The common dagger is a wonderful weapon: it weighs a pound; is 15" ling; has a speed factor of two; does 1-4 hit points against small-and medium-sized creatures, and 1-3 against larger threats; has a reasonable adjustments against most armor classes; and can be flung to a range of 30’ indoors and 30 yards outdoors. Rarely is there a Fighter, Thief, or Magic-User who does not carry a dagger or a knife. Clerics often carry one or the other as a general tool. Daggers and knives can be found in backpacks or boots, on belts, strapped to ankles, forearms, chests, and thighs (and concealed up a characters nose, if the player can talk the DM into it).

It seems strange, then, that while there are six swords in the Players Handbook, two more in the Unearthed Arcana, and three more in the Oriental Adventures, there is only the dagger in the first book and the knife in the second. The parang (machete) in the third book is logically treated as a sword, although it is usually defined as a knife.

First of all, a dagger is not an adequate tool. It was designed specifically for fighting, and that is the only thing it does well. It cannot efficiently split wood or shave it for kindling, scrape skins, or cut bait. A much better choice for this is the standard knife. Modern hunters have used a reduced bowie-pattern blade for much of this century, and this is a style often used for many sorts of "survival knives" available today. A reduced Bowie and a variety of similar knives can be easily lumped together under the heading knife and standard AD&D game statistics can be used to define them.

There are many accessories placed on modern all-purpose knives, but these reflect this century and are inappropriate for the AD&D game setting. The only exception that the DM might allow is a saw blade on the back of a knife; saw backed knives date back from the 18th century. The only change that this feature makes is the addition of a small sum (perhaps 2 g.p.) to the price; in addition, it allows the knife to be as effective as a small axe in clearing brush or gathering wood.

The main problem with the standard dagger is that it is a formidable weapon. It is 15" long; 10" of which is blade. The blade is 2 1/2-3" broad at the haft, and the crossguard is easily 6" across. Such a weapon is extremely difficult to hide, especially in boots and sleeves, which seems to be the two most commonly attempted locations.

A kidney dagger has a substantially reduced blade and a much more compact hilt (especially the kidney shaped crossguard). The blade is very sharp and is intended to cut through clothes, not armor. Ladies often carried this kind of dagger; it is a good choice as a spare knife for any serious adventurer.

The push knife is shaped like a capital T. The crosspiece is grasped so that the blade extends between the second and third fingers. The characters then punches with the hand holding the knife. Due to the unusual position of the blade, blows with the push knife can be struck with considerable force.

There is a magical item detailed in Unearthed Arcana called the buckle knife. It is a small knife hidden in a belt buckle, and treated as a knife for damage. Small push knives have been hidden in this way; the sheath lies horizontally along the inside edge of the belt. Fortunately there is a provision allowing the knife to be drawn without the belt becoming undone.

The Cinquedea is an enormous dagger, no longer than the most common variety but almost twice as broad. The name derives from the tradition that the blade is five fingers broad at the haft. This weapon is recommended for magic-users. It cannot compete with the short sword or weapons of that type for a berth in a fighter’s arsenal, but it can give a low-level magic-user a better chance to survive being cornered in a dark alley be a couple of thieves after his spells have run out. Although a magic-user isn’t supposed to fight, sometimes it’s unavoidable. A quarterstaff helps in these cases. But it takes more space to use and is much slower. Also, a quarterstaff is a hard weapon to overlook, whereas the Cinquedea can be carried far less conspicuously.

The throwing knife is a most unusual knife. The blade is 7 or 8" long, with a 2 1/2 or 3" hilt. It has neither guard nor pommel and, although 2" at its widest, it is less than one-eighth of an inch thick. It flies faster than other knives, doing damage out of proportion to its size, but it is a pathetic weapon for melee, as it does little damage. Its compact size makes the throwing knife an excellent hidden weapon.

Another interesting item is the folding knife (also known as the clasp knife or jackknife). It is a fairly large transition from a normal knife, but not really hard to produce once you know about it. It is also rather inexpensive. The form didn’t exist in 14th-century Europe, but there is no technological reason it couldn’t have. The DM may allow an additional blade in the jackknife, either a second knife blade or a saw. To keep within the medical setting the SM should allow no more than two blades on any folding knife.

* See "knife" in Unearthed Arcana

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