Neck Knife, DEER: porcupine quill birchbark sheath w/knife: Paul St John, Mohawk

Description

Paul St John, Mohawk craftsman has placed a white-tail deer buck of porcupine quill on a birch bark sheath for a neck knife.
There is a skinning style
knife
with blade from Pakistan and wooden handle put on it by a friend of Paul's.  The sheath has very soft tanned deer leather on the back, more comfortable to wear under a shirt against bare skin.
This birch bark neck knife sheath has the deer of brown dyed quills on the front. The deer stands in green dyed  quill
long
grass. Look closely and see it's white tail (bottom of tail is white- when deer runs it's tail is up and the white is very visible then.  - Also  Paul has added the white/light underbelly and lower chest. The sheath is bordered on front edges with natural white quills (w/darker ends left on).   The deer is a very important animal to the Wabanaki.  It provides food, leather and hide which they traditionally relied upon.
Birch bark or leather were the original knife sheath materials used long before European contact by many different tribes. Here Paul St John has made a traditional birch bark knife sheath with designs in traditional porcupine quill work. He has backed the sheath with
native tanned deer leather
so it can be worn next to the skin, under a shirt as it traditionally was.  The leather neck strap is of the same soft leather. The small "skinning" style knife is a shape used for over 300 years by many Native American tribes.
The neck knife was made by many Native American tribes, worn around the neck the small knife in the sheath was always handy. This is a great looking knife/neck knife sheath for reenacting or regalia and adding a knife will prove very useful for hunters, campers, hikers, crafts folk, etc - and ... and would this would look great in a display case too!
Here the sheath is 7" long, 2.5" across at top (tapers to a point at the bottom). The neck strap is about 13.5" long from center back to top of sheath.  you can tie a knot at top to make this a shorter length you would like.  The knife is 4.75" long with a 2.25" blade and a handmade wooden handle.  Blade is sharp!! (you may have a favorite small knife that you would like to substitute - sheath would accommodate a knife somewhat longer and/or wider ...)
The knife form is a type that was used for many purposes, including skinning hunted prey.
Paul St. John now lives in Maine, near the homelands of his mother's tribes.  She is Passamaquoddy, MicMac and Maliseet.  He grew up on the Mohawk lands in New York, his father's homeland and is an enrolled Mohawk tribal member.   Paul makes such a variety of items - traditionally dressed dolls using authentic materials, quill and birch bark items, sweet grass baskets with birch bark and quill medallions on the lids, traditional Iroquois beaded velvet items,  moccasins, beaded jewelry,  dance rattles and fans - and so much more.  All are traditionally made using traditional authentic materials.
Watch this store for more of his pieces.  Can't wait to see what he is going to create next.