Deer Horn Knives

 

Deer Horn Knives, also known as crescent knives or duck blades, are special Chinese bladed weapons consisting of two crossed blades. They are used in Chinese martial arts. This junction gives rise to four curved claw-like points, one of which is extended into a "head lobe".

The practitioner grasps the wrapped center of the elongated crescent while the other acts as a hand guard. They are relatively short weapons that can be easily hidden by traditional Chinese clothing and are usually used in pairs, one for each hand. Deer Horn Knives are particularly associated with the mild-style Chinese martial art of Baguazhang, known for its versatile weapons. They are mostly used to grab an opponent's weapon to help bind or break an opponent's weapon, arm an opponent, and other melee programs. Deer Horn Knives are usually used for longer weapons such as spears, swords, broadswords, or any weapon that uses a safe distance to attack. One advantage of the Deer Horn Knife over a longer weapon is that because Deer Horn Knives are direct appendages of the hands, they can be used with great speed and precision and are easily concealed and can easily be used to catch an opponent off guard.

Some variations of horn cutters include pairs where one crescent is longer than the other, with the larger blade presumably used as the "head hand" and the smaller blade as the "guard hand". Another variant of this weapon called Duck Knives.

Mandarin Duck Knives