Chinese Fisherman's Knife

Long and narrow, a splinter of amber with a plum-coloured handle.

This fisherman's knife is from Dongbei or Shan Xi Province, China, and dates to the 19th century. It is iron, wood & horn. Hand-forged iron blades were shaped by a blacksmith through repeated heating and hammering, and the form of a tool usually followed the work it was made for. Slender, flat form with a translucent golden tip at the left and a round metal rivet joining it to a dark reddish handle. The handle ends in a small pierced loop. It is 11.5 inches wide and 1.25 deep.

A thin, quiet instrument with a good sense of line.