Bill Scurlock
War of 1812 Midshipman’s Dirk by Glen Mock
The war of 1812 was ignited over our right to
free trade and unrestricted shipping. To demand these rights, our fledgling
maritime force had to square off with the king’s own Royal Navy. Britannia
prided her ability to rule the seas, and her fighting ships and the sailors
that manned them were some of the best disciplined and equipped in the world at
that time. That didn't stop us from taking them on head to head, both on the Great
Lakes and on the open oceans. Determined to fight with whatever means they had
available, our brave fighting men were often forced to arm themselves as best
as they could with their own private weapons instead of relying on the
government to provide them with regulation issue, and this midshipman's dirk
was just such a private weapon, and it would have found service in the hands of
just such a man.
Glen forged the double-edge blade from 1095
steel and crafted the guard from brass. He turned the handle from black walnut
and capped the pommel in brass sheeting. According to Glen, the sheath was the
hardest part of this project. Like the pommel cap, it was fashioned from sheet
brass, as well as round and half-round brass wire. All of the scabbard’s seams
were silver soldered. As a finishing touch, Glen closely copied the decorative
period engraving style found on the original.
Text by T.C. Albert
Photos by H. David Wright
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