More On Curved Knives For Spoons
These three knives are knives I like having around. The top Lamb’s foot knife is the third one I have worked through over the decades, the middle one is the stainless steel foot rot knife and the third is a fruit paring knife by Victornox that is excellent for inlay work.
In the US the general term for the same tool is of course a pocket knife whereas in the UK a penknife is the same basic tool sliding in and out of the pocket throughout the day. The penknife title originated from its function in cutting swan and goose quills for creating writing quills as dip pens in handwriting. The originals were simply fixed with no folding mechanism to house the blade for pocket storage. The slip joint, the term used for the folding mechanism on pen and pocket knives enabled the safe storage in the pocket and thereby the added convenience of carrying one with you anywhere. As I said, all men at one time had pocketed in their trouser pants a functional and sharp penknife.
I snapped off the top of the curved tip to access the blade better for sharpening with a pair of pliers and then commenced sharpening.
Paul, I never knew why they were called “penknives” until now! We live in a very different world now, I’m sad to say…. When I was a boy growing up in Texas, all the boys carried folding pocket knives (and yes, no one cared if we carried them to school….as long as they were left in your pocket during class). It was a matter of pride who had the sharpest knife. We even played “mumblety-peg” on the playground after lunch and during recess…. And there was never an incident…. Different times.
Paul Is this hoof knife a straight handled one or left or right? I can imagine that each could have merit. It looks like you ground the edge that is held toward you while carving and that you carve in a direction away from you. These may be elementary questions but I am t that level.
Thanks for all of your direction and encouragement.
I still remember being required to hand over my pocket knife going into boot camp because the 2 3/4″ blade was 1/4″ over “the limit”. The fact that the people confiscating my “dangerous” knife were about to hand me an automatic rifle and a bayonet was my first experience with “The right way, the wrong way, and the Army way!”
Growing up in the 40’s and 50’s, I can’t remember any boy who would have left the house in the morning without his pocket knife- we even carried them to school with us (gasp!). How else to make found objects into useful ones? I can remember playing mumbeldypeg with Don Snyder on the church lawn while waiting for the bus. Try that today.
A little off the subject but here goes, the fruit knife or turning knife is a victorinox. They are the same people who make Swiss Army knives, they also make the best low budget kitchen knives I know of and if you are frustrated in the kitchen with pretty useless knives these are definitely the ones to got for. They are easy to sharpen and hold a good edge you will not regret buying a couple of these.
Interesting article. Cooking is an activity we always do while at home, whether it’s to cook food or just boil noodles. From simple to complex, it certainly requires at least 2 cooking utensils. Kitchen utensils that must be had when married are those that have the main function to help cook in general. I have a lot of kitchen utensils, I didn’t have time to linger in the kitchen but my mother was a reliable chef for me. meesterslijpers.nl