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Post by hawkeyes on Sept 13, 2019 7:05:41 GMT -7
I have always loved the small and humble cartouche knife. My humble rendition of a GR blade with maple scales and iron pins in work. To be continued... This little bugger is being made to complete a new shooting bag and horn.  |
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Post by brokennock on Sept 13, 2019 8:31:58 GMT -7
Thanks for sharing. So good to have ya back around.
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Post by Black Hand on Sept 14, 2019 6:31:10 GMT -7
I do like that blade shape!
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Post by spence on Sept 22, 2019 11:08:28 GMT -7
As some wit said, what's in a name? Why is it called a cartouche knife?
Spence
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Post by hawkeyes on Sept 22, 2019 16:08:58 GMT -7
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Post by artificer on Sept 24, 2019 12:11:25 GMT -7
redfeathertrader.com/mountain-men/knives-of-the-fur-trade-part-2/OK, I may be way off base, but I was under the impression that the inlaid grip, similar to that in the link Hawkeyes provided, was why they called it a Cartouche Knife? I've seen other blade shapes with these inlaid grips and they were also called Cartouche Knives. To me the blade style on Hawkeyes' knife is a French Scalper, with a spear or drop point? Not trying to make a definitive statement, but rather trying to get something clear in my own mind. Gus.
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Post by Black Hand on Sept 24, 2019 13:41:15 GMT -7
Wasn't the stamp on the blade a "cartouche"?
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Post by artificer on Sept 24, 2019 15:17:04 GMT -7
Yes, the stamped maker/s' mark could have also been called a cartouche, but weren't all or at least most trade knives stamped with makers' marks?
Gus
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Post by hawkeyes on Sept 25, 2019 6:14:36 GMT -7
Every indication I've came across concerning the "Cartouche" was essentially based upon exactly what BH mentioned above which corresponds with the mark on the blade. A cartouche goes back to ancient Egypt, and in retrospect is nothing more than a mark or proof. It's clear there isn't anything special or unique about the blade which IMO really is a simple steak knife with a common profile.  I can't come up with anything historically relevant to the mark on the blade, therefore I removed it. |
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Post by artificer on Sept 25, 2019 7:53:14 GMT -7
OK, I don't have the documentation on hand right now, and I could be mistaken, but I'm fairly certain I've seen original trading lists that listed scalpers, butchers and cartouche knives. If true, that alone suggests cartouche knives were something different from ordinary trade knives. I think the more expensive cartouche knives with the inlaid grips were meant to be traded to more important NA leaders. Guess I'm going to have to go back and find some of those lists to see if my memory is not completely shot.
Gus.
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Post by hawkeyes on Sept 25, 2019 14:32:36 GMT -7
OK, I don't have the documentation on hand right now, and I could be mistaken, but I'm fairly certain I've seen original trading lists that listed scalpers, butchers and cartouche knives. If true, that alone suggests cartouche knives were something different from ordinary trade knives. I think the more expensive cartouche knives with the inlaid grips were meant to be traded to more important NA leaders. Guess I'm going to have to go back and find some of those lists to see if my memory is not completely shot. Gus. May be the same documentation I've ran across. Of course I can't find it nor did I save it on my phone which is no suprise... |
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Post by spence on Sept 25, 2019 17:48:09 GMT -7
I think you will find that it's the grip which is the basis of the name. Search for cartouche knife and you will find many instances of archaeological items which are brass grips with cutouts for bone, ivory, etc.
Spence
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Post by straekat on Sept 26, 2019 3:31:35 GMT -7
Spence is onto something.
The word "cartouche" today is commonly associated with Egyptian hierogplyphics, however, the name was used by a Frenchman by the name of Jean-François Champollion, who first discovered a way to translate ancient Egyptian into modern languages during the 1820's.
The name was apparently used by French soldiers during the French incursion into Egypt (1798-1801) to single out the oval Egyptian hieroglyph with a short horizontal line at one end and had characters inside the oval.
The French name for a paper wrapped powder/ball cartridge round? A "cartouche".
The term "cartouche knife" was used well before Egyptian archaeology and hieroglyphs entered popular cultural usage during the Napoleonic era, suggesting the term "cartouche knife" has a connection to the shape of a French cartridge/cartouche, not the name stamp.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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Post by hawkeyes on Sept 26, 2019 5:22:57 GMT -7
I think you will find that it's the grip which is the basis of the name. Search for cartouche knife and you will find many instances of archaeological items which are brass grips with cutouts for bone, ivory, etc. Spence I must be searching wrong, are you able to provide any link information? What search engine or whatever they are do you fellas use? You would think a millennial of my age would be up on technology and such, not the case but I make do. |
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Post by spence on Sept 26, 2019 5:52:22 GMT -7
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