Rare Medieval BC AD Side Belt Knife Blade Wood Handle Pugio
Rare Medieval BC AD Side Belt Knife Blade Wood Handle Pugio
Rare Medieval BC AD Side Belt Knife Blade Wood Handle Pugio
Rare Medieval BC AD Side Belt Knife Blade Wood Handle Pugio
Rare Medieval BC AD Side Belt Knife Blade Wood Handle Pugio
Rare Medieval BC AD Side Belt Knife Blade Wood Handle Pugio
Rare Medieval BC AD Side Belt Knife Blade Wood Handle Pugio
Rare Medieval BC AD Side Belt Knife Blade Wood Handle Pugio

Rare Medieval BC AD Side Belt Knife Blade Wood Handle Pugio

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Rare Medieval Side Knife 14th-16th Century AD Archaeological Belt Blade Wood

Item: Late Medieval / Early Tudor Personal Side Knife
Period: Circa 14th – 16th Century AD
Material: Hand-forged Iron/Steel blade, original wooden handle scales, brass/copper alloy bolster.
Historical Overview
This is an authentic example of a late medieval personal utility knife. During this era, such knives were essential everyday carry items, used for everything from eating to light craft work. They were typically worn in a leather sheath attached to a belt, hence the common term "belt knife."
Physical Details
  • Blade: Features a classic sabre-style profile with a slightly curved edge. The metal shows characteristic dark patination and surface pitting consistent with an excavated find.
  • Handle: The wooden hilt is a scale-tang construction, where the wood is pinned to the flat metal tang. The end of the handle features a decorative notched "V" shape, a common stylistic choice in European cutlery from the late 1400s through the 1500s.
  • Hilt: A small metal bolster (likely brass or copper alloy) sits between the blade and the handle, used to secure the assembly and protect the wood.
Condition Report
  • Blade: Structurally sound but shows expected archaeological wear, including minor losses to the cutting edge and surface oxidation.
  • Handle: The wood is remarkably well-preserved for its age but shows drying cracks and surface wear. It remains firmly attached to the tang.
  • Overall: An honest, unrestored relic from a private collection.

These items come from two lifetime collections assembled by United States Army soldiers stationed in Italy following World War II. Post-war Italy was economically devastated, and local families — drawing on their own personal collections — were selling historical items to make ends meet. These soldiers bought extensively during their time there and shipped the items back to the United States. They returned to Italy several years later to buy more, having developed a deep passion for collecting historical artifacts.

The collections passed from the soldiers to their sons, and then on to their grandsons. The items were subsequently purchased directly from one of those grandsons.

These pieces left Italy in the late 1940s to early 1950s, well before the 1970 UNESCO Convention on cultural property — 

selling as pictured.

more than welcome to pick up at shop in butler pa & save shipping.

022326 jy