Mike writes:

> 1) Does anyone know what the original intended use of the knife was? I
>    bought it to use dressing game.

Rest assured that this was not used to cut off men's limbs in the Civil
War. This knife was aimed at general kitchen use, stuff like cutting
bread, meat and poultry, etc. It appears is several late 19th century
catalogs (1876-1880). It was made by the Henry's brother, Chuck, at the
jobbing shop where a lot of screwy stuff got hatched. Hope this helps.
Will look up the exact title when I get home, but I think it was
referred to as a "Kitchen Utility Knife" Finally, the teeth are not even
nearly fine enough to cut through bone...

Regards,

Pete Taran (who's not even sure that Chuck was making stuff in the Civil
War Time Frame) Vintage Saws on the web at: http://www.vintagesaws.com