Chinese Fisherman's Knife

Ridged like a segmented shell and fitted with a sturdy ring.

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. Tapered curved form with a rough, coppery surface patterned in rows of ridges toward the thick end. A round eye-like boss and a heavy ring sit on the right, beside a smoother tapering tail. It is 8.25 inches wide and 1.5 deep.

Textured, knobby and entirely lacking in subtlety.