Mystery - dagger found in wall space

[DaveA]

Hello all,

I recently acquired this item from someone who renovates older homes in the US. He found this inside a wall he demolished. The wall was original to the house, and the house was built in 1860 according to records. So that gives us one date. The dagger is 12 1/2 inches long in total, 8 inches for the blade. The blade is not sharp but the tip is extremely pointed. I have cleaned it and done a little to remove rust, but otherwise it is as you see. The style of hilt and quillons suggest Italian to me, but that is mostly a guess. Copper in the hilt I think. This item is unwieldy as a letter opener -- too long and the blade seems too thick. As a stiletto, it seems well suited as a thrust weapon.

Any ideas what this might be?

[Stan S.]

Looks like a plug bayonet of some sort. Either American or Western European. Should clean off nicely.

[M ELEY]

Hmmm...could be a plug indeed. The brass is primitively cast. I doubt it's earlier than mid-19th and possibly much newer. If 19th, it could be American, Confederate CW, as they were known for crude, one-off pieces (like trench pikes, boot knives, etc). Could be Span colonial or Mexican, again for crudeness. Don't think it's European. Last guess, African?? Those blunt quillons were popular on French/Amer knives ca 1860's. Note some naval dirks had them, but this is NOT a naval piece.
-Looks too business-like to be a simple letter opener or tourist- :shrug:

[Stan S.]

Definetely not African

[M ELEY]

I mentioned African because in the late 19th, there were knives that were mimicing the Euro daggers of the time. The Dahomey knives in particular come to mind. Their hilts were primitive, of brass, white metal or often aluminum. Anyway, you are right. Probably not African.