When interpreting a woodsman or woods woman of the 18th century, it is important to think of the uses these knives were put to then, not how you might use a knife now. Three tools are synonymous with the 18th century woodsrunner, the gun, the knife, and the axe or tomahawk. These days these items tend to be classed as weapons, but to me they are working tools just like any other tool, but they did sometimes have to function as a weapon, and it is important to bear that in mind when making your selection.
So what was the woodsrunner’s knives used for? Let’s start with the hunting knife. The hunting or belt knife was used to field dress game, which means gutting, cutting the meat, dismembering, and skinning. Boning out the meat may also be involved. I don’t believe there is an all round knife, you either need more than one knife for butchering game, or you need to find a middle of the road knife that works for you. For me a skinning knife needs to be rounded at the tip, this is especially good for slitting the skin open from crotch to chest. But there are other needs for the hunting knife.
Sometimes an animal does not die instantly, this is not desirable, but it does happen. When this does happen I need a sharp pointed knife. I will not go into detail here, as it may distress some people, but this is one of the responsibilities you take on when you hunt wild animals.
As I said before these tools may also be needed for fighting, so once again, although I would prefer a more rounded tip on the knife, I really do need a good sharp point. I like a big knife, a short bladed knife is good for skinning but for a main knife I need something big. At the same time I do not like a heavy knife, and my preferences seem to have been universal, as the majority of 18th century hunting knives appear to have been butcher knives, sometimes known as scalping knives.
My hunting knife.
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The Courier De Bois it is said carried three knives, a hunting knife under the belt, a neck knife, and a legging knife. Rather than carry a neck knife I prefer to carry a clasp knife. The clasp knife I use for camp chores and making traps. This involves a lot of shaving and whittling of wood, some of it very fine intricate work that needs a small knife. You could use a fixed blade utility knife; it is a matter of choice.
This was my Father’s utility knife, and it is typical of this type of 18th century knife.
A 17th century gully knife.
The legging knife is in my case a back-up knife. It needs to be light and short bladed, but it may be used for field dressing game, or as a quick to hand fighting knife if the main knife is lost. When field dressing game you need to be fast, and at the same time you need to keep a sharp look-out and listen for any sounds out of the ordinary. Sometimes you can strike a bone in this sort of situation which will dull your blade. You do not have time to resharpen your blade unless it is the only knife you have, so this is when you use the back-up knife.
If you carry a knife, then you need to carry a whet stone. This is the small whet stone I carry in my knapsack.
A Michael Galban neck knife and sheath.
Cathy Sibly sheath with a Bill Reynolds knife.
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