Voyageurs, Coureurs des Bois and Their Knives

Étienne Brûlé at the mouth of the Humber River by CW Jefferys

While there are no old voyageurs around to consult with — it’s reasonable to believe early Voyageurs and Coureurs des Bois carried a knife of some sort.

We know for sure that everyone in the 18th century used a knife as a primary food preparation and eating tool, and a sheath was necessary to carry a it, so we can logically conclude early Voyageurs and Coureurs des Bois carried a sheath knife. 

Also early artist’s paintings often show frontiersmen or coureurs des bois carrying a sheath knife of some sort.

Davy Crockett by William Henry Huddle

During the 18th and 19th centuries there was a huge variety of knife blade-shapes and styles available. 

Among colonial period knives found and studied there are butcher knives, skinning knives, scalping knives, daggers, patch knives, roach belly knives, camp knives, paring knives, and crooked knives.

Remember there were two categories of voyageurs:

The "Montreal men,” who paddled from Montreal to Grand Portage for the annual rendezvous and back to Montreal. These fellows did not need a heavy butcher knife used by hunters or a patch knife used by a riflemen. They most likely carried a sturdy trade knife, with roughly a 5” blade, that could be used for cutting tobacco, eating, minor canoe repairs, and general camp chores such as cutting kindling or fire tinder.

The "North men,” voyageurs who wintered in the interior and brought down furs to Grand Portage to meet the summer brigades coming from Montreal, spent long periods of time in the wilderness and were required to feed themselves by hunting, so they carried a variety of knives used for hunting and fighting as well as for everyday use.

Ah-yaw-ne-tak-oár-ron, a warrior wearing a neck knife by George Catlin

Knife sheaths

18th century knife sheaths were made of buckskin, leather, rawhide or sometimes even birch bark and could be carried several ways.

I believe most voyageurs carried a sheath knife attached to their belt or sash. These were commonly referred to as belt knives.

Coureurs des bois, on the other hand, often adopted the customs of their native hosts, and may have worn a knife in a sheath hanging on their neck.

Another way a coureurs des bois might have carried a knife would be fastening a small sheath to the garter on his leggings, or on the strap of his shooting bag. These would usually be smaller patch knives. 

Patch knives were primarily used to cut patches, pieces of cloth or leather which were wrapped around the rifle ball to insure a tight fit against the rifling in the barrel of the weapon.

French-Canadian Frontiersmen. The gent knelling has 3 knives.

Knives in my collection

A ‘Green River’ skinning knife in a replica beaded and tacked plains Indian style sheath made of buckskin and rawhide. This style would have been used c. 1840-1860.

A typical French Trade Knife from last half of the 18th century. This is the knife I believe most Montreal Men would have carried in a simple leather sheath attached to their belt or sash.

A typical rifleman’s patch knife with a 3 1/2” blade and a bone handle. This one is a replica from Asia.

A forged Trade Knife in a beaded brain-tanned buckskin sheath. The sheath was crafted by an Iroquois native and was designed so it can be worn either as a neck knife or a belt knife. The overall length of the knife is 10” with a 5” blade.

A Quilled, brain-tanned buckskin, neck knife sheath. Metis/Sioux style sheath with a 10” long Trade Knife.

19th century Trade Knife with an ebony handle and pewter decoration (some pewter is missing).

A diminutive neck knife with Porcupine Quill Decoration on Birchbark. This strictly artistic knife sheath was created by a talented Mohawk craftsman.

The most recent additions to my collection are two replicas of 18th century Northeastern Woodland Indian neck knives with quilled sheaths. The one above is by Robert Pawling has whitetail leg fur on a quilled buckskin sheath.

This one (above) is by Hugo Vandermaesen features a walnut stained buckskin sheath with quillwork.