The Hunting Knife Is Deeply Rooted in the History of Edged Tools
3.2 million years. That’s how far back records of man—and knives —go.
That’s also how long man has attempted to perfect the cutting edge in order to secure an advantage in the age-old profession of hunting. It has only been in the last 100 years that man has perfected the materials which allow the finest knives in our long history to be put into the hands of hunters.
In this story, we will delve deeper into how the hunting knife has changed and how it has affected the way we hunt throughout the millennia.
A Deep History
Historians prefer written accounts over oral history and Nimrod was the first recorded hunter in the Bible. He was the great grandson of Noah and the book of Genesis states he was “a mighty hunter in the eyes of the Lord.” Knowing that we were not processing steel at that point in our history, it is fair to guess that he would have used an obsidian knife to process his game.
A couple of millennia later, Egyptian Pharaohs and other nobles took great excursions to hunt desert game along the Nile valley with Bronze Age weapons and knives. However, over time, they were phased out and the Romans had conquered most of Europe and the Middle Eastern countries, ushering in crude forms of steel used for blades—vastly improving the cutting ability of knives.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, European nobility seized all lands and all game animals therein, legislating the death sentence to prevent the common folk from hunting. During this period, the long-bladed hunting dagger, or short sword, was the knife of the noble hunter, used mainly to dispatch wounded game—while the butchering was delegated to the peasant gamekeeper. It was not until the Europeans discovered and colonized the Americas, with its rich abundance of game, that the common man could again hunt with impunity.
Bu hikaye Knives Illustrated dergisinin November 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Knives Illustrated dergisinin November 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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I have a confession to make. See if this sounds familiar. I take meticulous care of the knives I use for everyday carry, hunting, and general woods wandering. I wipe them down with an oily cloth after use and I never let them get too dull. Seldom do I have to restore a damaged edge. Most of the time I simply touch up the edges of my pocketknives with a few careful strokes across the rough bottom of a ceramic coffee cup. That’s usually all that’s needed. I don’t use my knives as screwdrivers or pry bars. As a matter of fact, I still have the very first knife I ever owned, an old Boy Scout knife that was handed down from my older brother. The blades have a deep patina that comes with using carbon steel over the years, but the knife is very usable still.