Mel,

You didn't say if you were wanting to duplicate an individual knife or to build your own design as it had been done historically. I have researched building historical knives in several ways including viewing photos, perusing various books on the subject, talking with the owners, as well as discussing it with others who have built similar knives in the past.

If you are wanting dimensions of historic daggers in general then perhaps Kevin Cashen or Mark Zaleski will chime in here as they're as good of an authority as I know of.

Gary

Hello Mel. One book I have found to be a real wealth of information on all sorts of historical pieces is "The Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor" by George Stone. You can sometimes find it on Amazon. Also check out the ABS website. In the upper right corner there is a techniques button, click on it and from the pull down menu go to master class, then onto daggers. Kevin Cashen's presentation is very good. Other than that, knife shows, specifically Blade, Kevin usually has a dagger on his table or would definitely be willing to talk about them. The best way I know is to actually handle them. This gives you the feel and weight.

Good luck

Brion

Mel,

While I am no expert on this subject, I am getting very good at asking around for the same information!

Gary mentioned George Stone and I have found his name and books come up quite often on this and other forums when the subject of daggers and swords is the topic of discussion. Another standard are books by Edwart Oakeshott. Many of his books have tons of photos and full descriptions including dimensions. Another good book is The Encyclopedia of Knives, Daggers, and Bayonetes by Dr. Tobias Capwell (also with pics, full descriptions, etc). In the end, I think the books are only a good starting point. There is no substitute for holding these items in your hand, so Brion's advice to go to knife shows and visit with the guys who are making them is the best you can get.

If you are really friendly, they might let you handle some of their work........... <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//wink.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />