Knife Weapon Stats

Did the weapon stats for knife change after the first printing of gold?
And if so, what are they now?

Aside from adjusting for changes to positioning and weapon speed rules through the years, I think the knife stats have remained unchanged since Burning Wheel Classic.

My book (circa 2013), lists power 1, add 1, VA 0, Speed X, shortest

As do my revised books.

Mine has knife as Power: 1, Add: 1, VA 1, Weapon Speed: X, Weapon Length: Shortest.

Are you looking at a page other than 554?

Knife, shiv (PQ) is Pow 0 Add 1 VA 0
Dirk (RoM) increases to Pow 1
Dagger (SQ) increases to VA 1

(2011 printing)

My Fault (improper use of terminology) I keep thinking “knife” equals Dirk (a “shive” is basically an ice pick) and the Hands of Iron die trait lists knife along with stone and dagger as examples of Power 1 weapons.
Thanks for the clarification everyone, my own confusion was probably the root of the problem in the first place.

A shiv is an improvised sharpened object used as a knife, most infamously in prisons. Sharpen the edge of a spoon, shank someone.

A dirk is a type of dagger, and it’s one that’s intended to be used as a weapon.

I think the terminology isn’t great, but here’s how I interpret it:

A shiv is, of course, an improvised non-weapon thing turned into a weapon over time. A knife, in this case, is intended to be a cutting tool, not a weapon. A kitchen knife would be an example.

The dirk mentioned here is a rare BW anachronism. They were weapons of the 17th-19th centuries, mostly. I’d just call the run-of-the-mill version a dagger.

A dagger in BW is probably meant to be a rondel dagger, a common sidearm for knights. These were designed for thrusting through gaps in armor, accounting for the +1 VA, and were fairly large and definitely intended for killing people in battle.

Yeah, a shiv’s a low-quality knife, essentially. A dirk is a weapon made for combat, specifically for piercing, hence VA +1. Think old kitchen knife vs. a military ka-bar or something equivalent.

The only examples of shivs I’ve seen (thankfully never had to deal with) were sharpened to a pointed end and only really useful as a thrust/stab weapon, but my experience with such things is rather limited and out of date.

It’s probably best (for me anyway) to just think in terms of Poor, Run of the Mill, and Superior quality weapons rather than worrying about knife/dirk/dagger.
After all, a weapon smith can easily make a poor quality dagger just by failing his roll to make a run of the mill or superior one.
To me, a Knife is a single edge cutting blade, that usualy has a pointed tip.
A Dagger is a double edged cutting blade that comes to a point for stabbing/thrusting.

Indeed.