Antique Knives

My fascination with antique knives started when I was just a little kid. I used to love going to look at the medieval armor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. My parents took us the Metropolitan Art Museum nearly every weekend, and we would spend hours there. I would usually spend most of my time looking at the big suits of armor. I loved swords, knives, daggers, axes, and all other manner of weapons.

My favorite of all were the antique knives. There were some pretty decorative ceremonial daggers there. Of course they had the daggers used in sword fighting, but they also had knives from other parts of the world. They have antique Bowie knives from frontier times, strangely curved scimitars from the Far East and wickedly undulating Indonesian daggers.

I actually started my antique knife collection when I was 13, although I didn’t know it yet. They were selling some old knives at the flea market I want to with my dad. He thought it was about time for me to own my own pocket knife, so when I asked for one he acquiesced. I didn’t really know they were antique knives. They looked like old, somewhat weathered blades with ornamental hilts. The one I bought had scrimshaw on it. It was only years later that I realized that it was made out of whalebone.

Since then, I have collected many different antique knives. I love anything that is old, and so my antiques collection is pretty extensive. I have antique armor, old records, a phonograph machine from the 20s, and many other pieces of curio. Nowadays I’m not as obsessed with weapons as I used to be as a kid. I still like them, but I have spread out to try collecting other things.

Still, there is a certain childish joy I get when I look at my antique knife cabinet. I have a genuine Bowie knife from way back in the day, stone knives found at an archaeological site, and a World War II GI knife. I could go on, but you get the idea. Unless you’re a nerd for collecting old weapons like me, you probably won’t appreciate it that much. For me, however, there’s something beautiful about antique craftsmanship. Looking at hand made and individually decorated antique knives never ceases to be a source of joy for me. I know it will never get old no matter how long I live for.