A crooked knife, also known as mukutakan or mocotaugan. It has a steel blade inset in a curved bone handle with a spruce root grip in the centre. This tool was used in the forested parts North America for general woodworking tasks. It was originally a native American tool which was modified by the addition of an imported iron blade.

This example is part of a collection of ethnographical material made by Admiral Sir George Back (1796-1878). Back took part in three overland journeys to explore the north coast of America in 1819-22, 1825-27 and 1833-35. He travelled north via the network of rivers and lakes on the Canadian Shield stopping at Hudson Bay Company trading posts. The expedition was dependent on local people who hunted for food and made clothes and equipment for the Europeans. It was also reliant on indigenous technologies for survival in harsh climatic conditions. The knife could have been used to make snowshoe frames and canoe ribs.