Measuring 12 inches overall this knife shows many characteristics of the European-made knives brought to the America's to trade to Native Americans from the early-18th century to mid-19th century. These knives were often very utilitarian and simple in design and often nicknamed "scalping" knives in period sources. The 7 inch blade shows the general "butcher knife" type profile associated with many of these knives. The handle is made of roughly finished wood that appears to have been selected for its naturally occurring pommel and has had holes patched with either pewter or lead, likely a replacement for the original handle that was subsequently repaired in the field. The leather sheath is lightly tooled with borders and basket weave pattern with a belt loop and the seem held together with domed iron tacks.

Fair. The blade shows generally a brown patina, pitting, and signs of the extensive use of many hard years old frontier. The handle much like the blade shows the signs of hard frontier use as well as the many ingenuitive repairs needed to keep equipment usable in such a remote and unforgiving area. The leather sheath is good, also with extensive wear but retaining a tight seam and visible tooling.