Mountain Man Knife

[Elkeater]

They certainly carried belt axes. The territory they were trekking allot of times didn't allow the pleasure of a pack horse. What you carried is what you had.

I believe trappers had their saddle and 1 or 2 pack horses.

 

[Barry Stewart]

I would recommend the book "Fur Trade Cutlery Sketchbook" by James A. Hanson. Check Amazon or it can be ordered from some of the bigger muzzleloader/rendezvous suppliers. It has sketches of actual knives from the period. As others have said any old carbon steel butcher knife can fit the bill with a little modification like replacing the large handle rivets with more period correct steel pins and reshaping the blade slightly. There are also some knife makers out there that make fairly affordable trade knives and scalpers. If you are trying to be a little more period correct stick with plain wood handle scales and stay away from the ever popular curly maple.
Hope this helps and watch your top knot!

 

[tenngun]

Firearms traps and tools of the Mountian men by Russell is also very good. We have learned some more since the book was written but it's full of solid info.
One thing you will find is the dearth of tomahawks. Small axes hatchet type heads more common. True fighting knifes were rare. Put one on and carry it for a day horse back or foot and you will know why. Small knifes were known, you can call it a patch knife or eating knife or what have you.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Well I've field dressed and later skinned a deer with my 10" fighting [butcher] knife, I've done it with a 6" belt knife..., and I've field dressed and skinned a deer with a 3" skinning knife....it was a whole lot easier, and quicker, for me to use the skinning knife.

So my fighting knife would be for just that...., and my hawk is for what a camp hatchet would be for (and for fighting if I was back then), and my small knife for a lot of small, utility jobs.

LD

 

[tenngun]

6 or 8 inchs will make an enemy just as dead as 12 or 16. I am put in mind of the WBTS photos from north and south who loaded them selfs down with bowies and tooth picks along with a few colts or boot pistols. Most ended up along the route of march. These boys went out to a face grim faced enemy that wanted to kill them. The men who went west were not looking for a fight. They did fight, other whites, indians and mexicans. When they were bored with that they might try finding sleeping bears and whiping them with wiping sticks until the bear got angry about it.
Fighting knifes are not of much use for most jobs. While butcher knifes can do most every job including cuting up an enemy. I dont think they would waste the weight budget on a knife you didn't want to use at all.

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

I find (older) old hickory type butcher knives at thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets etc....Most have very little hammer forging marks compared to the new ones....
Paid 50 cents for one a couple a weeks ago.

this is pretty much what they commonly carried style wise, you would save the tip and a little bit back for only processing game, the rest for other chores

Jeff White makes some reasonably affordable high quality knives, but make sure you get one of his 18th century replicas and not a modern bushcrafter

as for the "fighting knife" idea brought up: live out in the mountains for a decade on your own and then try and find one thing that is not a weapon in your hands :grin:

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

I scanned these two knives I own to help you better reference "awesome":

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these are in a trade knife style

the scanner and plastic wrap did help to properly display there majesty

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

stay away from the ever popular curly maple.

:shocked2:

...for your first one at least

 

[LRB]

All I see is click for photos. When I do, I have to click again on thumb nails. What I finally got what was a modern style Bowie knife.

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

All I see is click for photos. When I do, I have to click again on thumb nails. What I finally got what was a modern style Bowie knife.

yeah, I thought the forum uploaded the pictures from photobucket...turns out it is just a link to your photobucket. I didn't know this and I cleared out my photobucket of everything except the bowie I sold, which I am going to delete after it reaches its' destination. I think I am going to have to add the mods to my Christmas mailer at the rate this is going for me

it was of a hand forged butcher knife and a French trade knife...and they are awesome

 

[LRB]

It is pretty easy to post photos on here from Photo Bucket. Only requires a couple of steps.

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

I posted them easily enough, it was the keeping them posted part that I failed at

I deleted the photos that I didn't need anymore, not thinking that the forum still needed them...basically: I didn't plan on posting these picture to the forum a second time, so I deleted them

 

[Crewdawg445]

I use imgur, easy to use and I'm VERY technology stupid... I've figured out how to resize images as well! :grin:

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

thank you. I am technology savvy, everything else stupid. photobucket is easy to use, and you can edit easy enough with ms paint.

 

[LRB]

Seems like it used to be, that this particular forum did the re-sizing when the photo was posted.

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

I thought he was implying the 100x100 limit for avatar pictures resizing, or decreasing the file size for pictures of items posted on the auction? sorry if I was mistaken.

 

[crockett]

BJC:

Look at this:
http://www.sheffieldknives.co.uk/acatalog/2-116.html

When I started this I automatically thought mountain men carried knives as a WEAPON to use after firing a muzzle loading firearm. A few did and a double edge dagger style was probably the most common. BUT the great majority didn't carry a knife to be used as a weapon. They traveled in groups so one guy always had a loaded gun and most carried a pair of pistols. The knives were for skinning beaver and cutting up game animals for food.
The butcher I posted. I emailed Jack Adams back and forth because their trade mark doesn't appear on any originals and apparently the work was subcontracted and a "Brass Plate" or middleman who filled the order farmed out parts of a big order to various Sheffield makers who didn't use their own stamps but rather the stamp of the middle man (Hiram Cutler, etc.) In any event Jack Adams contends they were one of the original suppliers.
Notice the pins. It leaves one pin at the butt of the handle- like Miller painted. Notice that the edge is even with the bottom of the handle. On a modern butcher knife the edge protrudes below the handle. That Jack Adams is a very good copy of the types of knives mountain men carried.
And.... (I always forget something) you can use a regular credit card and they will convert the dollars to pounds, the shipping isn't much more than a US shipping fee.

 

[rich pierce]

I also find 6" and longer knives tough for gutting and skinning deer. It would be good to go look at the trade lists. I'd want to have something great for skinning beaver. If I had my choice, a butcher knife about 6" in length and a folding knife about half that length with a Barlow style blade, not too pointed, would work for me.

 

[Rod Lassey]

Here's a link illustrating the common Wilson butcher knife---these were shipped west literally by the 100s of dozens at a time:

http://www.scandinavianmountainmen.se/includes/misc/johnwilsonbutcher.pdf

Even more common would have been the scalper (the name refers to the style of blade). These were everywhere, usually intended for the Indian trade, but everybody used them. They started out as an English fish knife, interestingly enough.

http://ofsortsforprovincials.blogspot.com/2011/03/cuttoe-knife.html

As for an axe, the half-axe style was very common to the western fur trade. As the name implies, it was not a tomahawk, but an axe--but about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of a felling axe. I prefer this size, it has more weight than one of those "bag axes" that are popular, but try driving a 6 foot trap stake in a stream bed with one, and you'll see why the half-axe is better.

Rod

 

[Jim C]

I posted them easily enough, it was the keeping them posted part that I failed at

I deleted the photos that I didn't need anymore, not thinking that the forum still needed them...basically: I didn't plan on posting these picture to the forum a second time, so I deleted them

I learned that any time you post a photo on here from photobucket, if later on you delete that photo from photobucket, it will also delete it from the forum. I learned that from hands on experience as well after I asked the question on here about what happened to my photos that I had posted on here. I myself am not very computer literate though LOL.