Hi Wayne. While no expert, this appears to be a 19th c. "boot dagger" or gambler's dirk. They were a mode of self defense and popular in the Old West (American, that is). I'm sure with their popularity, they might have also been used in Europe?? Many of the late 19th c. bowies, gambler dirks and such were made in England and sold in N. America. Even the 'soiled doves' (ladies of ill repute) carried smaller daggers in their garters to ward off attacks, If you check out any site selling Old West memorabilia, you might come up with a similar example. Oh, if these blades could only talk, the stories they'd tell!
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