18th Century style knives

[JN01]

A few years back, when I used to live in Ohio, I was heavily into reenacting the 1770s-80s settlement era. I had a number of blades, most of which I ended up selling when I retired from the hobby.

There are a lot of fur trade and later Western style blades on this forum, but there doesn't seem to be many from the colonial era.

If anyone has some, let's see them.

I'll start. Here are three of mine, all hand forged, draw filed, and hand finished in the 18th Century manner.

Custom soldier's folder by Scott Summerville. Exact copy of a circa 1750 one that was excavated from a historical site (I believe in PA).

 

[JN01]

Antler handled knife by Tim Ridge/Swamp Fox Knives:

 

[JN01]

Antler handled knife by Kyle Willyard/Old Dominion Forge. Similar to the Tim Ridge knife, but with a little embellishment on the bolster and a silver butt cap for a little style. Kyle is an exceptional bladesmith. You can check out his website and see pics of the gorgeous swords he has produced, including one of a repro of one of George Washingtons that was made for the John Adams mini-series.

 

[bikerdoc]

Thanks for sharing. Exquisite workmanship I can appreciate.

Plus it honors some strong, brave men from times gone by.
That folder is amazing, even more amazing when you realize it is a repro, but back then they made everything by hand with rudimentary tools.

 

[JN01]

Here is an excellent copy of an English trade knife by Wick Ellerbe (one of the knives I sold)

 

[JN01]

Swords by Old Dominion Forge

 

[JN01]

George Washington sword by Old Dominion Forge

 

[JN01]

Dagger by Rich McDonald

 

[JN01]

Common penny knife by Ellerbe

 

[joneb]

Cool thread I will keep an I on it, wish I had something to share

 

[JN01]

Forgot about the Randy Wolfe/Bethel Forge pig sticker that I still have. 10 1/2" blade with integral bolster. Makes a great watermelon slicer.

 

[JN01]

Couple Scottish style by Glen McClain:

 

[JN01]

Original knives from the Jim Dresslar collection. The two clip point blades on the bottom are more likely 19th Century. Second from the top was probably a much longer blade that was broken off then reshaped and well used. Sixth one down has an integral bolster.

 

[Bazoo]

Hey that's real neat. Thanks for sharing. I'm into mostly modern knives from the 20th century. But I really like 19 century stuff like bowies and the like.

Some neat info on liver eatin' Johnson's knife out there. I've read the book Crow Killer, where he talks about usin his knife for scalping and killing and general use. Very interesting.

 

[JN01]

Identifying 19th Century blades is much easier as there are many more factory produced and/or by well known makers so you can get a good idea of when and where they were made.
During the 18th Century, there were a lot of scalpers produced for the Indian trade, but a lot of knives were produced on the frontier by unknown blacksmiths of varied skill levels, or cobbled together at home using broken tools as blade stock. Attempting to put a date on them is often problematic.

 

[JN01]

Excellent article on scalping knives: Native American "Scalping Knives" - the truth, the fiction, the business, the bloody history - Scavengeology

 

[theotherwaldo]

The problem with talking about 18th century common working knives is that there was little change between what was carried during the Roman Empire times and the era of the British Empire.
I've got third century blades that are indistinguishable from those recovered from Revolutionary War camp sites.
Outside of fashion changes and ethnic preferences, an iron knife is pretty much an iron knife.
Special purpose blades like the pesh kabz armor piercing blades are an exception, of course.

 

[hso]

It is reasonable that the average knife was the shape pounded out by the average smith using the average methods that had been in place since iron began to be worked consistently. Anything other was special enough to warrant the additional effort.

 

[JN01]

Another blog post article on old knives: #FixedBladeFriday - Who doesn't love pics of antique knives? - Scavengeology

One of the photos showing items dating to the 13th Century, recovered from the Thames River:

The problem with talking about 18th century common working knives is that there was little change between what was carried during the Roman Empire times and the era of the British Empire.
I've got third century blades that are indistinguishable from those recovered from Revolutionary War camp sites.
Outside of fashion changes and ethnic preferences, an iron knife is pretty much an iron knife.
Special purpose blades like the pesh kabz armor piercing blades are an exception, of course.

That is very true of the common blades, though sometimes there is a difference with the fancier, more embellished knives, primarily in the handles. A lot of the frontier produced 18th Century knives used whitetail antlers for handles.

 

[DrDeFab]

Maybe a stretch, but the design was formalized in 1810, and has roots that go back further. .

It's a Solingen trachten jäger messer. (loose translation: BBQ hunting knife ) This particular one was made in the late 20th by Linder.

 

[JN01]

Nice looking knife. What kind of animal is carved on the handle?

 

[DrDeFab]

Nice looking knife. What kind of animal is carved on the handle?

That's a gämsbock, more widely known as Chamois . Traditionally, that would also be the source of the handle material, but this one is more likely to be domesticated goat horn.

 

[Masaca1]

I purchased this dagger in 1992 in the Witches Quarter of old La Paz, Bolivia. The Indian merchant couldn't tell me anything about it and after a little haggling, I probably paid $10 for it. Its iron and 11 inches total length with a 7 inch blade (no edge at all, rounded tip. maybe these were lost due to use and age). I would assume from the 1700 or 1800s.
The bottom is a stone battle axe head that I got as a present in Ecuador in 1970s. I used to have 3 of these but the other 2 were stolen when I went into the service. Its either Inka or Puruha.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

The late Mike Ameling made a small folder that was a replica from a shipwreck off the Texas coast. I have one and will try to post a picture of it.

 

[Wolfshead]

Some 18th century styled knives I’ve done.
All ground from stock and not forged.
I cut, shape, bevel, draw file, heat treat, etc….