Famous blades throughout history

What about the classic butcher knife like the Ontario Old hickory ?
Carried by frontiersman through the first half of the 1800's and still carried by outdoorsmen and used in kitchens today.
 
gadunz said:
Roman spatha (Excalibur). The spatha remained popular throughout the Migration Period. It evolved into the knightly sword of the High Middle Ages by the 12th century.
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The Spatha is a late Roman era sword, certainly gave inspiration for what would become the "knightly sword" in the bastard sword.
 
Jack88 said:
Tell us about it and link a picture!
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while this may not be the best picture it is a picture none the less of the type of butcher knife I'm talking about.
This particular example is said to have been found in an old log cabin in Virginia and definitely appears to me to be 1800's based on the use of pins vs the more modern cutlers rivets. The C.S.A carving in the handle may not be too legitimate but could be that old.
 
How about the Ottoman yatağan short sword?

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Typically associated with the Yeniçeri (Janissaries) of the 18th century, but it traces its lineage back to the bronze age. Recurved blade (basically an elongated khukuri) with characteristic split, rams-head pommel.
 
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Speaking of magical charms, here is an interesting mitmor knife from Thailand.

n2s
 
Jack88 said:
Douk-Douk:
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Originally intended as an inexpensive utility pocket knife for the ordinary working man, the popularity of the douk-doukcaused it to be pressed into service as a weapon when necessary.[1] During the 1954-1962 FLN-led revolt in Algeria, the douk-douk was used as weapon of assassination and terror; Algerians who ran afoul of the FLN frequently had their noses removed by the knife's razor-sharp blade.

I've seen these before but didn't know the history, pretty cool!
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What a great thread idea! :thumbsup: I do enjoy the history of blades and find it fascinating. I'm a little disappointed in myself that I didn't think of it first. :(:D
 
I'll keep it moving as I have time! Have plenty of ideas to add. I only ask if you want to add something please at least put up a picture if not a small description. Would like this thread to be a place of learning!

The Seax:
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The Viking dagger or called the seax, or sax, was the universally carried knife in Northern Europe. The Viking dagger was carried and used by the Saxons, Angles, Vikings and Germanic tribes. Viking Daggers, use probably dated before the fall of Rome and continues on into the early Middle Ages. From small knives with 3-4 inch blades to actual swords with blades of 27-28 inches and always single-edged, the profile of the seax varied a great deal. The original version of this large knife served from camp work to cutting work, on shipboard, and for fighting if a sword or axe was not available.
 
Jack88 said:
Finnish Puukko:
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I own a Mauno Keränen Tommi and it is a helluva knife, it mostly gets used to open packages but I did use it for some wood carving and wow did it perform and continue to hold its edge..

The puukko is a Finnish knife, and the name lends itself to the Finnish word “puukotta,” which means “to stab/knife.” The prefix, “puu” means “wood” in Finnish. The design of the puukko is attributed to the indigenous Sami people, who created several knives to use for day to day tasks; the puukkowas the smaller option, used to skin fish or animals. Although historical records vary, the puukko dates back about 1000 years.
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A few small clarifications, "puukotta" means "without a knife" while "puukottaa" means "to stab". The puukkos in the picture are made by Pasi Hurttila. I owuldn't say the design of the puukko to be Sami, actually. Sami, until very recent times, never had bladesmith tradition, The Finnish puukko is more related to the Swedish brukskniv and Norwegian tollekniv, while developping some very much distinctive features, one for all, the way higher grind, higher anyway, no matter the blade section.
 
Frederick89 said:
A few small clarifications, "puukotta" means "without a knife" while "puukottaa" means "to stab". The puukkos in the picture are made by Pasi Hurttila. I owuldn't say the design of the puukko to be Sami, actually. Sami, until very recent times, never had bladesmith tradition, The Finnish puukko is more related to the Swedish brukskniv and Norwegian tollekniv, while developping some very much distinctive features, one for all, the way higher grind, higher anyway, no matter the blade section.
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Cool thanks for the info!

ourgon said:
It was carried by german soldiers during both world wars.
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Awesome, was considering grabbing one at that price point.
 
Chef & butcher knives: Along the lines of the Old hickory butcher-type knives: this is a non-marked, carbon-steel generic chef's/kitchen knife, sold by the dozen through outfits like Shapleigh Hardware & others. (Awesome steel in this one.) I bought this one at a thrift store, and it took some digging to figure it out. The guys in the Levine Knife I.D. forum here helped figure it out for me.
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Buck #119 & #110: The two upper knives are Buck #119's (the 'Special'); been around for decades, I'm surprised at how many people actually have these, and have the stories to go with them. (The Buck 119 was the first 'big' knife I was allowed to buy with my own money. Many thanks to my grandmother who advocated for me to buy it.) The two largest lockbacks are Buck #110's, been around since 1963 (I think.) I think almost all lockbacks today are compared to the 110 sooner or later.
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SOG Tech-Bowie: A variant of the Vietnam-era knife issued to the MACV-SOG group there. Those had stacked leather handles and leather sheaths, this one is the closest I could find.
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Cattaraugus #225Q: The grooves in the handle come from having been wired to crates shipped out for the war effort in WWII; these were also provided with left-handed sheaths, ostensibly so a serviceman could carry his issue pistol on the right side.
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Camillus-made #TL-29: These originated around WWI. (The "TL" in "TL-29" stood for "Tool, Lineman's") and were still being made & issued into the 1960's. Family tradition says that my grandfather carries this one in Europe and then the Pacific in WWII, but after researching the tang stamp, this one was made after the war. He most likely got it for his job through the state of North Carolina or bought it as surplus.
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~Chris
 
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Jack88 said:
Iconic beautiful American knife, certainly gets its roots from the bowie. I'll def own one eventually, even though I'm navy :D
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Kabar #1225 (1217CU): The original "Kabar USMC knife" actually started out as the U.S. Navy Mark II. They ended up being made by several manufacturers through WWII (Camillus, Kabar, Case, maybe others?) If you look closely, you'll see that the blade is set lower than the centerline of the handle. According to Paul Tsujimoto in the Kabar forum (he's with OKC now), this was intentional to allow for more clearance for fingers; he mentioned it was intended for sailors to baton through rope.

I'm former Navy as well. I bought the Navy version (Kabar #1225) of the Kabar USMC to have as my general camping & hiking knife, and later stamped the sheath with some of the milestones from my enlistment. So, while not 'history' in the sense of the thread here, it's more of my personal history. (And it'll be inherited by my son later on.)

The Navy version in the middle:
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My sheath mods:
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~Chris
 
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Don't know much about blade history, but surprised no one has mentioned the Machete, Broad sword, or any Japanese swords.
I am a fan of Machetes, slimline machetes, and brush swords. Just because I use the heck out of them everyday.
 
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