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One Armed Man Knives

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 8:41 am
by Paul Z
Being new to knives, I've seen a few that were caled "one armed man" knives. Can someone explain why this knife has the name ?

Paul Z

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:17 pm
by Bryan
Hi Paul,

As I understand it... The name was given to the knife because the design of the blade has a tip that sticks out. This allows for the knife to be opened with one hand (arm) by snagging the point on a pant leg or other object.

Bryan

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 4:51 pm
by El Lobo
Just to add a little to Bryan's response.....

I believe they were originally popular after the Civil War (but, may have been around earlier??) because of the unfortunate loss of an arm by many soldiers.
There is also a fixed blade knife with an upswept blade, and tines (short, like a salad fork) on the end that was known as a "one-armed man's knife," that allowed someone to cut their food and then pick it up using just one hand/arm.

Bill