Did mountain men in the fur trade carry more than one knife?
I could see using one knife as a patch knife and another for gutting and skinning. My possibles/shooting bag has a knife sheath built in. It is for a good sized hunting/skinning knife. I've attached a patch knife to the shoulder strap of the possibles bag. Would that be historically correct?
Thanks,
Ron
Ron
I would say 2 knives would be about right 1 for shinning and patch knife and 1 for a fighting knife. Remember those men did not carry much of any thing that was not an absolute necessity
Since I don't have to worry about carrying stuff for days out in the woods, I carry at least 5 knives with me. Patch knife around my neck, real live hunting/skinning knife on my belt at hip, Large throwing knife on strap behind my shoulder, medium throwing knife on belt at the small of my back, and last but not least, small throwing knife in my right moccasin. Overkill? Maybe, but it is fun.
interesting question , first off , the throwing knives are a modern thing , I`ve never seen or even read any historical piece mentioning one . the neck knife we see so often today seems to have been an american indian thing , and generally an eastern thing , probably seen mostly pre 1820 . the bowie style knives were probably rather rare in the early days . butcher and skinning knives were likely the every day carry piece for the mountain man of the fur trade , pretty much the same as the knives that are still made too this day . light weight , and easily transported , they were a common trade item of the day , and I believe that it`s likely that when a trapper headed out he very likely took several with him , carry one , and keep the rest wrapped up and in the haversack . we know that the buffalo hunters carried several knives , even after the cartridge rifles came into common use , as for "patch knives " seems they would`nt be a specialized piece , but rather a small utility knife used for several purposes ! judging by the historical record , much of what we use today would not have been used by the long hunters or mountain man . just my opinion , I could be wrong , but then again ? [hmm]
Just in my daily comings and goings you'll find me toting at least two knives. In the bush it's only one. Throwing a knife is a fine skill to acquire and a fun activity. But let's get this straight; throwing one's weapon away, a knife in this case, is foolish. Once a knife leaves the hand, it belongs to the enemy.
I've trained with many, many weapons over the decades and realized that a weapon is useful ONLY when it is physically possessed. And these so called "knife throwing experts" in shows/fairs/circuses and so forth are just untrained dolts. Every single one I've seen giving his demonstration was unable to hit the girl with a thrown knife, even with 10 or more throws! 'shok'
Quote from: old salt on December 03, 2017
Ron
I would say 2 knives would be about right 1 for shinning and patch knife and 1 for a fighting knife. Remember those men did not carry much of any thing that was not an absolute necessity
When I said 2 knives I was thinking about the daily workings of the mountain man setting and running their trap lines. that would be the time that they only carried one or two knives. They would have carry 6-8 traps or the beaver carcasses, while wading in knee to waist deep water while trying to keep his powder dry
I do not know how many of you, if any have tried to carry 6-8 # 4 traps, they are load.
On the other hand if he is traveling with pack horse or in a brigade the # could be as many as the could afford when he left St louis or the last roundy
Quote from: old salt on December 04, 2017
Quote from: old salt on December 03, 2017
Ron
I would say 2 knives would be about right 1 for shinning and patch knife and 1 for a fighting knife. Remember those men did not carry much of any thing that was not an absolute necessity
When I said 2 knives I was thinking about the daily workings of the mountain man setting and running their trap lines. that would be the time that they only carried one or two knives. They would have carry 6-8 traps or the beaver carcasses, while wading in knee to waist deep water while trying to keep his powder dry
I do not know how many of you, if any have tried to carry 6-8 # 4 traps, they are load.
On the other hand if he is traveling with pack horse or in a brigade the # could be as many as the could afford when he left St louis or the last roundy
Sounds about right to me [hmm] Unless perhaps a Boot type knife when in Badger Country just in case.... pnic pnic
One of the first things you are taught in any weapons training is never, ever, ever give up your weapon. Anyone who would throw a perfectly good knife away in a fight is not going to win that fight. That said, throwing knives (& tomahawks) is a ton of fun. Our shooting group has a great para course and when the smoking toys are put away, the blades come out and we have a blast. This explains why I carry so many. Plus it staves off a lot of arguments from annoying people. Back in the days before I was accepted in the Black Powder Dark Arts Guild and ignorantly hunted (and camped, and trekked, and explored) with cartridge weapons, I still carried three knives. One heavier sharp blade on the belt that was more of an all purpose tool, one really sweet Gerber convertible skinning knife in my emergency pouch, (along with mag stick, matches, whistle, compass, signal mirror) and one small but very sharp pocket knife to spear the smoked oysters in those cool little cans. I have always practiced redundancy since I also have a habit of losing things on a regular basis.
Every piece of documentation I can find (very slim pickings) seems to bear out the number of knives carried by a practicing mountain man would only be one or two for himself and several for the trade blanket. Bridger, and Hugh Glass said they only carried one and that was a general purpose butcher knife "like the ones used in the cook area of a home" (Glass, 1830) which was used for "skinning, etin' and any cutten' needed" (Glass, 1830)
I thought that Glass carried a Leatherman Wave and a Ginsu kitchen knife. ;D strpot
These comments are very helpful! I think that I will stick to having one, small knife on the shoulder strap of my possibles bag and a larger, general use knife in the sheath on the bag itself.
Ron
[hmm] RonRC So was it an Early or late period Ginsu??? they are a little harder to place in the time frame than the Leatherman..... because the Red handle and black handle exact manufacturing dates are unknown ROFL ROFL ROFL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginsu
Most descriptions say a scalper or butcher on the belt, and probably a folder carried in the possibles