Wrist Knife

Item number 734/13 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Wrist knife that has a U-shaped thin steel metal piece that is bordered on the interior and exterior by thin strips of leather skin. Exterior leather is attached to other side at the top with a chain. Exterior and interior leather pieces are connected with a small chain at the side. Interior leather piece has a coil of copper at the top. Steel metal is attached to the skin with copper wires through holes in the side and in the bottom.

History Of Use

Wrist knives, or fighting knives, are widely used in several communities in east and south Africa, and are an essential feature of traditional dress among the Turkana and Karamojong. Traditionally worn by men, the wrist-knife serves both as a defensive weapon, and also a multi-purpose blade for utilitarian tasks. Wrist knives usually have a narrow ring of leather or hide around the blade as a sheath to protect the wearer from accidental injury. Their multi-use and light-weight made them very useful to the semi-nomadic Turkana and Karamojong people. Under British colonial rule, the Turkana were prohibited from carrying most kinds of weapons, a measure which likely limited use of wrist knives.