Show off your Chinese fighting knives :)

David R · 28th March 2012, 12:04 AM

Sticking my two pennyworth in, I think the heavy pommel is a dead giveaway that it is a fighting knife. It is a style seen on Chinese Jian maces, re the example below. I have pics of others in like style, and I am told it can even appear on swords.

KuKulzA28 · 28th March 2012, 03:29 AM

I've never seen it on swords, but I do agree that it's a fighting oriented weapon and pommels like that aren't typically on utility knives... ever.

I wonder, where did that pommel style originate?
I do see it on maces, Chinese sai, iron rods, and of course these knives.

I've been thinking about utility for this knife, and sure it's got a sharp edge, it can be used for utility. But I think looking for a utility is futile. It was probably a man's everyday carry and meant for defense and murder, but could easily be used for mundane tasks if need be. But the purpose and design of the knife seems be like (like I keep saying) for stabbing. It's got as much utility as a dagger, minus the second edge.

Timo Nieminen · 28th March 2012, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KuKulzA28

I wonder, where did that pommel style originate?
I do see it on maces, Chinese sai, iron rods, and of course these knives.

I've seen it on photos of that are claimed to be Ming dynasty truncheons, jian-maces, and chicken-foot-tipped truncheons. I don't know how reliably these are dated as Ming - the books these appear in have Chinese text which I can't significantly read

Definitely used in the Qing dynasty, for similar weapons, and knives like here, and also sometimes on swords. It appears in Qing art, as well as many surviving examples. Alex Huangfu's "Iron and Steel Swords of China" has one Qing example (with guard in the same style), and the attached example is supposedly Qing.

I haven't seen any non-Chinese examples until the American-made Chinese knives in this thread.

harimauhk · 28th March 2012, 03:32 AM

Fascinating! I was born in Hong Kong and until Kuk showed me his knife, I'd never seen one of these. I'm going to see if I can find an antique one locally.

KuKulzA28 · 28th March 2012, 03:04 PM

Oooh, good info Timo

Quote:

Originally Posted by harimauhk

Fascinating! I was born in Hong Kong and until Kuk showed me his knife, I'd never seen one of these. I'm going to see if I can find an antique one locally.

Hehe, good luck! There's a smith in Taiwan who's made a very similar type of knife, but I forget his name...

VANDOO · 7th April 2012, 05:32 AM

HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF CHINESE KNIVES FIGHTING AND FANCY DRESS KNIVES. THE ONE WITH A LAPIS HANDLE LOOKS A BIT TOO NICE FOR A TOURIST PIECE 12.5 INCHES LONG. THE ONE WITH BRONZE DRAGON FITTINGS IS ONLY 9IN LONG AND MAY BE A REPLICA OF A 18TH CENTURY KNIFE? ALL I HAVE IS THE PICTURES SO CAN ONLY GUESS.

VANDOO · 7th April 2012, 05:40 AM

ONE MORE PICTURE OF THE CHINESE DOUBBLE FIGHTING KNIVES
PICTURES OF A CHINESE KNIFE OR LETTER OPENER USING A WHITE JADE BELT HOOK AND A BAT DESIGN, GOOD WORKMANSHIP BUT MAY BE A LETTER OPENER??
PICTURES OF A SOUTHWEST CHINA MINORITY TRIBE KNIFE 19TH. CENTURY.

28th March 2012, 12:04 AM	#1
David R Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,123	Sticking my two pennyworth in, I think the heavy pommel is a dead giveaway that it is a fighting knife. It is a style seen on Chinese Jian maces, re the example below. I have pics of others in like style, and I am told it can even appear on swords. Attached Images

7th April 2012, 05:32 AM	#6
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF CHINESE KNIVES FIGHTING AND FANCY DRESS KNIVES. THE ONE WITH A LAPIS HANDLE LOOKS A BIT TOO NICE FOR A TOURIST PIECE 12.5 INCHES LONG. THE ONE WITH BRONZE DRAGON FITTINGS IS ONLY 9IN LONG AND MAY BE A REPLICA OF A 18TH CENTURY KNIFE? ALL I HAVE IS THE PICTURES SO CAN ONLY GUESS. Attached Images

7th April 2012, 05:40 AM	#7
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	ONE MORE PICTURE OF THE CHINESE DOUBBLE FIGHTING KNIVES PICTURES OF A CHINESE KNIFE OR LETTER OPENER USING A WHITE JADE BELT HOOK AND A BAT DESIGN, GOOD WORKMANSHIP BUT MAY BE A LETTER OPENER?? PICTURES OF A SOUTHWEST CHINA MINORITY TRIBE KNIFE 19TH. CENTURY. Attached Images

28th March 2012, 03:29 AM	#2
KuKulzA28 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: between work and sleep Posts: 731	I've never seen it on swords, but I do agree that it's a fighting oriented weapon and pommels like that aren't typically on utility knives... ever. I wonder, where did that pommel style originate? I do see it on maces, Chinese sai, iron rods, and of course these knives. I've been thinking about utility for this knife, and sure it's got a sharp edge, it can be used for utility. But I think looking for a utility is futile. It was probably a man's everyday carry and meant for defense and murder, but could easily be used for mundane tasks if need be. But the purpose and design of the knife seems be like (like I keep saying) for stabbing. It's got as much utility as a dagger, minus the second edge.

28th March 2012, 03:32 AM	#4
harimauhk Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 88	Fascinating! I was born in Hong Kong and until Kuk showed me his knife, I'd never seen one of these. I'm going to see if I can find an antique one locally.