Perching knife (tanning tool)

1875-1925

Measurements

18 in x 10 in x 1-1/2 in

Materials

Nonferrous metal, iron collar and screws, maple stock and shaft

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Hagley Museum and Library

Accession Number

2026.76

Provenance

Hagley purchased a group of five objects (accession nos. 2026.74-.78) from antiques dealer Miner J. Cooper of Windsor, New York, in 1957.

Comments

Perching knives were specialized hand tools used for scraping and related detail work that required a heavier tool than a standard knife.  The word perching in this now-unused context referred to “perching” or shoveling material build-ups away.  Perching knives were used in a variety of industrial or agricultural areas. Tanners used them to address leather clumps or other malformations needing to be smoothed.

This perching knife is a late example.  The blade is cast from a nonferrous metal (i.e., not iron or steel of any kind). The tapered collar into which the turned wood shaft fits is iron as are the two threaded screws that hold the separate blade in place.  The blade has an edge not meant to be sharpened but rather to push material.