The Dagger was a small multi-purpose knife that was used at supper and slaughter as well. With a straight blade, it was for thrust and puncture, not slash and gash like the cutlass.

It is notable that the dagger usually had a cross bar or hilt to keep the hand off the blade and swords off the hand. The hilt's most important function came into play during a cutlass fight, because it could 'catch' the strike of the blade. The user could deflect the blow, swiftly swing the cutlass to the side, and answer with a hard cutting motion of his own.