View Single Post
Old 23rd July 2020, 06:02 PM   #22
kronckew
Member
 
kronckew's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,145
Default

Colin, Its 200-ish years old, made by the Black Brothers in Arkansas for some guy named Jim. He left it behind at an old mission when he died for an associate named Santa of all things. Merry Xmas, Santa!

Santa left it behind at a swampy place in east Texas not long after when he lost an argument with some Texans and had to run away. Been handed down from father to son since then. How it got to Germany and back thru my family, I am not sure.

More truthfully, It's over a year old now... Maybe three. It's been tarted up, looked too shiny new when it was new. OK, I confess, I am a knife abuser.... (H2O2 & flowers of sulphur gel for the lived in look) It is razor sharp tho after a good thrashing with a diamond hone. It's not going anywhere, It's MINE! MINE I say. Mine. It's one of a pair, the smith liked it so much he made himself one just like it, and hasn't duplicated it since. I shall take his name & location in the USA to the grave as he's retired now.

On a more historic note, the CSA generally used Muskets, smooth bores at the beginning of the War between the states, when the darn Yankees started using rifled muskets, they were able to re-equip themselves with them more reliable and accurate ones, longer ranged Springfields and a few Enfields from the UK. (and a very few Witworth sniper rifles (of "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..." fame -Gen. John Sedgwick's last words) They couldn't afford repeating rifles to any great extent, like the Union could.,. They never engaged at distances close enough to merit a short sword. When we started losing, the bowies were used mainly then for chopping wood, preparing food, and often just discarded because the weighed too much while retreating. They were no longer needed when a lighter knife would do. Thus rare they command fairly high prices now. As noted, unmarked, caveat emptor.

p.s.- the submarine sank a Union warship. then disappeared, it sank with all hands - probably from lack of oxygen. it's engine was the crew hand cranking a prop. Found again a few years ago & recovered. He should have invented the snorkel first. It was in effect, a manned torpedo kamikaze, much like ones the Japanese resorted to more recently. The inventor went on to sell a better one to the UK after the war. It too, sank with all hands, but never sank an enemy. Ah, well. C'est la Vie!

Last edited by kronckew; 23rd July 2020 at 06:39 PM.
kronckew is offline   Reply With Quote