Chinese Fisherman's Knife

Glossy amber claw shape trailing a limp strap like a loose shoelace.

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. Smooth, curved body in deep reddish brown with a rounded back and a sharp tip. A dark hook near the top holds a flat, floppy strip that droops to the left. It is 16 inches wide and 1.5 deep.

Sleek in form, a little tattered at the cord.