Traditional belt knives

[Rsmith_77]

So weird request tonight

Traditional working knives ... particularly fixed blades

Siberia has their yakut knives
Finland has their puukos
One might say the buck 119 or some sort of bowie for america ...

I am curious to learn about other cultures and other knives. And how they use them

Any good resources of different regional work knives of the fixed blade variety

 

[tongueriver]

delete

 

[Rsmith_77]

It is pretty cool looking
But I am looking for more working/companion style knives

 

[rishma]

There was a recent traditional edc fixed blade thread I drooled over. Will enjoy this one too! Sorry none to contribute.

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

I don't have any international fixed blades really, so I'll represent America I reckon This is a Olean Cutlery Co. Bowie type. Not a huge one but seems this pattern was fairly common in the late 19 to early 20th century. This one is probably real close to a century old. Ebony scales btw, I found it at a flea market for 2 dollars!

Had a couple issues I had to remedy first, broke handle pin,and slightly tipped. I reprofiled the tip and repinned with steel pin made from finishing nails.

Made a sheath to

Imperial is a well known maker of this pattern of fixed blade, and GEC does a pretty dang nice version as well although I don't have one of theirs.

 

[Rsmith_77]

Yeah I would have picked some sort of bowie as america's working knife
And that is a beautiful example

 

[black mamba]

South American "Gaucho" knives are iconic, most notably from the Pampas region of Argentina.

 

[abcdef]

Maybe some of the Schrade USA stuff?

 

[Rsmith_77]

Well I am more curious about other cultures and what they used

So interesting
I will do some research I just don't know what I don't know where this subject is concerned

 

[Duper]

Sorry I do not own one so no pictures but I think the Canadian made Grohmann series of belt knives could qualify for your list.

The D.H. Russell Canadian Belt Knife are recognized around the world for their exceptional beauty, balance and quality.

,,,Mike in Canada

 

[Pàdruig]

I find this to be an interesting topic. Knives and their shapes are often modeled after the features that are most desired based on the work to be performed - and a lot of the latter is based on cultural practices.

Case in point - the Leuku: Knife of the Laplanders or Sami people - this knife is designed to do a lot of heavy work but curiously, it does not traditionally have a guard. When butchering reindeer, they are often wearing heavy mitts and will use pull cuts (note the flared pommel) versus any potentially dangerous push cuts.

One of the best belt knives a person could carry, in my opinion, would have to be the puukko. Robust, compact, and unobtrusive - I carry one most days when I venture out of the house. These are used for just about everything that would be demanded of a quality belt knife.

I would be remiss in not mentioning a couple of all-American classics - the Kephart and the Nessmuk. The Kephart is one of my favorites of all time - it was meticulously designed despite its simple appearance (most makers have a hard time getting the nuances right). The theories and philosophies behind both of these designs are documented pretty well by the lads that they are named after.

 

[tongueriver]

I don't have one, but someone should show a Great White North ulu (not one of the tourist junkers). Indigenous people in the North have used these as everyday knives for centuries. They use other knives as well, but the ulu is iconic to the north country culture.

 

[Just Tom.]

With a blade around 16 inches or so, the Jile and its variants push the boundaries of what might be properly called a “knife”, but are the typical EDC of pastoral types in the Horn of Africa. I’m not sure what practical uses they have. This one is a cheap souvenir-quality version, made from the bottom of an oil drum, I believe.

A Google search will show you how they are worn.

 

[Ben Dover]

For a traditional working knife, it's hard to find anything more classic than the traditional Green River knife. The choice of the mountain men.

 

[Rsmith_77]

I am interested in learning about working fixed blade/belt/companion knives of other cultures from around the world

I recently came across the yakut knife is siberia and that thing is really interesting and cool

So I am interested in learning about other knives from other cultures

 

[Rsmith_77]

Man I knew about the guacho knives
But I had forgotten about them

Great example black mamba!
Now I wonder how they used them and for what exactly

 

[kamagong]

The Nepalese still very much use their indigenous knife, the khukuri.

Obviously a chopping tool, they use the accompanying small knife, the karda, for tasks that require fine control. The karda is kept in the scabbard along with the chakma, or honing steel.