All About Pocket Knives

I am looking for a little history on the doctors knife. Some rough time frame when they came into being, used in what areas of the country, etc, etc. I would like to include it when I give these knives to my doctor and my wife's doctor. We have both had some serious health issues in the last couple of years and our respective doctors have gone above and beyond for us.

Randy

Thoughtful gesture.

Let's call the pattern the 'physician's knife' as that is what Bernard Levine calls it in his excellent reference book. The antique versions sometimes have 'physicians knife' etched onto the blade. At one time it seems, there was a strict deliniation between surgeons who cut/operated on patients and physicians who treated illness with medicines.

And that is what the pattern is question was useful for, preparing medications. A doctor could use the cap end bolster to crush the meds. The long spear blade was for getting powders out of a bottle and the secondary blade if it had one was used as a spatula for measuring out the meds.