ainu knife?

[pbleed]

Forgive my slow response. Getting places that require a pass word are always a challenge to me.
I certainly agree that this knife is very nice and quite attractive. IMHO, however, it is NOT "Ainu." It may be inspired by Ainu pieces. And it sort of looks like Ainu material culture, but I am as sure as I can be that it is a LATE EDO piece - maybe a flower arranger's knife - made by a Japanese Netsuke carver for use by a Japanese. Late Edo period Japanese loved exotic ornaments - witness the Namban craze etc etc. Blades like this are hardly common, but I have seen a couple and they "feel" Japanese not Ainu. They are much more refined than real Ainu blades. Furthermore, they lack basic elements of Ainu craftsmenship - eg. 'bracket designs" and fish scale. The also often involved ivory (this one looks like antler, I agree) whihc would NOT be right for Ainu.
Peter