Engineering:Scalping knife
The scalping knife, also known as a, scalper blade knife was a knife used by North American Indians in scalping.[1]
Background
Scalping knives were one of the most popular knives within the Indian trade and for general use during the 18th century and 19th century in North America.[2] Scalping knives may include knives with an arced or curved single edge blade.[2] During this time, John Wilson, of Sheffield, England, was a major exporter of this type of knife to North America.[3] The Sheffield scalper of those times was called the Frenchmen knife and would be recognized today as a small French chef's knife.[2]
Description
A scalping knife was of medium size with a five to seven inch blade that is slightly curved and has some belly with a wood handle.[4] In addition, the knife could be used for a variety of other tasks.[4]
- “These scalpers are of the simplest pattern possible-a generally straight or very slightly curved blade 6 or 7 inches long, fairly straight and unsharpened on the top, ending in a point from which the sharpened bottom edge begins and runs along the bottom back to the grip, making a curved edge suitable for skinning and slicing. The grip is a single piece of wood split with a saw for two-thirds of its length. The short tang of the knife blade was shoved into this split and fastened by two or three rivets inserted into holes drilled from side to side. With a minimum of machine polishing, the knife was completed and ready for sale.”[5]
References
- ↑ Free Dictionary - Scalping Knife
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Some Thoughts on Butchers & Other Knives, by Gene Hickman
- ↑ O. Ned Eddins. "Traders and Trappers of Beaver Pelts". thefurtrapper.com. http://www.thefurtrapper.com/fur_trappers.htm.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Scavengeology
- ↑ Quarterly Journal of the Museum of the Fur Trade, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Spring 1987), Hanson illustrates and describes the knife from notes and letters of Alexander Mackenzie & Co., a partner of the North West Company.
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