Chinese Peasant Knives. Age?

[Drabant1701]

I was bidding on a nice Indo-Persian dagger in an auction, I also casually bid on some stuff that I thought looked interesting. I won these three knifes that I have concluded is Asian farmers knifes, maybe for cutting opium flowers. So... does anyone recognice the mark on the blade od the smallest one? I think the antlope horn one and the small one is first half of the 20th century, but the one with ivory?, walrus? grip looks pretty old, do you think its an 19th century knife. This is not my area at all so I do not know how long these type of knife has been around. Anyways, if you have any knowledge on the subject you want to add, please do so.

[Bob A]

The knives I've seen for opium production typically have several short blades in a block of wood. They are used to score the pods so that the sap exudes and dries. At that point, I suppose the knives here illustrated might be used later, to scrape the raw opium gum from the bulbs?

[Ren Ren]

Originally Posted by Drabant1701

So... does anyone recognice the mark on the blade od the smallest one?

This is the name of the knife maker. Very similar to the character 伍 Wu.

Originally Posted by Drabant1701

I think the antlope horn one and the small one is first half of the 20th century, but the one with ivory?, walrus? grip looks pretty old, do you think its an 19th century knife. This is not my area at all so I do not know how long these type of knife has been around.

Yes, the handle is made of dzeren antelope horn - it was a very popular material while hundreds of thousands of these antelopes lived in Mongolia and Tibet. The second handle is made of deer antler, it is much rarer.

This is a type of ordinary peasant knives that were worn every day on the belt. It is difficult to say when they appeared, but they were widespread in the north and northeast of China until the 1960s. Until the Great Cultural Revolution itself, which destroyed the traditional craft of making knives and weapons.

Your knives are in very good condition. This is especially noticeable on leather straps. I think they were made in 1940-60s.

[Drabant1701]

Originally Posted by Ren Ren

This is the name of the knife maker. Very similar to the character 伍 Wu.


Yes, the handle is made of dzeren antelope horn - it was a very popular material while hundreds of thousands of these antelopes lived in Mongolia and Tibet. The second handle is made of deer antler, it is much rarer.

This is a type of ordinary peasant knives that were worn every day on the belt. It is difficult to say when they appeared, but they were widespread in the north and northeast of China until the 1960s. Until the Great Cultural Revolution itself, which destroyed the traditional craft of making knives and weapons.

Your knives are in very good condition. This is especially noticeable on leather straps. I think they were made in 1940-60s.

Thank you so much! This is a great information.

[Philip]

Originally Posted by Ren Ren

This is a type of ordinary peasant knives that were worn every day on the belt. It is difficult to say when they appeared, but they were widespread in the north and northeast of China until the 1960s. .

It is likely that folding knives such as this type were a Western concept, perhaps first brought to China by the Portuguese who were the first Europeans to reach China in significant numbers as early as the Ming Dynasty.