French dirk, the hilt of the dirk consists of an inversed cruciform brass guard, which has scrolled disc-shaped finials and is decorated with embossed vertical hatching. Contained within an embossed hatched oval, at the centre of the cross is an embossed, anchor. Above the cross is an oval cup or water-guard, which extends over the mouth of the scabbard. The brass-mounted dark brown wooden grip is tapered and is decorated with diagonal flutes. At the top of the grip, below the cross, is a plain ferrule, which may not be original. The nearly hemispherical pommel cap is also decorated with radial flutes and is surmounted by a prominent tang button. The steel blade is straight, double-edged and of flattened oval section for most of its length, the first 100mm from the hilt shows traces of a central land or flattening. The blade is badly damaged, the point broken off and much of the shoulder eaten away. The blade is so damaged that no decoration remains, it is quite possible however that the blade was always plain but we cannot be certain of this. The scabbard is missing. The reason for saying that this dirk is French is because, a) the tapered grip was more popular in France than elsewhere, and b) the design of the anchor is thought to be French.