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A Knife You Could Bring to a Gunfight
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Syndicate
The Gun Nuts
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May 14, 2013
A Knife You Could Bring to a Gunfight
By Phil Bourjaily
Finally, a knife you could bring to a gunfight...or a piano tuning, or a shave and a haircut, or a wine and cheese party, or any one of 100 functions. This 19th century multi-tool includes a .22 caliber pinfire revolver as well as a tuning fork, a mirror and straight razor, and a corkscrew.
It is the Mother of All Swiss Army Knives, although it actually predates the Swiss Army Knife by a few years and was made by John Holler in Germany around 1880 as a display model for his New York store. It weighs an estimated 10 pounds making it, perhaps, a touch heavy to carry in your pocket—but with it, you would be ready for anything.
The knife is part of a special firearms exhibit from the Smithsonian called “Journeying West” and it will be at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, for the next couple of years. Besides the revolver/knife, the exhibit includes a rifle made for Catherine the Great of Russia and a wooden model of the Gatling gun that was submitted as a patent model.
Photo by: John S. Holler German multi-bladed folding knife with 100 “blades,” including a .22 caliber pistol, ca. 1880. Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center. L.373.2012.5
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Comments (29)
Must be a ship anchor folded in there somewhere! Wow! I still haven't made it to the Buffalo Bill Museum. On my bucket list. Maybe this fall I will make a long detour down that way.
Can I take that on the airliner with me?
This knife needs a map! A very cool thing for a knife maker to have in his shop window back in the day. I bet he made some wonderful custom knives!
Rube Goldberg was a "Kraut"!
I wish it was sitting next to a quarter or something so I could accurately judge the size. It must be huge.
It won't be leaving the US any time soon for a foreign exhibition. Note the tortoise shell case. Would be confiscated at customs.
At 10 pounds the recoil of the .22 should be pretty tame.
I want one...
Rube Goldberg was an American cartoonist born in San Francisco in the 1880s, an extremely gifted, funny man.
I'm sure there must be a post-hole digger in there somewhere.
Anybody have any clue what the long intricate wire piece could be? It's on the right side at the top, in between the corkscrew and the small clippers..
Looks like a fancy saw.
And those aren't clippers, but rather pruning nippers. Helps give some idea of the size of that thing. Note the hedge trimmers on upper left right behind the revolver.
No such animal as a "knife you could bring to a gunfight" unless you plan to use it to skin the carcass you just shot.
Can you imagine the look on the face of a TSA agent if you drug that out at the airport?
Ontario Honker...,
I went to the Buffalo Bill Museum in March, it was amazing.The firearm section had just about every gun imaginable, the even had Jonathan Johnson's Hawken and Bowie Knife there, if you're ever in that area be sure to go there, it will be an experience you will not forget.
BTW, I would never take that knife to any gunfight, I think Phil should have thought of a better title.
I think by law that would be a gun, not a knife.......
What a sweet knife to have for survival needs. I bet you could use that knife for almost anything for survival.
If you want photos of any of the other pieces of this exhibit let me know and I will snap a few photos one evening. Then the problem of how to load them onto this site LOL. Phil I see you are using the recently adopted name of the former BBHC, surprised that word spread so fast.
Honker if you make it to Cody walk across the street to the hospital and ask for Gary. It would be good to meet you.
I have made double posts before but the above is ridiculous, must be my new computer, couldn't be me.
Dallas, Jeremiah Johnston is also buried at Trail Town west of Cody, hope you didn't miss it.
I'm glad today's multi-tools don't weigh 10 lbs, but I'd be lying if I said that I haven't thought of having a knife with a single shot firearm built into it. Cool to see they were thinking about that 100+ years ago too.
if it had a set of dies for 30.06 and a primer remover I'd buy one.
ishawooa,
I missed it.Darn.
Matthew, there are two of those tools and they appear to be saws with two different sized blades.
An amazing display of ingenuity and humor. Can you imagine trying to shave with that thing?
This should have been the photo for a caption contest.
Another interesting item they have at that museum is Sitting Bull's tomahawk.
Post a Comment
Can I take that on the airliner with me?
Ontario Honker...,
I went to the Buffalo Bill Museum in March, it was amazing.The firearm section had just about every gun imaginable, the even had Jonathan Johnson's Hawken and Bowie Knife there, if you're ever in that area be sure to go there, it will be an experience you will not forget.
ishawooa,
I missed it.Darn.
Another interesting item they have at that museum is Sitting Bull's tomahawk.
This knife needs a map! A very cool thing for a knife maker to have in his shop window back in the day. I bet he made some wonderful custom knives!
Rube Goldberg was a "Kraut"!
I wish it was sitting next to a quarter or something so I could accurately judge the size. It must be huge.
It won't be leaving the US any time soon for a foreign exhibition. Note the tortoise shell case. Would be confiscated at customs.
At 10 pounds the recoil of the .22 should be pretty tame.
I want one...
Rube Goldberg was an American cartoonist born in San Francisco in the 1880s, an extremely gifted, funny man.
I'm sure there must be a post-hole digger in there somewhere.
Anybody have any clue what the long intricate wire piece could be? It's on the right side at the top, in between the corkscrew and the small clippers..
No such animal as a "knife you could bring to a gunfight" unless you plan to use it to skin the carcass you just shot.
Can you imagine the look on the face of a TSA agent if you drug that out at the airport?
BTW, I would never take that knife to any gunfight, I think Phil should have thought of a better title.
I think by law that would be a gun, not a knife.......
What a sweet knife to have for survival needs. I bet you could use that knife for almost anything for survival.
If you want photos of any of the other pieces of this exhibit let me know and I will snap a few photos one evening. Then the problem of how to load them onto this site LOL. Phil I see you are using the recently adopted name of the former BBHC, surprised that word spread so fast.
Honker if you make it to Cody walk across the street to the hospital and ask for Gary. It would be good to meet you.
I have made double posts before but the above is ridiculous, must be my new computer, couldn't be me.
Dallas, Jeremiah Johnston is also buried at Trail Town west of Cody, hope you didn't miss it.
I'm glad today's multi-tools don't weigh 10 lbs, but I'd be lying if I said that I haven't thought of having a knife with a single shot firearm built into it. Cool to see they were thinking about that 100+ years ago too.
if it had a set of dies for 30.06 and a primer remover I'd buy one.
Matthew, there are two of those tools and they appear to be saws with two different sized blades.
An amazing display of ingenuity and humor. Can you imagine trying to shave with that thing?
This should have been the photo for a caption contest.
Must be a ship anchor folded in there somewhere! Wow! I still haven't made it to the Buffalo Bill Museum. On my bucket list. Maybe this fall I will make a long detour down that way.
Looks like a fancy saw.
And those aren't clippers, but rather pruning nippers. Helps give some idea of the size of that thing. Note the hedge trimmers on upper left right behind the revolver.
Post a Comment