sheath knife

plural sheath knives · alternative sheath-knife

1. A knife with a fixed blade that fits in a protective sheath when not in use; such a knife may be small (serving as a neck knife, boot knife, or pocketknife) or large (hung on a belt).

   But when he saw this he loosened his sheath-knife and held it ready.

   1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 159

   1 more example

   Preparing a running noose they slipped it over his arms, pinioning them to his side, and then proceeded with sheath knife and marline-spike to open his mouth for investigation, but not without strenuous efforts on the part of the subject for revengeful retaliation.

   1877, R. Elton Smile [pseudonym; Elton Romeo Smilie], chapter III, in The Manatitlans; or A Record of Scientific Explorations in the Andean La Plata, S.A., Buenos Ayres: Imprenta De Razon [actually Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press], →OCLC, page 26

   Synonyms: fixie