Not at all archaic I don't think, though uncommon in usage - used in
things like
> PRISE JEWEL FROM SETTING WITH SMALL JEMMY
You slip the jemmy between the stone and the gold, and with great
exertion lever it out. The gigantic diamond of sumatra tips, and falls
out, hitting the carpet with a thud.
or something like that :)
--OH.
-- America may be unique in being a country which has leapt from barbarism to decadence without touching civilisation. -- John O'Hara