Knife
Bowie knife style: steel blade - 8 3/4" long x 1 3/8" wide. Blade has curved tip with 1 3/4" concave cut on upper edge of tip. Blade steel extends into the full lenth of handle. Handle - 3 7/8" long x 1 1/16" wide. Copper bezel 1/2" wide encircles inlaid abalone on both sides. The abalone inlay on each side is set in two sections held togehter with a dove tail, woodworkers joint. Each section of abalone is drilled and secured with copper nails. (Both 97.346 A and B are in photos above.)
- Object: Knife
- Artist: unknown
- Circa: 1880's
- Dimensions: 12 7/8 x 1 3/8
- Culture Area: Plains
- Cultural Group: unspecified
- Cultural Context: For shear utility, the knife was the most serviceable weapon employed by the Plains warriors. The earliest knives were made of stone or bone. Metal knives were vastly superior and the steel blades were welcomed when brought onto the plains by traders. Traders brought two types of blades: a single-edged butcher knife and a double-edged dagger. After 1825 Indians were able to make a few metal knives themselves, fashioning the blades from files or saws. Knives were sharpened with whet stones. This type of knife was often carried by the women and used for hunting or skinning the kill.
- Donor: Connie Johnson
- Catalog #: 97.346