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 The "Affaire d'Honneur"
is patterned after the infamous 18th Century French dueling knives. Unlike their distant brother, the famous dueling pistols, dueling knives were used by gentlemen of high quality and status, who believed that the blunderbuss blast, smoke and mess of their ancient pistols was just not refined and dignified for them. The pistols tended to spray red-hot gunpowder over their uniforms or fine tailored clothes and burn holes in them, which was just totally uncool to their way of thinking!
Many of these men were graduates of the various "écoles royales de couteau bataille" and were more comfortable defending their honor with saber, épée, or foil, so naturally they decided to use Affaire d'Honneur knives for a more "intimate" resolution to defending their honor among those who disparaged it.
As a romantic gestured, I've also included what was known as a "sortie notch" on the underthumb of the hilt. It was the predecessor to the "notches on the sixshooter" made so famous in the West. If an Affaire d'Honneur couteau had been used and had "seen its revenge" they would have this special notch put in the underthumb of the hilt. It would tell their opponent of their skill and accuracy. Being men of refinement… and unlike our own gunfighters who liked to brag… these men would only put on one "sortie notch" after the first kill, and no matter how many more successes they had, the one notch was all they needed. So you never knew just how many times your opponent had won a duel, which made it that much more disconcerting!
I've read a great deal about these Affaire d'Honneur knives, yet I don't know if anyone has ever made one before… which makes these a great collectors item. It is perfectly balance, and with the palm groves in the handle, holds steadfast in the hand.
A real one-of-a-kind… especially with the hardened Damascus steel which can take a great deal of revenge (symbolically speaking, of course) and come back for more! Oh, and if my High School French teacher, Miss Hill is reading this… thank you for turning me on to the language, the great dueling knife stories… and… oh, for turning me on in general!.”
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