eardagger

[micknives]

here my first historical inspiration.
eardagger 16.century
steel: Werkstoffnummer 1.2842
handle: mammoth ivory, gold plated(fire), garnet
total length: 31,5cm



mick

[sjaqua]

Wow!

Mick, you sure captured the look of that period and style. It looks like a museum piece. Well done!

[Jerry Oksman]

Mick, Awesome !!!!! I love those old designs. I can just feel my thumb capping the ears!

[micknives]

thanks, guys

it was an interesting alternation to make this dagger.

[Don Halter]

I haven't stopped by this forum in a while...man, I've missed a heck of a knife. I love this style knife and you did an excellent job! I keep telling myself I'll try one of these. When I do, I hope it turns out even half as nice as yours! Thanks for sharing the pic.

[J.Arthur Loose]

When you say fire gold plated do you mean mercury amalgam guilding? That's kind of what it looks like... hope you were careful!

[micknives]

@ jloose
yes thats it.
of course full protection only, gas mask etc.

sorry, my english...:-(

mic

[Gabe Newell]

What's the purpose of the "ears"? Is there a reference I could read to get up to speed?

[micknives]

it serves for thumb or finger file.
it was a typical dagger in the 15.-16- century in italy, which originally comes from orient.

mic

[Gabe Newell]

"The eared dagger was an ornamental dagger that became popular in the later 14th century. Like the type A, the handle was joined to the blade by a series of rivets, but the similarity stops there; this was by no means a simple dagger. The two plates that formed the handle split off into two ?ears? at the end of the pommel (Dean 1928: 65). These ears were pure decoration, as was the dagger itself. The ornamentation of these daggers was often delicate and done by skilled craftsmen. The handles were usually made of ivory, bone, or metal, and were inlaid with fine traceries of gold and precious metals (Dean 1928: 65). This was not a dagger to be ruined in combat; it was too delicate and intricate, and much too expensive."

Medieval Weapons

Does that sound about right?

[Gabe Newell]

This image is slow to load.

[Gabe Newell]

[JensJ]

Hi Mic and others,

I found some brief information in 'Swords and Hilt Weapons' (Coe et al.), stating that this form became briefly popular across Western Europe in the 16th century. There is a picture of one virtually identical to the one Mic made. It seems that in the short time of its popularity, there was little variation in the form: always flat tang with rivetted scales, and of course, the disks. The thumb is placed between the ears...(I guess?)

Mic, can you tell us where the original is which served as your inspiration? Or do you have a picture of it?

Thanks, Jens.

Edit: Gabe was faster

[micknives]

the original dagger of my replica lies in the german historical
museum in berlin, "zeughaus berlin".
the original dagger has an horn&ivory handle without garnet.
garnet was my inspiration;-)

[JensJ]

Thanks for the info, Mic. Like I said, the one in the book I mentioned above looks nearly identical to yours-but without the garnets. Nice touch.