Crooked knife

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The crooked knife, also called a curved knife, carving knife, or mocotaugan (from the Cree môhkotâkan), is a traditional Eastern Woodlands woodworking tool. The “crooked” part refers to the blade, which is set at an angle to the handle. Blades can be straight or curved and come in different lengths. Many were made from reworked file blades or other old steel; the Hudson’s Bay Company even shipped pre-made crooked-knife blades from Sheffield, England, without handles for trade.

The blade shape depends on the job: straight blades are used for whittling, making splints, and incising; curved blades are used for hollowing bowls, masks, ladles, and more. The handle extends past the hand, leaving the end (the pommel) exposed and often carved by artists into decorative designs. Beautiful crooked knives are found in collections around the world.

A 1971 documentary shows how the knife is used to build birch-bark canoes. The blade is bent near the end to reach grooves and hollows, and the grip is bulbous. The knife is held with the cutting edge toward the user, the hand on top of the handle, and the thumb along the protruding part to steady it. It is used to cut toward the user, not for whittling, functioning like a one-hand drawknife.

Some sources say the original crooked knife was made from a beaver’s tooth, a claim supported by archaeology and other historical records.