

 

Welcome!

 

Nice.

 

I know I SHOULD'T be laughing but I just can't help it .. it's really not funny at all but the thought of sitting there with buns being tossed right left and center, and having to catch it in order to eat has set me off, I know it's awful but even if I was in that situation I know I would laugh. Anyway .. ... Joy.

 

Mohawk Airlines was not so affectionately called "Slowhawk."

 

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/SABENA-AIRL...459477?hash=item3ae8c70215:g:NxEAAOSwpONZUYOs

looks like they made more than one model...
this one below ....

From

Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT)

Name/Title
Letter Opener [Sabena Airlines]

About this object
Metal letter opener/paper knife, marking 25th Anniversary of "Sabena Airlines". Markings on handle 1923-1948 above the word "Sabena". A Belgian Airline. The hand guard is in the form of wings and at the centre of the shaft is a cross with a single star at the top of the cross. The handle and blade are tapered. Both, the back and front, are identical in design and markings. A small hole has been made in the top of the handle for securing the knife.

Maker
Sabena Airlines (Belgium, estab. 1923, closed 2001)

Maker Role
Attributed to

Date Made
1948

Measurements L 170 W 15mm (L 6 11/16 W 9/16")


maybe this type is the RARE one you speak of.....

 

Sabena is the Belgian national airlines and stands for Société Anonyme Belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation Aérienne.
Strange for a country like Belgium who has two official languages (and even 3 in fact; Flemish, French and German)...
Sabena artifacts are much search after collectibles. I guess yours is 1930 ties...
In 2001 they went bankrupt.

 

Here is a general site of Sabena artifacts, your letter opener is among them;
http://sabena.alpe.be/ACCESSORIES.html

 

We managed to catch ours OK. We did think it was funny.

 

So this was used in the airport or on the plane?

 

It was used as a gift or bought as a souvenir.
They where like commercial souvenirs.
But once you had one you could use it where ever you wanted! (lol!!)
Not sure it would be possible to bring it along on a airport or a plane nowadays...

 

Not so unusual in Europe. Most European countries have that, though not all divided into separate political/administrational unities, like Belgium.
Just two of your neighbours: France has four linguistic families, some of which are divided in separate recognized languages. The Netherlands has two official languages, and some dialects are very much like separate languages.
Switzerland has four languages with their own separate administrations, like Belgium.

 

I was only trying to be sarcastic ;-)
Living in the Flemish speaking part of Belgium (for over nearly 50 years now)it always have been frustrating that the national air line company didn't had a Flemish name.
Most other organisation (commercial or not) do have two names...

And I must say that we are quiet unique in Europe and nothing to compare with Switzerland that always had they four languages.

During WWI orders were given by French speaking officers to Flemish soldiers in French, that resulted in great casualty's among the Flemish soldiers.
Even on 15 sep. 2004 we had a train crash killing 8 people due to a miscommunication or simply no communication in two servants not able to speak or understand the other language.

About the Netherlands having two official languages, yes; since 2014!
And I think you are referring to Fries, but that language is also spoken in a small part of Germany and in Denmark. And recognized in those country's too.
But they even have a third one, but this has nothing to do with Europe, it concerns their overseas territory's.
And again a very different situation, you will not notice being in that part of the Netherlands that speaks Fries, when visiting it. Going from the Flemish part of Belgium to the French part of Belgium is a big difference.

For France I know only one recognized language and that is French(since 1539) .
You are right that they have different linguistic families, (even Flemish in the north), but none are recognized, ... so far.

 

Hi and WELCOME, @Ryan98!!!!

 

That is a huge problem, to do with the long-standing supremacy of the Walloons over the Flemish. I know there are Flemish wanting to create a union with us in the south of the Netherlands and with part of the Rhineland. I'm all for it, we have problems with Holland in many different ways, but I don't think it will ever come to that.

Dutch Frisian (different from the other Frisian languages) was recognized as a separate language much longer, going back to when the Frisian branch of the Orange family (stadhouder Willem IV) took over power in the 18th century. In 2013 it became the second Dutch language for governmental etc. communication (in Friesland). I know several Frisians who will only speak Frisian, by the way.
France recognizes Corsican, Breton, Catalan and Basque as languages, though not for governmental etc. communication.
The international linguistic community recognizes many more languages as distinctly separate languages, based on extensive studies. It is just very hard to convince governments of the cold hard facts, because it might cost them money.