Tag Archives: Civil War Knives

Confederate D-Guard Knife

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Crude but eliminatory this D-Handle Knife would have been carried by a Southern soldier. It would have been the perfect utilitarian tool around camp as well a fine fighting blade. Due to its size and weight the Knife would have been used to cut there way through corn fields, clear small branches off trees and the perfect tool for eating and protecting yourself if necessary.

D-Guard Knife
D-Guard Knife

Measuring an overall length of 18.5” this D-Guard knife would have been an easy blade to handle and carry on those long marches not weighing down the user. It’s documented in many letters, diaries and dispatches that Southerners would toss there knives to the side of the road due to them being bulky in size and heavy in weight.

This unmarked clip point D-Guard was probably made by a blacksmith who used a rasp as the blade. There are still impressions of the rasp/file on portions of the center ridge spine of the blade. The handle is 5.5” and the blade is 13” long, it has a ferrule at the base of the grip and a finely shaped quillon.

Unlike most D-Guards that have a large rounded knucklebow or guard this knives guard is very close to the wood grip handle barely allowing room for your fingers. The D-Guard knife is extremely well balanced which is a credit to the makers skill. It does have a false edge and it’s sharpened on both top and bottom. It was designed to kill.

There are remnants of gold paint around the deep crevasses near the ferrule, ricasso, and tang suggesting that this may have been a war trophy brought North after the war and displayed at a GAR Hall, which is not uncommon for Confederate weapons.

Hope you’ve enjoy viewing my knife as much as I do owning it. If you have any questions about this D-Guard knife or any of the other items in my arsenal feel free to contact me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com attn: Gene West.
I’m always looking to grow my Civil War collection if you have any Southern weapons and are looking to sell them give me a shout maybe we can make a deal.

Confederate, Tennessee Side Knife and Rig

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This is a great example of a Side knife that a Confederate Infantrymen would have carried throughout the War Between the States. Small and light enough to be worn day and night. Many of the large D Handle knives were way too big, clumsy and heavy to be totted around day in and day out, many were tossed to the side of the road in favor of a lighter and more useful knife, such as this.

This knife is extra neat since it still has its wood lined scabbard and belt rig. Both of these pieces are hand sewed which was common for most Confederate rigging. The Spear Point blade is single edged with a sharpened 2 3/4″ top edge. The overall length of the knife is 14 ¾”, with the blade measuring 10 ¼ “and width 1 3/8”.

This knife was formally in the collection of Lee Hadaway, who is one of the leading experts in Confederate Edged Weapons and author of the “Confederate Bowie Knife Guide” which this Knife and Rig is published in. This knife is also published in “Confederate Bowie Knives” on page 253 as a Tennessee Side Knife.

I hope you enjoy the photos and if you have any questions about this knife please feel free to contact me at genx1969@yahoo.com attn. Gene West

Confederate D Handle Bowie Knife

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It’s a Saturday afternoon and I’m sitting around the house bored so I’ve decided to write about one of the many weapons in the Civil War Arsenal.

A year or two ago I was at a Civil War show with my wife walking around looking at all the neat stuff laid out amongst all the tables not really seeing anything that jumped out at me and said buy me NOW. After one complete pass at the show that must have taken about 2 hours to complete I started my second pass knowing I must have missed at least one neat item.

I came across a fellow who had about 4 or 5 confederate knifes, and there it was the D Handle that said LOOK AT ME. This knife was stunning it had all the features I look for when purchasing confederate knifes, minus the scabbard.

Beautiful hardwood handle with knots in it, blackened metal blade, sturdy well made knife with a wonderful rasp/file blade that is just a work of art in itself. I must have spent an hour looking at this knife trying to walk away but it wouldn’t let me. It’s like the knife was talking to me saying take me home.

So I finally pulled myself away from the table only to be brought back time after time. It was like a magical spell had been put on me. Earlier I spoke to the fellow who was selling the knife (unfortunately I forgot his name) and he told me the price, which was a fair price but these days I tend to be more of a value shopper when making big purchases.
So I made him what I thought was a fair offer and after going back and forth with him for about ten minutes we finally agreed on a price.

This spear point D Handle has an overall length of 19” with a 14 ½” blade and a 4 ½”handle the blade is 2 1/4” wide at its widest point and it weighs 1 ½ pounds. The blacksmith or mechanic that made this knife was extremely skilled. The knife 150 years later is straight as an arrow, very sturdy and the D Handle doesn’t move like so many D Handle Knives I’ve handle over the years.

It’s my opinion this knife had a leather scabbard that probably rotted to the point that someone tossed it thinking there was no value in salvaging it, bummer I wish it was saved. Based on my research this knife was assembled in the Carolinas or Georgia but I’m sure that others may challenge that opinion. Either way this is a neat knife and I hope you enjoy the photos. Any questions about this knife please contact me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com attn: Gene West