Chinese Fisherman's Knife

Hunched like a dark shell, with a beak at one end and a curl at the other.

This fisherman's knife is from Dongbei or Shan Xi Province, China, and dates to the 19th century. It is iron, wood & horn. Knives of iron with wooden or horn handles were everyday tools in rural northern China, where they were used for cutting line, cleaning fish and general work. Low, dark grey form with a pitted, hammered surface and a hooked tail rising on the right. A thin curved spike extends on the left, giving it a bird-like silhouette. It is 6 inches wide and 1.75 deep.

An awkward silhouette worn with real conviction.