Original item: Only One Available. There is probably no more iconic Civil War image than the young Confederate soldier marching off to war with a large fighting knife in his hand or belt. Early war southern ambrotypes and tintypes offer a big variety and sometimes comical fighting knives of various types, often made by local blacksmiths for the boys of 1861 to take to war.

Over the years, the majority of local knife makers have remained anonymous, though certain traits and characteristics of surviving knives can sometimes help us make broad statements about the likely region or state from which an unmarked knife originated. This is an unmarked example and we unfortunately have not been able to identify a possible location of manufacture, other than the broad “southern” made.

This type of knife is often referred to as an Arkansas Toothpick. In modern terminology, the Arkansas toothpick is a heavy dagger with a 12-to-20-inch (30 to 51 cm) pointed, straight blade. The knife can be used for thrusting and slashing. James Black, known for improving the Bowie knife, is credited with inventing the Arkansas toothpick.

There was no consistent distinction made between Bowie knives and Arkansas toothpicks in the mid-19th century. There were enough occasional distinctions to shade any dogmatic statement of equivalence. Americans were observed to use pocket knives to clean their teeth in the era, so the "Arkansas toothpick" term may predate the Bowie knife. There is debatable basis for claiming Arkansas toothpicks were designed for throwing.

The knife is still in very good, service used condition with the expected weathering from long service. The blade has patina with scattered oxidation and age discoloration. The blade has areas of surface roughness from oxidation, and does not show signs of
sharpening. The condition reflects that the knife may have been ground dug at some point or just exposed to moisture. The blade has a length of 11 ⅕”. The blade's edge has a few scattered nicks and dings as well the typical expected wear from handling and use and is still quite sharp. The grip is still intact, with no extensive breaks, cracks, or repairs and shows the expected signs of wear and age.

Comes more than ready for further research and display.