art-of-swords:

Hunting Knife Combined with Wheellock Pistol

• By Ambrosius Gemlich  (German, Munich and Landshut, active 1520–50)
• Date: dated 1546
• Culture: German, Munich
• Medium: Steel, gold, staghorn, gilt bronze
• Dimensions: Length overall 18 1/4 in. ( 46.36 cm) Length barrel 12 3/8 in. ( 31.42 cm) Length blade 13 1/4 in. ( 33.66 cm) Caliber .28
• Classification: Combination Weapons 

In the sixteenth century, wheellock pistols were often combined with swords, knives, axes, maces, spears, and even crossbows, which could be used in the event the pistol misfired.

Usually clumsy and impractical, combined weapons were nevertheless highly prized curiosities. On this example, the heavy, cleaverlike blade is etched with a calendar, the decorator’s name, and the date.

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art