RESEARCH ON THE PATCH KNIFE
“The patch knife is a
standard part of any rifleman’s equipment. But what is a patch knife? A
patch knife can be said to be any kind of a knife that will cut a patch and
there are a multiplicity of blades, which can do the job. They may be loosely placed into three main
classifications:
1.
Knifes which were carried in a scabbard attached to the front shoulder
strap of the hunting pouch.
2.
Belt knives of every kind and description.
3.
Pocket or folding knives, which would be carried in the pouch, coat
pocket or pants pocket.”
Source; The
By Madison Grant
Published by Madison Grant, 1977
The quote above is on page 166
Of the 133 hunting bags shown in the above referenced
book, which covers the time frame from 1750 to 1850 (There were two or three
Indian bags, which I did not include) 81 were shown with no evidence of a patch
knife anywhere on the bag. 7 were shown
as having a knife sheath sewn to the backside of the pouch, and 25 had the
sheath sewed to the front shoulder strap.
In the six bags shown in “Accouterments”, 3 did not
have knife sheaths, 1 had a sheath sewed to the pouch, and 2 had sheaths sewed
to the front shoulder strap.
Source; Accouterments, 1750-1850
By James R. Johnston, pgs. 67-70
Published by Golden Age Arms Co.
“All back woods men carried blades, commonly called
‘hunting’, ‘scalping’, and ‘long’ knives. Actually the so-called ‘scalping knives’ or ‘scalpers’ which the British
were trading to the Indians at the western forts had a relatively short blade,
virtually the same as the common butcher knives.
The ‘long knife’ or ‘hunting knife’ that the rifleman carried was a
much larger weapon, usually eight to fourteen inches long. Often these knives were either homemade or
the product of a local blacksmith. Patch
knives were made in a variety of ways, and no two of these knives were ever
alike. These knives were primarily used
to cut patches, pieces of cloth or leather which were wrapped around the rifle
ball to insure a tight fit against the rifling in the barrel of the
weapon. Handles were often made of either antler, wood, or cow horn, and were attached to the
three or four-inch blades with a mixture of pine resin. These knives were carried in a sheath
which was fastened either to the strap of the hunting pouch or directly behind
the pouch itself.”
Source; The Frontier
Rifleman
By Richard B. LaCrosse, Jr. Pg. 135
His arms, Clothing, and Equipment During the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1800
Published by Pioneer Press,
CONCLUSION
In all this research listed above, plus many books that were consulted, not in one instance was it shown or mentioned of any primary sources, or surviving examples that show any type of “neck knife” as being used. This is not conclusive enough as in the first source mentioned, of the 113 bags, 81 had no evidence of any type of sheath attached anywhere on the bag. Is this proof that the 81 bags were used in conjunction with “neck knives” or that the belt or “butcher” knife was used for any and every application? In my opinion, I believe that the 81 bags without knives, had for a trusty companion a first rate “butcher “knife, as I have found no evidence to the contrary of a hanging knife around the neck.
John T. Misskelley
In my research – secondary sources – I found little
reference to neck knives. Only in
Madison Grant’s book The Knife in Homespun America did I find any
listed. Pages 124 and 129 both show
knives with sheaths attached to loops too small for a waist that had to go
about the neck. They are both Native
American, 14 to 18 inches in length, and come from
Bob
McCann