Shell and beaver tooth knives were probably the aboriginal prototypes of the crooked knife of historic times. Knives with long handles and upward-curved blades meant to be drawn toward the carver were used over a good part of North America. The version of this man's knife common to the Northwest Coast typically has a short, double-edged blade with a gradually increasing curve mounted on the underside of a slim handle. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)