Misecorde, Stiletto, ?

M ELEY · 19th August 2022, 07:20 AM

Hello. It looks like you have a very distressed naval midshipman's dirk. Based on the smaller size, it would be classified as more of a dress piece versus the typically larger/plainer 'fighting' dirks. These were a symbol of one's rank among the more common seamen on the ship. It showed that you were a young officer (some as young as 10!) and could climb the ranks in the naval hierachy. Yours appears to be of the period ca 1800-20's. Still a nice historical piece...

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19th August 2022, 07:20 AM	#3
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,159	Hello. It looks like you have a very distressed naval midshipman's dirk. Based on the smaller size, it would be classified as more of a dress piece versus the typically larger/plainer 'fighting' dirks. These were a symbol of one's rank among the more common seamen on the ship. It showed that you were a young officer (some as young as 10!) and could climb the ranks in the naval hierachy. Yours appears to be of the period ca 1800-20's. Still a nice historical piece...