Did mountain people really use daggers for everyday utility?

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bushcraft

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Did mountain people really use daggers for everyday utility?

I read that mountain men used to carry daggers as main belt knives.

Is it true? or is it because they had nothing better?

Would the bark river mountain man dagger be a good utility knife?
Isn't two edges better than one?:o

BA990816ASB.jpg
 
I kinda look at it like a double bitted axe two different edges are better than one.
 
It may not be historically accurate, but I'm not the one to ask. Maybe someone with some pioneering history could put their two cents in. There is a mountain man competition where you throw a knife and a tomahawk, but that isn't the right type/size for it.

I still find it hard to imagine that they used to carry these, but they did.

north_american_indian_beaver_tail_dag_%20knife.jpg
 
bushcraft said:
Did mountain people really use daggers for everyday utility?

I read that mountain men used to carry daggers as main belt knives.

Is it true? or is it because they had nothing better?

Would the bark river mountain man dagger be a good utility knife?
Isn't two edges better than one?:o

BA990816ASB.jpg
Click to expand...

I would guess it was more for defense. Sure you have two sharpened edges for utility, but I don't think you could manipulate a doubled edged blade as well as a single edged blade for typical woods tasks, cleaning game, etc. Interesting though...

ROCK6
 
both butcher knife and dagger styles where popular... dagger styles where popular among the native americans thus probably making them readily avail as trad items... I assume that these where wide spread as surplus items from many of the early American conflicts.
it was typical to keep one side hair popping and te other side with a more course edge for heavier work..despit the presence of these however the butcher knife had a greater association with the "mountain folk" particularly the Green river butcher, hunter and dadely pattern, The last of whcich at least at a glance resembles a dagger.
While any knife is better than no knife. a double edged knife would be my last choice. also in todays day and age where you are more likely to trun into an LEO than an apache war tribe it is porbably better to stick to something a little more "friendly"
 
They carried what they could afford. Two-edge, one-edge, skinner, butcher knife... A lot of "mountain men" were trappers, hunters, frontiersmen and people looking to just be left alone.
 
The blade looks nice but remember Texas and probably many states consider double edged knives, illegal knives.
 
Did mountain people really use daggers for everyday utility?

No, they didn't. Daggers were carried and used, but not for everyday utility. The Hudson bay Dagger picture posted by Joezilla was popular, especially as a trade knife to the local indians but it was not for utility but for fighting. Same as today, daggers were mainly for offensive and defensive use. The most common utility knives from the 18th century were common butcher style knives and homemade straight bladed knives.

I am very interested in this time period and have looked at a lot of knives dated from this period, most were very basic, straight blade, single edge knives. Chris

EDIT: I am quite sure that people did not look at edged implements the same way we do today, in a lot of instances utility was secondary to lethality. A lot of knives and tomahawks from this time period were not effective at all for utility purposes but devastating weapons. A long handled, spike head tomahawk with a small cutting bit and fairly light head, is almost useless for chopping but great for busting a skull, and these weapons were very popular at this time. The firearms of the day were really only good for one shot then it came down to knives and hawks which explains why the people carried what they did.
 
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And I am not an expert just watched the History channel on this subject a while back and they used butcher style fixed blades with a single edge for skinning and camp utility.

RickJ
 
That Bark River dagger is HOT ! I want it !!!
They also have that nice Mountain Man knife - same handles,different blade.
And the Hudson Bay Camp Knife,and the Colonial Patch knife - so many great traditional blades !
 
Firearms where very unreliable, and quality tools where hard to come by and valued by there owners.



In an era where staying alive was a prime survival skill,

…and a keen cutting edge was hard to find,

…you can bet that people used the highest quality tool they had.



Well made knives, be they single or double edged, where worth their weight in gold (or hides).







Big Mike
 
I dont know about mountain men. But rangers and frontier men from the same time period carried butcher knives, tomahawks, scalping knives (similar to modern chef knife), or a jack knife
 
The local indians used to carry double bladed AND double pointed knives. I think daggers are fine but don't use them myself. You get into some legal issues plus I like using the spine when carving. I push on it with my other hand.
 
Maybe Doc Canada will chime in, I believe he was around..

Where are you GP???

:p
 
tonym said:
Maybe Doc Canada will chime in, I believe he was around..

Where are you GP???

:p
Click to expand...

Can he remember that far back? Is he the one that went back for the navigating gear?:D
 
Remember Bark River also makes a Mountain Man knife similar to a Green River butcher knife which was the most popular knife among the Mountain Men. That knife is much more of a utility knife than the dagger IMO.
 
They did carry large knives, like bowies, etc.
BUT they also had small knives, like patch knives for fine detail work.
These are pics of a small patch knife, similar to what they used in that era.
3.5 inch blade on this one, it is period correct in its manufacture.

Knife1.jpg


Knife2.jpg


Knife3.jpg


Knife4.jpg
 
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