Chinese flat knife

josh stout · 25th September 2018, 02:50 PM

Yes, a nice example of a double knife sadly missing its mate. The blade is in dire need of cleaning. Don't clean it too much, but take off the red rust to stabilize it.

Knives with similar guards and heavy blades are called "Chinese Bowie knives" or "Hong knives" by American collectors. They seem to all date from the late 19th or early 20th c. This looks like it might be on the earlier side of the range.
They got a reputation during San Francisco's "Hong wars".

Yours appears to be both finer and lacking the heavy faceted pommel of most examples.

25th September 2018, 02:50 PM	#3
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	Yes, a nice example of a double knife sadly missing its mate. The blade is in dire need of cleaning. Don't clean it too much, but take off the red rust to stabilize it. Knives with similar guards and heavy blades are called "Chinese Bowie knives" or "Hong knives" by American collectors. They seem to all date from the late 19th or early 20th c. This looks like it might be on the earlier side of the range. They got a reputation during San Francisco's "Hong wars". Yours appears to be both finer and lacking the heavy faceted pommel of most examples.