Head Knives - Round Knives - historical info

[Chuck Burrows]

Thought I'd add this info for those interested in such knives:

The true round knife was just that - a circular blade sharpened on all edges and used by the currier to thin leather:


An overview of head knives - both single head and double head (double head knives are now a days commonly called head knives or round knives):

The oldest known head, aka half moon, knives were made by the Egyptians of copper, #1 & #2 above, and are dated to at least 4500 B.C.
#3 - Eskimo Ulu
#4 - Iron Age Celtic knife
#5 - Iron Age - La Tene Period
#6 - Pompeii
#7 & #8 - Medieval - with small blade for tight curves and a half head - I had one of these at one time and loved it - unfortunately it "grew legs"
#9 - Modern Double Head Knife
#12 - Modern Saddler's Single Head Knife
#13 - Modern Saddler's Double Head Knife

Below is a late Medieval Cordwainer's (shoemaker's) Shop - note the two Medieval style head knives like #8 above - Several other style knives are also shown. Of interest also is the gent in the center sewing - he's doing what is called "knee work" in the shoe trade - traditionally stitching clams aka ponies aka horses weren't/aren't used by cordwainers. The man on the left is trimming a sole with a curved blade trim knife - today my most widely used knife is a clicker knife with a similar curved blade and/or straight blade.


Knowing where and why tools came from is always of interest so if any one else can add to this "tome" please do..........each craft had their own tools and often individuals made up their own specialized pieces.