Gorean Weapons - Knives

This is my narrative and relevant references from the Books about Knives and Daggers.
It is not meant to be anything other than the facts of the matter. Arrive at your own conclusions.

I wish you well,
Fogaban

Quiva

To The Index

Actually in a class by itself, the quiva is almost legendary. It is the balanced saddle knife of the Wagon Peoples. Quivas are normally kept in sets of seven. The quiva is so important that it is said a youth of the Wagon Peoples was taught the bow, the quiva and the lance before their parents would consent to give him a name. [d1] It is 9 inches to about a foot in length, double edged, tapers to a daggerlike point [d2] and is balanced for throwing. [d3] The quiva need not be thrown hard due to its sharpness and weight doing the work. [d4] Therefore the quiva is regarded, on the whole, as more of a missile weapon than a hand knife. [d5]

Sleen Knife

To The Index

The sleen knife is worn in a belt sheath and carried primarily by the men [d6] and women [d7] of the northern forests, although once it is mentioned being used by a Peasant who, perhaps coincidently, also raised sleen. [d8] However no direct connection is mentioned as to why this knife is referred to as it is. At one point a sleen knife is described as being short and balanced. [d9] It is unclear if this means they vary in length or if all sleen knives are relatively short. The fact that it is balanced may mean it is double edged but this is not clearly defined. Other than this it is spoken of as having a hilt. [d10]

Hook Knife

To The Index

One of the small knives, [d11] the hook knife is a small, thick, curved blade knife of Ar, used sheathed in the sport of that name. [d12] When the razor-sharp [d13] blade is sheathed during sport, the edges of the sheath are coated with a bluish pigment to indicate scores. [d14] When carried it is buckled in a sheath, a strap passing over the hilt. [d15]

Tarn Knife

To The Index

Tarnsmen carry a knife on their belt [d16] which is used, not only for general purposes, [d17] but also in case of emergency. [d18] All Tarn Keepers, carry a knife. [d19]

Killing Knife

To The Index

While it makes sense to say most any knife could be used to kill there is one that is sometimes called a dagger and sometimes called a knife. It is described as "a sort used in Ar". It is smaller than the quiva and tapered on only one side. [d20] This short knife is well-balanced for throwing [d21] and, at least one, has an inscribed hilt. [d22]

Turian Dagger

To The Index

The Turian dagger is mentioned only twice, first as hanging from a man's belt [d23] and described only once, as having an ornamented, twisted blade. [d24]

Rence Knife

To The Index

Used by those of the Vosk delta, this small, curved, two-inch knife is used to harvest the rence. [d25]

Panga

To The Index

The machete-like [d26] panga is used in the tropical rain forests. It is heavy, two feet long and has a curved blade. [d27] With its keen blade, one is able to part thick vines. [d28] By comparison, the Kur's panga is so heavy that a grown man needs both hands to wield it. [d29]

Butcher Knife

To The Index

The butcher knife is usually ground down into a narrow, concave shape. Since it does not have the sturdiness for combat, it is instead generally used for the swift acquisition of bloody trophies. [d30]

Kur Side Knife

To The Index

The Kur side knife is 14 horts long, or 17 ½ inches, and double-edged. Obviously the handle, being large enough for a Kur, is big enough to hold in two hands. [d31]

Miscellaneous Knives

To The Index

These are other miscellaneous knives mentioned or described throughout the books. While not necessarily weapons, I include them here for reference.

Those who dwell in the far north are fond of carvings. They use a fourteen inch, wooden handled knife with a three inch blade for this purpose. [d32] The ulo or woman's knife, of the same region, while not well suited to carving because it has a semicircular blade, is also customarily fixed in a wooden handle. It is better suited to cutting meat and slicing sinew. [d33] These same people also use a large, curved, saw-toothed knife made of bone to cut snow. [d34]

Way south, on the great plains, a turf knife is used to cut sod. This knife is a wooden-bladed and, saw-edged and is actually more of a paddlelike tool than a knife. In fact it can also be used as a shovel. [d35]

One man is said to have a large, triangular-bladed knife carried in a beaded sheath. [d36] There is a jagged-edged fisherman's knife, [d37] a ship's knife, [d38] a trade knife [d39] and one that is referred to as a slave knife. [d40]

There is a sleeve dagger, [d41] a dagger worn on the belt, [d42] a scaling knife, [d43] a thieves' knife, [d44] a kitchen knife, [d45] and one used by the Caste of Scribes, a small knife for scraping out errors on paper. [d46]

Most all free men, especially warriors, [d47] certainly all men of Torvaldsland [d48] and certain women carry some type of knife. [d49] One of these is described as having a two-edged blade. [d50] Knife blades are even mounted into clubs, making them obviously more lethal. [d51]

Lastly, a straight-bladed shaving knife is mentioned several times. [d52]

Knife Lock

To The Index

A knife lock, when tampered with, releases a blade, or several of them, with great force, sometimes from behind the individual at the lock. [d53]

Whip Knife

To The Index

As much a whip as it is a knife, and vise-versa, the whip knife, is all but unique to Port Kar. It is a delicate weapon and can be used with elegance and finesse. [d54] But, it can cut from twelve feet away due to the last eighteen inches being set with four sets of twenty thin, narrow knives. If this was not enough, some even have a double-edged blade of about seven or eight inches at the tip. [d55]