Arkansas toothpick
Illustration — A replica Arkansas Toothpick on display board In modern terminology, the Arkansas toothpick is a heavy dagger with a 12 to pointed, straight blade. The knife can be used for thrusting and slashing. James Black, known for improving the Bowie knife, is credited with inventing the Arkansas toothpick.
Arkansas toothpick
Joe Haupt from USA · Vintage Reproduction of an "Arkansas Toothpick" Knife by the Carvel Hall Company, Crisfield, Maryland Uploaded by Dumelow · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Field
- dagger.
- Region
- United States.
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Illustration — A replica Arkansas Toothpick on display board In modern terminology, the Arkansas toothpick is a heavy dagger with a 12 to pointed, straight blade. The knife can be used for thrusting and slashing. James Black, known for improving the Bowie knife, is credited with inventing the Arkansas toothpick.
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wikidata · Q4791923 · wikipedia · Arkansas toothpick
In this article
As against the Bowie Knife
As against the Bowie Knife
There was no consistent distinction made between Bowie knives and Arkansas toothpicks in the mid-19th century. There were enough occasional distinctions to shade any dogmatic statement of equivalence. Americans were observed to use pocket knives to clean their teeth in the era, so the "Arkansas toothpick" term may predate the Bowie knife. There is debatable basis for claiming Arkansas toothpicks were designed for throwing.
Legal status
Legal status
Although many jurisdictions worldwide have knife legislation regulating the length of a blade or the dagger-like profile of the Arkansas toothpick that can be owned or carried, certain locales in the United States have legislation mentioning the "Arkansas toothpick" in particular. These laws were passed in the late 1830s in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia as an attempt to prevent dueling.
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United States.
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Arkansas toothpick is associated with United States.
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Primary material
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authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q4791923: Arkansas toothpick
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Arkansas toothpick”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
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1- daggerTerminology
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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