Knife

Accession Number2005.009.0001

VesselSanta Margarita (1622)

Datecirca 1600

DescriptionA small, pivoting steel blade held in a wooden sheath was a folding “pocket” knife. The blade, which was recovered as an epoxy cast from the marine concretion that formed around the original, is 13.2cm long, and 2.9cm at the widest point. The cutting edge has a slightly convex belly, and an examination of the sides shows a hollow grind (meaning the sides of the blade, from the spine to the cutting edge, are somewhat concave). Though the point is not blunt, it is not particularly sharp. These characteristics suggest this knife was designed more for cutting than stabbing or piercing. Two circular depressions are punched into the blade near the spine, and they may be the remains of the manufacturer’s marks. The wood sheath is undecorated and was either broken or rotted over time and is not quite complete. Holes for the hinge pin are barely 2mm in diameter. There is no evidence for a locking mechanism to hold the blade in place when it was opened. Such a tool would serve any number of mundane uses throughout a typical day, such as cutting lines, peeling fruit, and cleaning fingernails.