All About Pocket Knives

Hi Everyone,
My father recently gave me this fixed blade knife. It has been a cherished item of his my entire life. He is now 85 years old and he is starting to give me things like this and I suspect it’s because he knows he doesn’t have long left to live. The point of my writing to you in this forum is he doesn’t know its origins and has always wondered about it. I’d like to help him with this before it’s too late… I think he would very much enjoy knowing where it came from. The background I have is a family friend brought it home from France and gave it to him, that’s about it. The handle is made of ivory I think, the sheath is wood, and there is small clip on the sheath indicating it may have been a boot knife.

Any help you may have would be greatly appreciated. I would like to give him some closure as a gift for giving me this treasure of his.

Thank you, F.

Welcome here, Frank. It's nice to have you here and inquire about your dads very neat knife.
I know nothing about it. It seems quite old but you know that.
I hope someone reading your question about the knife will offer some information for you and your dad.
Be patient; as the evening moves on more and more people will see this.

That is a very cool old knife, Frank. The guard and pommel remind me of German hunting sword or hunting knife construction. I think that the clip on the sheath indicates that it is intended to be worn on the inside of a belt, with the clip keeping it from slipping down through the belt. I do not have any real knowledge about the knife, those are just a couple of thoughts.

Welcome to the forum!

Would that triangle hook have possibly been used to secure the scabbard into a leather frog? zzyzzogeton might know, he's a walking encyclopedia on these types of knives. to AAPK.

John

Yes, the scabbard/sheath was designed to be used with a leather frog.

If there are no identifying marks on the ricasso or spine of the blade or somewhere on the guard/pommel, then it will be very difficult to identify the maker. To me, the overall appearance/construction says French or Belgian 1780s to 1800s, but I could be wrong. The flowery-like etches on the blade that I can see is what makes me lean toward those 2 countries.

I think it is a naval dirk. At first look, it doesn't look to be fancy enough to be a senior officer's dirk, but maybe a junior officer's or midshipman's or sailor's dirk. A senior officer's dirk would have a fancier sheath.

I would NOT throw it out of my collection.

Great! There's no stamp indicating who made it, unfortunately. But this info has been so helpful nevertheless, thank you all so much. I'll tell my dad all about it, I think he will be very interested. - Frank