Got one of those OCCUPANT/RESIDENT mails,has knife blanks in it made in US,Damascus 512 layers.Question is that good or just junk.Lots of other blade blanks in all different designes,looking to keep busy during Mud Season.Made blades in the past out of planner/saw blades.

Thank you

I meant, "thank you, Arkywind."
Fergot there was another post in between.
Oops

Crow,
I don't know about your specific catalog; I've gotten a couple-three from Atlanta Knife Works or something like that, with some really nice damascus-bladed knives made in India or Pakistan. Nothing wrong with their quality that I can see; very hard, impossible to drill for rivets, etc. without annealing. If yours says "made in USA" that should be true; however, it may be that the blanks themselves were formed here, with the steel coming from overseas. Again, doesn't impinge on quality necessarily, just stretching the truth a bit. I'm just guessing, of course.

Dick

Dick reads made by "Windlass Steelcrafts" believe their from over the pond in England,my catalog (#138) is one and the same,Atlanta Cutlery Corp.Appears to be some nice things in it overall,I've put more money on the counter for a lot less.I'll give them a try let you know, mo rickie tickie.

Crow,
Yes, those are the ones. They're from the Indian subcontinent--Pakistan, I think. But shoot, they fabricate lots of stuff over there, and the little "bird knives" I bought for gifts a few year ago, then put handles on 'em, were just fine.
I wish I could afford a damascus blade by an American (well, I do have a little 3" blade made by a guy who used to sell 'em at Midwestern rendezvous) but I can't.

Dick

Have you never heard of that small town NW of Tokyo it is called USA, Japan.
pronounced oohsaw....

Dick further Googling,The Mfg is located in Dehra Dun,India according to their web site.Also reads ,"it is the choice for the Marine Corp offices dress sword".Iam still going to buy one or two and give them a try.I figure they could be as good as I could make.Got to figure a blacksmith in the early days with unknown steel,to a point,would/could do as well.Time will tell.

Some time back, a friend of mine bought a broadsword from Museum Replicas(which is the other half of Atlanta Cutlery. Same address, some of the same stuff in both catalogs) made by Windlass. Sword was battle-ready; fully sharpened, flexible, lightweight and strong. I got to swing it around a little. Felt real good in my hand.
Only reason I don't own about a half-dozen or more blades from them is that they do cost some. Not saying they're overpriced, just I'm underfunded

'minds me o' th' time young abe lincoln wuz challenged to a duel--'twas anuther feller in th' illinois guv'mint thet braced 'im--an' young abe chose broadswords fer th' weepons, as wuz his right, bein' th' challenged party. th' seconds got 'em t'shake hands, but abe sed he'd uv split th' feller frum h'arpiece t' crotch ef it'd gone th' distance. mind yer topknots! windy

quote:

Originally posted by Voyageur:
According to the history of the Sorby dags... it was manufactured first for the NWC and then for the HBC after the 'merger' in 1821.

Apparently the dags and dag blades (perhaps more accurately 'bayonet') were manufactured from about 1790 to 1844. I haven't seen anything about 'sheaths' so I couldn't tell you. I was hoping you had some info.

Isham of the HBC drew a pic of a bayonet in the 1740's. They do show up here in the Great Lakes Region.

If I'm not mistaken, Sorby took over the +L mark around 1787 from Antt, and it passed to Fenton about 1820. I don't know if there are any +L bayonets though. But the mark is VERY common here.

The late dags have the FOX brand on them.

Pichou, How common was it, from what you have seen, for a dag to have a hilt or a hand guard? I'm asking because the "Columbia River Dag" is a favorite and I just wonder if there are others like it. Shoot sharp, Mike

I love these daggers too...seems that they really came into their own on the N.W. coast where in my opinion some of the best examples of them were made...here is one of my favorites...Im not sure if its 19th century or not...I think it may be a contemporary piece by an artist like Bill Reid. Its about as good as they get for me.
TCA

T.C., Wow! That is a pretty one. Wouldn't that be just the thing for ceremonial slave killing and the such? Shoot sharp, Mike

now fer anuther question--who wuz makin' them fancy stickers? canucks? athabascans? eskimaux 'smiths? rooskies? who cum up with th' style? i bin wonderin' thet stuff fer nigh on t' 30 y'ars.
mind yer topknots! windy

Windy...similar dags were being made by the "Tlingit"...heres a link you may want to follow that elaborates some...
http://www.livinglandscapes.bc...wah_dagger/app2.html
TCA

GreyWolf thanks for the photos, that sure shows the tipe of sheaths and knives that we were talking about. That one you made is realy something.
Roaddog

Sorry if it seems the fancy Tlingit dags strayed off topic here...but actually I think its a case of what came first, the chicken or the egg...because I believe the dags are all related and close cousins to each other...but
the question is did the traders copy what the natives were already in possession of and forging for themselves at places like Copper River from salvaged trap springs, file steel and raw coppers, or were the natives copying a european style dag they were seeing very early in the cultural exchange game?...the above link provides a pretty good study of the potential evolution of the dag into the trade bayonets etc as it traces "Kwahs" dagger through the generations...and I agree, Chuck's dag and sheath sure does shine for certain...
again, sorry for straying, just got all excited with the talk of dags in general ...
TCA

This message has been edited. Last edited by: T.Albert,

Were the Russians supplying stuff to the Tlingits in the mid to late 18th century, I recall they were more of a take what they wanted types for quite a while.I visited some small museums in that country 30+ years ago but don't recall much of what was there.

Sorry I dropped the ball...

The NW dags were mostly copper, and probably around pre-contact.

The "bayonet" type dag dates to at least 1740 for the HBC. That's the first drawing of one that I know of, to be sure bayonet = dag, and not a musket attachment.

I don't know much about the late type HB dags.