[Ian]

"Double" or "twin" knives (i.e., a pair of knives of about the same size in a single sheath or scabbard) are found fairly commonly in some cultures. Chinese and Chinese-influenced examples come to mind in particular. However, there are other cultures that occasionally produce twin knife constructions.

Recent discovery of a pair of rare Burmese twin knives prompted an examination of the archives here and other online sources to look for unusual twin knife examples from other cultures. I did not find many.

There are Chinese examples from the 19th and 20th C found easily here and on the web (huedidao, jian, etc.). We probably don't need to repeat those here. What I would like to see are examples from a range of cultures (modern and fantasy examples excluded).

To get things started, I'm posting pictures of two of mine (the Burmese pair, and a pair of old Tuareg knives), plus a pair of Batak knives that appeared recently in an online auction. There are a few more from the old Oriental Arms web site.

The question then arises—what were these paired knives used for?