File:2 parts of an incomplete Post Medieval iron knife, dating to the early 17th century. (FindID 633097).jpg

English: 2 parts of an incomplete Post Medieval iron knife, dating to the early 17th century. The object is composed of a section of blade, with a separate fragment associated, a decorative bolster and squared tang. The blade has a thick edge, tapering to the blade edge, and appears to taper to the tip of the blade. The bolster is molded into two reels and separates the blade from the tang. The tang is squared and tapers to a point, though the end has been damaged so that there appears to be a rounded nodule on the end. The blade has been significantly damaged with an irregular break pattern. There is a large amount of mid-grey concretion at the section where the bolster meets the blade, as well as along the tang. The knife has a black pattination with patches of orange-red corrosion across the surface.

A similar knife, with a double reel decoration on the bolster, can be found in Margeson (1993, no. 871) and dates AD 1600-1650. A similarly decorative bolster can also be found in Brown (2001, Fig. 39b) and is also of an early 17th century date.

Dimensions:

Knife - length: 97.91 mm; width: 20.66 mm; blade thickness: 3.59 mm; weight: 22.34g.

Fragment - length: 21.80 mm; width: 17.16 mm; weight: 2.16g.

Reference: Brown, P. 2001. British Cutlery: An Illustrated History of Design, Evolution and Use. York: Fairfax House.

Margeson, S.1993. Norwich Households: The Medieval and Post-Medieval Finds From Norwich Survey Excavations 1971-1978. East Anglian Archaeology Report No. 58.