Produced by an unknown maker, the thought process and intention behind this particular Confederate weapon hasn't been precisely nailed down. The heart of the weapon is a large bowie knife in the archetypical Confederate style, 17 inches overall with an impressive 12 1/4 inch long clip point blade, fitted with a fine flat-sided wood handle and brass furniture. The guard and pommel are both thick and rugged brass with dual "quillions" on both, an upturned hook on the front and a brass ring on the back. The rings have an external diameter of about 1 1/3 inches and an unfinished internal diameter of 4/5ths of an inch. It has been speculated that this was either intended to be a knife/bayonet, or a knife/pike head; on page 165 of "Confederate Edged Weapons" the author expresses concern that a conventional rifle barrel or pike staff of appropriate thickness wouldn't fit through the rings, though on page 66 of "Classic Bowie Knives" author Abels seems confident in its function as a polearm. The former book includes a good illustration of the model, and the latter a photograph of the same. Either bayonet or pike would be in keeping with known Confederate weapon developments, which included non-standard bayonets for equipping the broad variety of sporting and martial firearms pressed into CSA service as well as a variety of pikes intended to be used with or in lieu of muskets. The sheath is of brown leather construction, with brass fittings.

Fine. The exceptionally fine blade is bright overall, with some light spotting and a few areas of unidentified green residue near the tip, along with some mild handling marks. The brass fittings are attractively aged, with mild edge wear, and the grip shows some minor chips and handling marks. The sheath is worn and fragile. A fine and rare Confederate edged weapon.