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A knife! He's got a knife!!! Of course he has a knife. He's always has a knife. We all have knives. It's 1183 and we're barbarians. How clear we make it.
It's Christmas season and Eleanor wants everyone to remember to stay strapped in this time of cheer. Speaking of knives, there's a long standing trend of almost 50 years in describing a specific style of knife on the frontier; the patch knife. Ask any old timer and you'll get stories of these teeny tiny knives that stay on bags for the specific purpose of cutting rifle patches at the muzzle. Are these knives real? Did they develop as a means to a single purpose? Do you you dare use them to cut other stuff or will the most domineering female in your life jump out and berate you for cutting something other than cloth?
My powder horn and ball pouch always contained more or less ammunition ; but on examination, I found them empty. My knife also, which I commonly carried appended to the strap of my shot pouch, was gone. -John Tanner
Tanner published these words in the 1830's but they are reminiscences of his time as a captive decades before. As far as I know this is the earliest evidence of a pouch and knife combo. Other than this quote I am not aware of any that tie to the 18th century.
"The Government did not equip the Kentucky volunteer in the rifle regiment. He furnished his own gun and his own clothes, and was paid eight dollars a month!The equipment of a volunteer in Hickman's company consisted of a hunting-shirt made of linsey, with a slight fringe border, color either blue, such as obtained from indigo, a pale yellow made from hickory bark, or a dingy brown obtained from the black walnut. His pants were Kentucky jeans, and he walked in shoes or moccasins, as was his fancy. Around his waist was a leather belt, on one side was a leather pocket fastened by leaden tacks, instead of thread, and in this was placed the indispensable tomahawk. Across his shoulder was the strap that held up his powder horn, in which strap was another leather case containing his formidable butcher knife, and another to hold his bullets. A knapsack of home manufacture contained his clothing, and the outside of it was garnished with a glittering tin cup. His well-tried-rifle, faithful and to be trusted in the hour of peril was his weapon of war." Orlando Brown recorded by Clift
This quote begins the deluge of early 19th century references to knives affixed to shot bags sets. It equally firmly places the bag knife as formidable. Good news for us that 1812 bag sets exist, let's see what they look like.
Well, that certainly falls under the category of formidable.
Let's see another quote.
His dress, you observe, consists of a leather hunting-shirt, and a pair of trousers of the same material. His feet are well moccasined; he wears a belt round his waist; his heavy rifle is resting on his brawny shoulder; on one side hangs his ball pouch, surmounted by the horn of an ancient Buffalo, once the terror of the herd, but now containing a pound of the best gunpowder; his butcher knife is scabbarded in the same strap; and behind is a tomahawk, the handle of which has been thrust through his girdle.- John James Audubon
Again a butcher knife, and it should be noted that there is no other knife mentioned being wore on the waist belt in this or other quotes. We're gonna jump forward to 1854 with the sportsman's book Wild scenes and Hunters of the World Charles Webber's work refers to Audubon's journal and this image is produced from the written description.
One picture calls for another, time for a a visual interlude. This watercolor is of Stephen F Austin the father of Texas done in the early 1830's in Mexico City.
No other knife seen in the image, although it could be argued it is shown somewhat petite if we can believe the rest of the artist's proportionalities.
Alright let's keep going. Keeping with Texas here's a quote from empresario Robertson in early 1836.
If you get the pistols have a pair of holsters made for them with pockets in the holsters and two small black handle knives butcher knives (viz) in the shape of the Wilson knives for a shot pouch also 1 bag of buck shot and one of small bird shot 3 canisters of Duponts best powder to use in percussion guns & pistols- Sterling Robertson, February 7, 1836
Robertson's is tricky since it comes with no punctuation, but it would not be a horrible butchery of English to propose the knives are for shot pouches. For reference a small Wilson style butcher is likely 5" on the blade length.
Runaway ads yield valuable material culture insights and bag knives are no exception. This Texas ad from 1840 reveals a bag hung knife. The pecan handle certainly denotes a rustic manufacture.
MARK KISOR, who committed an atrocious murder upon the body of James S.Russell, of this county, on the 5th instant, at the house of Allen Bost's, in Cabarrus county. Said Kisor is about 30 years of age, five feet 10 inches high, dark hair, square shouldered, dark skin, large mouth, has some appearance of the scald head, has large whiskers, speaks quick, is a blacksmith by trade, and his very looks indicate the rascal. He was badly dressed in homespun, but it is presumed he will change his clothes--he wore a new pair of brogues with stays around the heels. He is so much in the habit of carrying his rifle that it is supposed he will take it with him, it has a plain stock and double triggers--he has a common case knife ground in the shape of a butcher knife attached to his pouch by a leather string through the handle. -The Charlotte journal. [volume], August 11, 1842
This knife and murder Ad are pretty unique in that the case knife is carried folded but still affixed to the pouch strap.
MAN KIlLED IN MONROE.- A man named Wheeler was killed near Rollins-burg, in Monroe county, last week, by another named Buckland.The parties got into a fight and were separated, and while a third man was standing between them to prevent their again coming to-gether, Buckland drew a butcher knife from a shot pouch, which he had on, and stabbed Wheeler to the heart. Buckland was arrested and is now in jail in Union. -Kanawha Valley star. [volume], July 13, 1858
Just another southern account of butcher knives and shot pouches being like peas and carrots.
He always prided himself on his hunting dress, and always looked neat in his per-son; his usual dress was a thick blanket hunting frock, of a dark brown color,bound round the neck, skirt, and sleeves, with strips of beaver skin. his stout homespun breeches was met at the knees by at heavy buckskin leggins, his feet encased in strong Indian moccasins, and on his head he wore a sort of skull-cap of gray to fox-skin, with the tail sewed on the left side, and hanging down on his shoulder. His breast was crossed by two fancy beaded belts of buckskin. one supporting an oxhorn so white and transparent that the dark powder could be seen through it, the other supported a fancy leather scabbard, into which was thrust a heavy hunting knife. His waist was encircled by a stout leatber belt, which he carried hisbullets axed caps, and through which was thrust his small but sharp tomahawk. - The Mountain sentinel. [volume], March 13, 1851
This is a unique case with the shoulder strap clearly only supporting the knife and the shot pouch suspended off his waist belt.
The man thar'--indicated as a striker-was a short, lean, muscolar man, dressed in the white blanket coat, with black stripes round the skirts and over the sholders, so common to the south. He bore in the bend of his arm a long rifle, and at side a greasy leather pouch for bullets, from which also depended a long hunting-knife in its sheath. -The Evansville journal., October 29, 1846
Many newspapers ran this story but for sake of the narrative we'll place this as a decent time stamp of publishing. Again, note the length of the knife.
Now this one is a fun one, for the most part I've not found anything west of Texas and have only established this as a southern phenomenon. But our Delaware friend firmly establishes at least one instance of a bag knife in the Rockies and beyond. Double fun, he's even loaded with two blades!
This hunter of the deer was full six feet three inches. His sharp brawny viz, which bad acquired the appellation of "hatchet face," was surmounted by matted randy locks, resembling somewhat when parted in front, and hanging pendant on either side, the whiskers of worthies in this city. He was closely wrapped in his buckskin hunting shirt which gave evidence of his success, as well as its antiquity. At his side there hung a leathern pouch, in the broad black strap of which that passed over his shoulder, was sheathed a huge butcher knife, which he had quickly drawn and plunged in the throat of the dying deer. -Eaton Democrat. [volume], August 30, 1855
Time for some fiction, this piece of prose written for the enjoyment of a readership sought to emphasize the size of the butcher. Whether the author had a personal connection with bag knives or he garnered this piece of material culture from reading I cannot say but we're throwing it in here anyways.
Under one arm hung a large powder horn, which had been selected for the beauty of its curve and texture, carefully scraped and polished, and covered with quaint devices, traced with the point of the hunter's knife; under the other was suspended a square pouch of leather, containing flints, patches, balls, steel, tinder, and other "little fixens," as a backwoodsman would call them, constituting a complete magazine of supplies for a protracted hunt. On the belt supporting the pouch, in a sheath contrived for the purpose, was the hunter's knife, a weapon with a plain wooden handle, marvellously resembling the vulgar instrument with which the butcher executes his sanguinary calling
He was a young man, apparently not more than twenty-one years of age. His athletic form was clothed in the common dress of the western hunter. A loose hunting shirt of blue cotton, trimmed with yellow fringe, and confined about his waist with a broad leathern belt, set off his person to the best advantage. From one shoulder was suspended a powder-—horn, from the other a huge leathern pouch, in the belt of which rested a long knife. There was nothing remarkable in his appearance except that his form towered above the ordinary height, and that a rifle which he held carelessly in his hand, was double the size of an ordinary weapon, and seemed fit only for the grasp of a giant. His cheek had the flush of youth, his eye was mild, and his countenance open and ingenuous, yet the rifle and the hunting—knife gave him so much the appearance of an assassin, in the inexperienced eyes of the Englishman, that the latter was not a little startled at being addressed by such an apparition... -James Hall Legends of the West 1854
Again a fiction work but James Hall was no stranger to the wilderness and the kit of a hunter which he had donned earlier in his youth and wrote about.
Okay, so we've established the knives existed. But what about loading? Is there even a formula or mention of cutting patches anywhere in the historical record? Did they use little knives? Never fear, we're going back to Audubon again.
Now mark him! the bold Kentuckian is on his feet; his sons and the stranger prepare for the march. Horns and rifles are in requisition. The good man opens the wooden-hinged door, and sends forth a blast loud enough to scare a Wolf. The Raccoons scamper away from the corn-fields, break through the fences, and hie to the woods. The hunter has taken an axe from the wood-pile, and returning, assures us that the night is fine, and that we shall have rare sport. He blows through his rifle to ascertain that it is clear, examines his flint, and thrusts a feather into the touch-hole. To a leathern bag swung at his side is attached a powder-horn; his sheath-knife is there also; below hangs a narrow strip of homespun linen. He takes from his bag a bullet, pulls with his teeth the wooden stopper from his powder-horn, lays the ball on one hand, and with the other pours the powder upon it until it is just overtopped. Raising the horn to his mouth, he again closes it with the stopper, and restores it to its place. He introduces the powder into the tube; springs the box of his gun, greases the "patch" over with some melted tallow, or damps it; then places it on the honey-combed muzzle of his piece. The bullet is placed on the patch over the bore, and pressed with the handle of the knife, which now trims the edge of the linen. The elastic hickory rod, held with both hands, smoothly pushes the ball to its bed; once, twice, thrice has it rebounded. The rifle leaps as it were into the hunter's arms, the feather is drawn from the touch-hole, the powder fills the pan, which is closed. "Now I'm ready," cries the woodsman. His companions say the same. Hardly more than a minute has elapsed. I wish, reader, you had seen this fine fellow—but hark! the dogs are barking -John James Audubon
He then wiped out his rifle, rubbed the pan with his hat, drew a piece of tow through the touch-hole with his wiper, filled his charger with great care, poured the powder into the rifle with equal caution, shoved in with his finger the two or three vagrant grains that lodged round the mouth of his piece, took out a handful of bullets, looked them all over carefully, selected one without flaw or wrinkle, drew out his patching, found the most even part of it, sprung open the grease-box in the breech of his rifle, took up just so much grease, distributed it with great equality over the chosen part of his patching, laid it over the muzzle of his rifle, grease side down, placed his ball upon it, pressed it a little, then took it up and turned the neck a little more perpendicularly downward, placed his knife-handle on it, just buried it in the mouth of the rifle, cut off the redundant patching just above the bullet, looked at it, and shook his head, in token that he had cut off too much or too little, no one knew which, sent down the ball, measured the contents of his gun with his first and second fingers on the protruding part of the ramrod, shook his head again, to signify there was too much or too little powder, primed carefully, placed an arched piece of tin over the hind sight to shade it, took his place, got a friend to hold his hat over the foresight to shade it, took a very long sight, fired, and didn't even eat the paper. My piece was badly loadned, said Simon, when he learned the place of his ball. -Southern telegraph., January 08, 1836
No Simon, it was probably you. But anyways, both these quotes are handy descriptions of ye olden loading. Knives are present, and they are just butchers.
With these quotes handy I hope this clears up the 20th century terminology and supposed usage of mini knives to act the part of fabric scissors. Can you carry a bag knife? Yes. Should you cut patches with it? Sure! Should it be called a patch knife? Only if you want the closest butcher to be christened a scalper!!!