Knives.

Nepalese patch knife from Queen Victoria's reign. Horn handle. This is the bad one. The Redhead snatched the good one.


Nepalese patch knife and a PAL RH-36.

We use a lot of knives cutting up deer. I've got several plus a couple of dads old big pocket knives. When you are butchering three or four does you can run through every fresh edge you have, so you better have several. In an Atlanta Cutlery catalog I saw 160 year old Nepalese patch knives, issued with every musket to cut patch. They were on sale so I bought a couple, thinking we might use them. No point in not using vintage knives for the enjoyment of history if we are going to be tooled up. From there I discovered trench knives on Ebay, and then WWII issued fighting knives. I knew about the M3 Trench knives issued with M1 Carbines but I knew nothing about the million fighting blades issued to troops during WWII. Old used ones are cheap if they have been sharpened, have pitted blades, et. I sat down and won four or five without ever breaking 20 bucks a blade, shipped. They are showing up like Christmas presents just in time to get edged and carried in the field. The Nepalese patch knives showed up today- never issued or sharpened, gummy with cosmoline, horn handled. Also a Westcut and a PAL RH 36. Beautiful old things. I hope we can get the rust off and the edges sharp enough to enjoy them up at Clarksville. I'm enjoying them already as objects d'art. If nothing else they make the most awesome paper weights and envelope openers ever.