Knife

[Arne Vandendriessche]

Hello,

a farmer found this handmade knife that had grown in a tree. It is 90% sure ww1 as the tree was very old and the blade was in the middle of the tree, + it was found in a place where there was a very large hospital during WW1.
Has anyone seen this before and can someone tell me something about its origin? All nationalities are possible as it was a hospital with many different victims. The sheath is made of something bamboo-like with a kind of leather around it.

Arne

 

 

[Gunner 87]

2 hours ago, Arne Vandendriessche said:

Hello,

a farmer found this handmade knife that had grown in a tree. It is 90% sure ww1 as the tree was very old and the blade was in the middle of the tree, + it was found in a place where there was a very large hospital during WW1.
Has anyone seen this before and can someone tell me something about its origin? All nationalities are possible as it was a hospital with many different victims. The sheath is made of something bamboo-like with a kind of leather around it.

Arne

 

 

Hi Arne.

These 'two early 17th or 18th century hunting knifes or daggers one with leather sheaf' (spelt incorrectly) appear very similar to yours. The iron with the ring pattern and wooden handles on both are the same and looking carefully at the top of the sheath it appears to be wooden bound with leather. 

The dealer doesn't appear to demonstrate any expertise in the description but they both resemble yours. 

https://moderndecorative.com/products/pair-of-knives

Gunner

Edited 18 August , 2023 by Gunner 87

[MikB]

The curved point looks more like that of a kitchen, hunting or general purpose knife than a dagger. The decoration on the sheath could be native American (?).

[Gunner 87]

On 18/08/2023 at 20:50, Arne Vandendriessche said:

Hello,

a farmer found this handmade knife that had grown in a tree. It is 90% sure ww1 as the tree was very old and the blade was in the middle of the tree, + it was found in a place where there was a very large hospital during WW1.
Has anyone seen this before and can someone tell me something about its origin? All nationalities are possible as it was a hospital with many different victims. The sheath is made of something bamboo-like with a kind of leather around it.

Arne

 

 

Hi Arne.

Looking into this a little more I wonder of your knife could be earlier than 18th Century.

The first image attached is a bone handled medieval utility knife which shares a number of similarities with yours. The unusual teeth like pattern at the point appears to be the same as on your example seen on a close examination although yours is very worn down. The line between the flat body of the knife and cutting area is also very similar. 

The second image is a late 14th Century eating knife which, despite a very different design, has like pattern on the handle and also running parallel with the spine like yours.

I wonder if the knife that has been found in the centre of a tree could well have been in there for hundreds of years depending on the thickness of the trunk.

I note there is stamp like mark on the blade. This may identify the maker and confirm the knife's age. 

Gunner

images from medeivalcollectibles.com and myArmoury.com 

 

 

 

[Arne Vandendriessche]

Thank you gunner, the knife could be that old, but i think a soldier took it from his country to belgium during ww1.

There are no stamps on the knife, only engraved decoration.

 

Arne