Have this old knife that my dad bought at a gun show in Texas or Oklahoma in the 50's. He always thought it was Confederate.

The blade is brass I think. Flat on one side. Like a stiletto on the other. High point running down the center of the blade and slopes to each side.

Looks homemade to me. The metal at the back of the hilt is steel I think. Has a bit of rust on it.

My dad thought it might be a powder knife. Because brass and flat on one side.

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David Reynolds

Don't know if it's a civil war relic or not. Looks like a hand-made pig sticker to me.

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SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

Why do you think the blade is brass? Have you tried a magnet?

Looks like brass. Just tried a magnet. Does not stick. A magnet does stick to the metal at the back of the hilt.

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David Reynolds

Looks like what I've seen called an "Arkansas Toothpick." It might have some connection to the war, but I doubt it was anything official. Private purchase, maybe a local unit or some such thing.

Brass might have been used for working with powder, or it might have just been what was available.

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John 3:16 .

Wikipedia says Arkansas Toothpick is a heavy dagger with a 12-20" blade.
Blade on this one is 7" and flat on one side. Would not describe it as heavy.

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David Reynolds

Maybe some scale will help with evaluation. 7" blade, 11 1/2" overall.

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David Reynolds

If it's got a short blade then I'd describe it as a mini-Arkansas Toothpick.

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Come and take it!!

That is in fact an Arkansas Toothpick . I have many Civil War gun and knife books from old collection. Many 1850-70 knives were homemade. No set length or width, just whatever steel that was available.

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V/r,
Markham

Thank you Markham. Made of brass I think, maybe because steel was not available? Would you put mine in the 1850-1870 era?
Do you think it is Confederate?
Would value your opinion.

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David Reynolds

It might be bronze. Bronze was the preferred metal for fabricating all kinds of edged weapons for thousands of years. Much tougher than copper and other copper alloys such as brass. And steel hadn't yet been invented.

The use of brass or bronze for a knife blade is puzzling. Could it be a Naval dirk?

I do firearms and edged weapons research at the local museum. Probably impossible to determine if the knife has Confederate provenance. Blade material is puzzling, maybe just what was available to the maker at the time. Non sparking bronze may be a clue, but it looks like a one off, handmade knife. Iron and steel was used for naval weapons. Someone with a ship may have asked for this. In short, all is speculation.

To summarize opinion;

Brass or bronze blade

Homemade

Arkansas Toothpick

Cannot say Confederate

What about age? Is it Civil War era?

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David Reynolds

The Jenks carbine of 1844 was built by Remington out of cast steel.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Of course it would have started out with Confederate soldier. We went to war with what ever we had, especially in the WEST( that would be everyplace west of Atlanta) Bowie knives , Arkansas Toothpicks and so forth mostly homemade by blacksmith. In the East both North and South had issued uniforms , weapons and horses. That knife could have been made from 1830 to 1890. I cannot verify Civil War Provenance.

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V/r,
Markham

What is that handle? Hollow, Cane or Bamboo?

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

I'm guessing the blade is bronze. I agree with the others that there is no way to tell if it's confederate or even from the civil war period for sure.

Can't answer your questions about the handle. Cannot tell if it is hollow or not. Don't think it is bamboo or cane. Wood for sure. Seems to be stained.

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David Reynolds

That pommel on the butt looks like it might have been a rowel from an old spur.

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SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

In the one photo it looked like a hole in the side.

Without markings or provenance it is probably all speculation.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

There is a hole in the side. So I guess that means it is hollow. Did not think about it like that.

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David Reynolds

In the so-called Bronze Age of antiquity, there was no steel, other than what came from meteors. There was some very limited steel made several thousand years ago, but it was extremely expensive and not much like today's steel. It wasn't until the late 18th Century that technology had advanced enough so steel could be produced in industrially useful quantities. And that was the dawn of the industrial revolution.

True. However, we are discussing a knife that may have been built in the mid 19th Century. Starting sometime after Jim Bowie's sandbar fight, Great Britain started importing Sheffield made Bowie knives and daggers in large quantities.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!