During the War Between the States the men who lived and served under the flag of the Southern Confederacy had many commonalities that banded them together as brothers under their newly founded nation. One of the more fascinating ideals that a great deal of these men shared in common was a desire to carry a large, and intimidating, fighting knife. This commonality was a carryover of Southern pride from the antebellum period. Since the famed "Fight on the Sandbar”, and indeed for years before it, knife fighting and the simple fact of carrying a large knife was a distinctly Southern tradition. So much so that there are news articles from the period which express the Northerner’s scorn for the "barbaric” qualities of these wild Southerners who carried enormous knives.

The heritage surrounding their large knives however was not enough to overcome the practical necessities of the long marches and scarce sleep of the Southern soldier once the War dragged on past its early, hasty fervor. This would be a conflict of greater proportions than any of the young men could imagine as they travelled along the dusty backroads toward Virginia, and the battlefield of First Manassas. Though after the early days of the War many of these knives were discarded by the roadside, still their importance in the hearts and minds of the modern day collector is stronger than ever.

This particular blacksmith made knife measures fifteen and one half inch from point to pommel, with an eleven inch blade. This was actually more practical than many of the huge knives we so enjoy. This was made as a fighting knife, with its spearpoint blade and wide pommel. The spearpoint style of knife was made as a fighting knife; using it to skin an animal would be very difficult with its dual sharpened edges. The wide pommel was made in such a way that when the handle was slick with a liquid the knife would not slip out of your hand.

The knife has a fantastic look, with file marks present all down the blade. The knife was certainly made out of a file as well, as can be seen by a very few traces of the original grain along the blade’s ridge. There are a few small nicks on the blade; the look of the entirety is so good these actually just add character to this knife. A very small piece of the tip was broken off during its period of usage, and likely by the soldier himself. The blade has not been sharpened or cleaned and is an extremely attractive semi-bright.

The grip is in excellent condition with a fantastic matching patina; the blade’s tang is slightly off center emphasizing the homegrown nature of this knife. The guard and wide pommel are both totally intact, and the entire knife is as rock tight as the day it was made. The blade’s tang is peened at the end.

The knife’s scabbard was clearly made for this knife due to how few scabbards would fit the "diamond” shaped blade with a high blade ridge featured on this example. The scabbard is an interesting homegrown work of its own; starting with wood shaped to the form of the knife’s blade, the maker then took some form of repurposed cloth, likely from drapery, and covered the wooden scabbard in this material and painted in black, or it started as some form of painted canvas. He then sewed the edges of the cloth together sealing it around the wood. Congruent with this same piece he also appears to have made a full waist or shoulder belt of the same material; folded over to add strength. The entirety was then painted black. The scabbard remains in excellent, untouched condition with almost all of the original thread remaining along the cloth edges; there is a very small hole in the cloth at the toe of the scabbard where some thread has come loose. Remarkably, 95% of the original black paint remains intact.

The belt has been cut about an inch from the scabbard on each side. Since this was cut, it was very likely taken from a prisoner or a dead Confederate, in order to send the knife and scabbard home as a souvenir. (otherwise, he could have just had him remove it) The small sections of belt that remain attached to the scabbard appear to still have blood stains. (though cannot guarantee) This is one of the most unique, and finest, examples of a blacksmith made Confederate knife in an actually field practical size. I have really enjoyed owning this piece, and I hope you will just the same.