Early pocketknives were the
multi-tools of their day. Many were named because of their specific use in
certain occupations. One such knife is the doctor’s knife. They had a
characteristic shape that was easily recognizable and had very specific uses
to the physician’s profession.
Back
when doctors routinely made house calls, they usually carried a knife as one
of their main tools in their bag. This
particular type of knife was based on a jack knife frame with very
characteristic flat bolsters. This flat rear bolster was quite often used as an
aid to grind pills into a powder.
Most doctor’s knives have a
spear and pen blade, sometimes referred to as “baby docs”, while other larger
versions had a “spatula” type blade instead of the pen blade. This spatula
blade was often used as an aid in the mixing of poultices. The spear blade was
quite often used as backup for their scalpel.
Got “baby doc” in your FAK?
Staying above the water
line!
Riverwalker
Posts
3 comments:
Don't have one, need to get one now. That would serve a number of purposes, all good. Thanks!
To: Brigid
It's amazing how many different styles of knives evolved over the years to fit the different needs of a variety of people. Many are still quite useful in this respect.
BTW, forgot to mention that the "spatula" type blades were often referred to as "pill busters" since they were often used to split pills in half.
Unfortunately, modern day multi-tools have taken the place of many of the different styles of pocket knives.
Thanks Brigid.
RW
One more thing...
The doctor's knife in the picture is a "baby doc"...still looking for a larger version with a "pill buster".
RW
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