Most interesting in seeing this curious example revealed as a scribes knife from these Indian regions!
My question would be, is it not feasible that sailors in ports of call in the East might have encountered such items in their trade experiences, and seen potential use in their on board circumstances?
Obviously the blade alone would be useful for many of the things done by sailors (including whittling etc.) in other than required tasks involving the rigging and elements of same. While not something ascribed (no pun intended) to the normal items of maritime use, something I personally have noticed in the pawn shops of ports of call, is the affinity of sailors for exotica and novelties from their many visits to unusual places.
On that basis, this knife, and perhaps others like it, might fall into the category of maritime novelty, if only tenuously. Whatever the case, it is a most interesting example of an item not commonly seen, but certainly well known as per described by Rick.
Just how late did the use of palm leaves as a medium for record keeping continue in these areas from India into other SE Asian regions? If it ceased in say, first part of 19th c. with printing, paper etc. could this form of these knives (with the fixture at top and fluting) be deemed 18th c.?
Also, with this type of pointed blade, rather than the blunted or rebated blades of the rigging tools described, would this kind of knife either with use of the blade or even the 'spike' not become a 'weapon of opportunity?
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