The Crooked Knife & The Items You Can Make With One.

“The most valuable things I own are my axe, my wife and my crooked knife.”
—Blue Coat, a Northern Cree

“Almost unknown today, this knife is one of the most distinctive antiquities of the ‘Man of the North.’”
—Carl Russell, Firearms, Traps and Tools of the Mountain Men

“No man ever goes off on a journey without this knife, no matter how short the distance … and to make one thousand and one indispensable objects.”
—John Wesley Powell, Curator, U.S. Bureau of Ethnology, 1898

Every object has a story. The better we know the story the more we appreciate the object.
—Axiom of curators and collectors

In the realm of material culture, the tool for making an object is often as important as the object itself.
—Axiom of anthropologists

“No one will know why such a dull stub of a blade found such a fanciful handle, as if the one who gripped it
fought with ghosts.”
—From a poem, Worn Tool, by Stephen Sandy

Early 17th Century crooked knife blade.

War Club.

Ball Headed Club.

Ball Headed Club.

Rifle Stock Club.

Spiked War Club.

Spiral Tomahawk Helve.

A Lacross Stick.

Wooden Eating Spoon.

Wooden Eating Spoon.

Whet Stone Holder.

The Crooked Knife, or Mocotaugan.

"Captain John Gyles, writing of his captivity about 1696 by the Maliseet Indians in Maine, observed that the crooked knife was part of every man’s equipment".

 http://www.mocotauganthebook.com/nature.html.

The crooked knife is a one handed drawknife, and the term "crooked" referes as far as I understand it to the handle, not the blade. Because I have images of crooked knives with straight blades. The crooked knife is used to make many objects, from canoes and canoe paddles to wooden spoons. The unique shape of the handle enables the user to assert a lot of power safely but just flexing the wrist.
I just made a crooked knife this morning out of the blade from a hoof scraper which I had to heat and reshape and then harden again, and a piece of wood cut from some dead pussy willow. I carved out the recess for the blade after final reshaping of the handle. The blade I secured to the handle with two brass screws. Then I bound the whole with wet rawhide and let it dry. Wet rawhide is flexible and stretches a little. When it dries it shrinks and hardens.

Crooked Knife 1720-1800.

Kentucky Pioneers 1941.

Alone In The Wilderness.

Two things stood out for me in this video. (1) this chap is only carrying minimal gear on his back and (2) he did not carry in all the tools he used in one trip, and at some time it looks as though he trekked in by canoe.

This started me wondering if this was ever done in the 18th century, people taking equipment in to the site and stashing it there and then making a return trip. I guess if there were a group of you you could probably take everything in one trip.

Fortification Tests.

This post from youtube, but can also be seen at: http://flintlockandtomahawk.blogspot.com/2009/11/fort-necessity-musket-test.html

Brain Tanning.

This video does not tell the whole story, but it might encourage you to do further research. The skin does not have to be frozen, once placed on a frame and allowed to dry it will become rawhide and quite hard and stiff. This skin can then be scraped clean and then the brain tan solutionn can be applied.
There should be enough brains in each animal to tan its skin.

18th Century Long Term Wilderness Survival 3. The little Things.

Little things can make a difference in a survival situation. There are some things that an 18th century person tends to carry that a 21st century person may not. Let us look at a couple of these items.
The Housewife/Sewing Kit.

The House Wife is a small cloth sewing kit that folds up neatly to fit in your knapsack. Mine includes: linen thread, needles, a small piece of beeswax, some rolls of sinew, some rolls of rawhide, some pins in an attached pin cushion, and some spare buttons.
This sewing kit is for repairing clothes, moccasins, and packs if needs be. The needles are handy for removing splinters.


The Awl.

I carry my Father’s awl with me in a wood sheath that is wrapped with waxed linen thread. With this awl and my sewing kit I can repair my moccasins and make a new pair if needed.


The Journal.





I like to carry a small leather covered journal and a pencil for taking notes of things that need doing, anything that I need to be reminded of later on. I carry a beeswax candle so I can see to read and write at night without having to get near the fire to see. It is a great comfort if I have an idea and I am able to note it down.


Blade Sharpening.





I carry a small whet stone in a wooden holder and a small file. Blades need to be kept sharp to be safe and to perform properly when needed. Blade sharpening is something you can do in camp which is pleasing and relaxing.


Fire lighting.

I have covered fire lighting before and the use of flint & steel & the tinderbox. I just wanted to emphasise the use of a beeswax candle stub for drying out any damp kindling. Fire is one of those things that really makes a cosy camp, especially in cold or wet weather. It warms me in my shelter, it cooks my food, it dries my clothes and moccasins if they get wet. It heats water for a hot drink, it sterilizes, it dries my gun if it gets wet and it dries the barrel out after cleaning. A blazing torch will keep wild dogs at bay and it lights the area around my shelter so I can see what is there.


Fire can be seen at night if I want to be seen or I can use it to send a smoke signal. With the heat from the fire I can straighten arrow shafts and spears and harden wooden tips. I can make items such as clay bowls, ball moulds, and grease lamps and harden them in my fire. I can dry meat over it and I can use fire to smoke brain tanned skins to stop them from hardening. I can heat rocks for boiling water in a vessel that can not be placed on a fire. Fire will help build a dugout. Fire can be buried under a bed for warmth on a cold night. Fire is a welcome sight to friends and an invite to come sit and chat awhile. Fire is very important.