Huntsmans Dagger

S.Workman · 19th April 2015, 12:40 AM

I got a chance today to go to a very small, very weird museum about 2 hrs from my house. Its called the Fairbanks, and its an old "Cabinet of Curiosities" type of place. The history of the family that started it is a story in itself, but I will concern myself with this dagger I saw.
Photography was a serious challenge, since the place is filled with a massive dispersed collection of taxidermy specimens, so the light is very dim and of course flash is wisely forbidden. I had to move my phone camera all over the place to get these images, and could not get a single glare free photo of the whole thing.
The whole ensemble was perhaps 15 inches long. The scabbard is very worn and the grip has taken a beating at some point, I have a feeling that the antler was originally "pistol grip". The scabbard mouth, chape, and decoration seem to be either very tarnished silver or perhaps pewter, and the design is cleverly braided. The file work on the blade is quite crisp, a very nice touch. There is a fuller, but it does not extend all the way to the end of the blade, which because of the arrangement of the display can't be seen in its entirety - a shame, really.
I don't know a great deal about this kind of knife. I have seen versions of the same thing, some fairly recent but this looks like a very fine example. Can anyone tell me about this knife, or ones like it?
In any event, I hope you all enjoy this dagger.

S.Workman · 19th April 2015, 12:42 AM

Heres the last of the images...

russel · 19th April 2015, 05:02 AM

Scottish Dirk Trousse

M ELEY · 19th April 2015, 07:39 AM

Beautiful piece! As Russel states, Scottish and from a trousse. I particularly like the pewter scabbard throat and decoration. The hilt is European stag. I'd date it to mid-19th based on the notched/ridged blade. This design started appearing on bowie knife blades from the mid-19th...

S.Workman · 19th April 2015, 12:17 PM

Thank you for that information, I guess the only thing we know date wise is that the fellow who started the collection died about 1870. Some of his treasures have no paperwork of any kind, its a very wild place.

19th April 2015, 12:40 AM	#1
S.Workman Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 116	Huntsmans Dagger I got a chance today to go to a very small, very weird museum about 2 hrs from my house. Its called the Fairbanks, and its an old "Cabinet of Curiosities" type of place. The history of the family that started it is a story in itself, but I will concern myself with this dagger I saw. Photography was a serious challenge, since the place is filled with a massive dispersed collection of taxidermy specimens, so the light is very dim and of course flash is wisely forbidden. I had to move my phone camera all over the place to get these images, and could not get a single glare free photo of the whole thing. The whole ensemble was perhaps 15 inches long. The scabbard is very worn and the grip has taken a beating at some point, I have a feeling that the antler was originally "pistol grip". The scabbard mouth, chape, and decoration seem to be either very tarnished silver or perhaps pewter, and the design is cleverly braided. The file work on the blade is quite crisp, a very nice touch. There is a fuller, but it does not extend all the way to the end of the blade, which because of the arrangement of the display can't be seen in its entirety - a shame, really. I don't know a great deal about this kind of knife. I have seen versions of the same thing, some fairly recent but this looks like a very fine example. Can anyone tell me about this knife, or ones like it? In any event, I hope you all enjoy this dagger. Attached Images

19th April 2015, 12:42 AM	#2
S.Workman Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 116	Heres the last of the images... Attached Images

19th April 2015, 05:02 AM	#3
russel Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 236	Scottish Dirk Trousse

19th April 2015, 07:39 AM	#4
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,097	Beautiful piece! As Russel states, Scottish and from a trousse. I particularly like the pewter scabbard throat and decoration. The hilt is European stag. I'd date it to mid-19th based on the notched/ridged blade. This design started appearing on bowie knife blades from the mid-19th...

19th April 2015, 12:17 PM	#5
S.Workman Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 116	Thank you for that information, I guess the only thing we know date wise is that the fellow who started the collection died about 1870. Some of his treasures have no paperwork of any kind, its a very wild place.