If you went back in time 200 years…

Bob Denman said:
Hmmm......
If I went back to 1795 to visit my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather: I'd take him a Buck 110...

... and a Winchester model 64, along with10,000 rounds of ammo.
Click to expand...
Though none of my ancestors were in the US until the late 1800's, I think my IWI Tavor SAR would go a long way for them. Hell give that and a BK-9 to Jim Bowie and that probably would have won the battle.
 
200 years ago we had steamboats and steam locomotives, power looms, advanced marine chronometers, pattern-copying lathes, and all sorts of other stuff. I’m pretty sure if somebody had perceived some great need for a locking pocket knife, he could have made one. By about 150 years ago the Mercator K55K was pretty popular I think, but if that was because of the locking mechanism or because of clever marketing, I don’t know.

Also, Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark fame) carried a small penknife and a fixed blade with him on the famous expedition. I seem to recall reading that he used the fixed blade knife to save himself from falling off a cliff at one point - any folding knife would have been pretty useless in that situation. They had a big budget and commissioned all sorts of specialty gear (including an airgun), but it seems the knives he really needed were already easily available.
 
What question exists; that can't be answered with a smatchet?
 
Not 200 years, but The Spanish Inquisition would find a use for this.

iu
 
I'm not sure what types of pocket knives they had 200 years ago. All I can think of are penny knives. As such, almost any modern folding knife, including traditionals, would be a significant upgrade.
 
If I went back in time 200 years, I'd want an AR and unlimited ammo.
Don W said:
I'm not sure what types of pocket knives they had 200 years ago. All I can think of are penny knives. As such, almost any modern folding knife, including traditionals, would be a significant upgrade.
Click to expand...
coolmaterial.com

The History Of The Pocket Knife | Cool Material

Every boy acquired a pocket knife at some point in time. Whether yours was a gift from your pops or you got it while working on your first badge as a Cub Scout, it no doubt became a trusty sidekick you relied on for a bunch of little tasks. The small folding knife has become
coolmaterial.com
 
jill jackson said:
If I went back in time 200 years, I'd want an AR and unlimited ammo.

coolmaterial.com

The History Of The Pocket Knife | Cool Material

Every boy acquired a pocket knife at some point in time. Whether yours was a gift from your pops or you got it while working on your first badge as a Cub Scout, it no doubt became a trusty sidekick you relied on for a bunch of little tasks. The small folding knife has become
coolmaterial.com
Click to expand...
Why do you want this particular firearm?
 
You guys are funny.

200 years ago would be 1821. Do you really believe knife technology has increased that much since then? They had lock-back knives (the Navaja and Laguiole, as two examples, are older than that). They had good steels. They had time proven designs. Almost everyone carried a knife, to include women and children. Folding knives were extremely popular, and many of them were bigger than what's considered normal today.

I invite you all to take a look at the cargo of the steamship Arabia, which sank in 1856 (which incidentally is the same year the Bessemer steel became the next big thing).

Modern materials might impress, but I doubt most of the knives would make much of an impact. remember, this was a rural, agrarian, society. The knife was a tool used daily and expected to last decades. Anything that could gum up or would need very specific maintenance would not impress.

Before you start pointing out just how good most modern designs are I invite you go go work a farm or ranch for a couple months with that fancy folder or auto. I think you'd quickly realize most of them are not that useful. Blade shapes had specific uses, and they still work for those, and many are 1000 years old.
 
It sure would fit the bill!
But farmers trying to feed their families; might want something more practical...
 
Wooden transport kegs loaded with sheathless Moras stacked vertically. Sitting in fur trade supply depots, awaiting the huge transport canoes to take the cheap trade goods a thousand miles to the interior.
 
Back then, knives were either completely utilitarian to the point of boredom, or they were obscenely decorated for a nobleman to carry. No "middle class" with discretionary cash to waste.

So
AdamFuzzyballs said:
If you were to go back in time, what modern folders do you think would be particularly sought after in terms of ease of use or dependability? In other words which knives do you think would have replaced the stockman, the sodbuster, etc.

I love traditionals, but I can’t help but to think that a wealthy gambler would have loved an OTF for its discreetness, or a farmer might have loved a heavy titanium frame lock for its sturdiness..
Click to expand...

200 years ago, knives were either utilitarian to the point of boredom, or obscenely decorated for noblemen. There was no middle class with discretionary cash to waste, and given what hard lives people lived, I doubt there'd be any interest.
If you could though, a case of 440C knife blanks in sheepsfoot pattern might interest sailors, or maybe a batch of trout & bird blades for use by surgeons. Stainless would be the novelty and not the knife or blade itself.
 
Bob Denman said:
It sure would fit the bill!
But farmers trying to feed their families; might want something more practical...
Click to expand...
........ what....accurate, lightweight, reliable, sounds practical ?

As to knives, low maintenance and easy to sharpen with what is available. Context of use is also important, if I am floundering around a city maaaybe a folder but a fixed blade for anting else....what START with a knife broken in the middle.... :D
 
It's tough to "bark" a squirrel with a 55 gr bullet.
They were used to lobbing big chunks of lead...
Something in the 170 gr level would be more easily understood.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top