Types of blades found in French North America from various sites (1680-1760)

Engraving from "l'Encyclopédie de Diderot et d'Alembert" - The "Art" of making knives using files.

Despite considerable variation, each of these knives can be classed in one of 4 categories: Siamois, Jambette dit Flatin, Capucin and à la Dauphine:

How do we know this?

We do have confirmation from Timothy J. Kent's book "Ft Pontchartrain at Detroit, Volumes I & II "(http://wsupress.wayne.edu/glb/mihistory/kentfpd.htm) that the Siamese knives were in fact the clasp knives shaped like those found on Laguiole knives today with a sharply pointed blades.  There are numerous references of these in the Montreal Merchants records of the very late 17th and early to mid 18th.  Apparently, there were 2 types of Siamese knives: one with a rounded tip and one with a pointed tip.  The only rounded tip clasp knives were the ones with upturned and rounded blade tip as found on many sites such as Ft.Michilimackinac and Fort St.Joseph.  The one caracteristic that links the rounded and pointed tip is the somewhat upturn of the back of the blade preceeding a slight downturn towards the tip.

Couteaux Siamois et Flatin / Siamese or Flatin knives

(Original French Flatin Blade Found in Michigan, handle has been remade using horn- Authors collection - Marked IACQVES GIRARD)

The 1758 ledger entries of the Montreal outfitters Monière and Brouillard concerning the outfit of trade goods, equipement and supplies that they provided to the trader Jean Chapron, we can read "1 gross of medium-size Siamese knives, round tip", "1 gross of medium-size Siamese knives, pointed tip". ²⁷

These would in fact be labelled Siamese types. Timothy J. Kent finds mentions of these as early as 1697 and they seem to replace the flatin or jambette knives from the merchant records at that point.

And so the flatin or jambette type clasp knife mentionned so frequently in the 17th century must then have had blades shaped like the bill of a hawk.  Both Flatin and Siamese knives exhibit a flattened knob which extends from the hinge end of the blade.

Couteaux Capucin

As far as Capucin knives, Bondaroy describes their fabrication quite precisely :

The two-pin knife, which is also termed an a la capucine knife, is somewhat different from the one- pin sort. The blade is a little longer; and usually terminates. in a point. Otherwise, it is manufactured in the same manner; except for the butt of the blade. As was explained earlier; the blade of the one-pin knife is held in a straight open position by a small knob or button on the butt of the tang, which rests against the handle. However; when this knife is folded, the knob protrudes, and sometimes hurts one's hand or tears one's pockets. Therefore, another model was designed, in order to eliminate the knob. The top edge of the butt of the blade of the two-pin knife is notched, to form a type of tooth or extension [corner], which rests against the second pin to hold the blade open. This second pin is located slightly to the rear and a little higher than the one on which the blade pivots. The centre portion of the butt is rounded, so that it will not touch the second rivet while pivoting. The only difference between the two sorts of knives lies in the shape of the butt of the blade. In the case of a spring knife, the notch or extension stops against the head of the spring.

Capucin style knife found in the "Alpes  de  Haute  Provence" with horn handle, France. 19th century.  Marked : BERTRAND (Author's collection).  Similar knives would of been manufactured for the fur trade in the mid 1700's in New-France.

À la Dauphine knives are mentionned by Bondaroy and seem to differ from the Capucine, Eustache and Jambettes knife types.

Although knives are produced elsewhere in the Forez region, workshops in St. Etienne and in nearby Chambon manufacture annually 500 to 600,000 livres worth of jambettes, Eustache Dubois knives, dauphine knives, and a la capucine [folding] knives.

Knives with a dauphine, Montpelliel; or France-style blade, with one or two pins, with a moulded beechwood handle, 3 to 12 livres per gross

Knives with a Montpellier or dauphine-style blade, with a moulded handle of white sheep horn, 7 to 20 livres per gross

The only other type of knives found on French sites seem to be the ones that bear a knob which extends to the rear of the knife blade.  Could they be the ones refered to as "à la Dauphine"?

This knob is actually a horizontal extension of the blade back.  This knob could in essence serve the same purpose as does the raised knob on the Siamese or Flatin knives acting as a stop on the back of the handle.  However, it is interesting to note that Bondaroy mentions that these could be manufactured with one (Flatin, Siamese) or two pins (Capucin). 

Could it be that these types of blades could be mounted on both a one pin or two pin handle and are the ones refered to as "à la Dauphine"?

(Knife blades found at Fort Michilimackinac)