Large old ''bowie'' scout knife ?

[colin henshaw]

Just trying to find out a bit more about these knives... it seems many were made by a British cutler who moved to Salem, Madras, India; some knives are marked "Arnachellum". I read that the steel of these Indian-made knives was considered superior to the European product, being hard but not brittle.

Here is an image of the 19th century big-game hunter Sir Samuel Baker with a knife in his belt that looks suspiciously like one of these Indian-produced hunting knives.

[kronckew]

Reminds me of a repurposed pioneer or artillerymans saw back sidearm. The English made stag gripped hunting swords with a saw back, brass D guard, but they were more elegant looking.


Mine is a bit longer, has a leather covered scabbard and a wood hilt with checkered brass fittings. It's rather heavy. Appears to be an earlier model than the straight 1856 version made up to 1900+.