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May 2, 2020
4,664
23,771
Louisiana
Many of my distant relatives in Sheffield were involved in the cutlery industry from basic table knife cutlers, spring knife grinders, scale cutters (scales were part of the structure of a folding knife) to actual manufacturers. My cousin Thomas Ellin (1799 - 1847) was a huge manufacturer and was made Master Cutler of Sheffield in 1841 as was his father, also Thomas Ellin in 1833.

Of course 'cutlery' is only actually anything that cuts, forks & spoons are not cutlery!

Regards,

Jay.
If you’ve never seen this, you should watch it. A Sheffield smith at work.
 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Bladesmith, I've not seen that yet (I will later in the day) but those guys were often known as 'little mesters', beavering away in tiny workshops. Oftentimes folks would get together and agree that one group would make knives, another forks and another making spoons, all to a similar pattern. This led to the cutlery sets that were sold in the larger department stores!

Regards,

Jay.
 
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Mar 11, 2020
1,404
4,476
Southern Illinois
A footnote: I don't know how anyone, male or female, lives without a handy folding knife, especially now that we do so much shopping online and everything arrives in shipping boxes, but I use a pocket knife for all manner of tasks. Poorly designed packaging these days requires a blade. I have fond memories of my dad conferring a pocket knife or two upon me when I was about eight, a Kamp King with the can opener and screw driver, and a Barlow with two blades. Those and handling fire safely were big rites of passage. If I'd screwed up, he would have confiscated them. So I didn't. Later in life, there came the time when I had to always be mindful of security checks and leave the knife in the car, even puny pocket knives, or bury them in the landscaping to retrieve later. Good security would hold the knife in an envelope to return. My latest inconvenience on that score was a trip to the emergency room with my wife, which is like going to the airport, but they held the knife for me. That's why I hesitate to carry a good carbon blade knife. I don't want some jack taking it home with him after his shift on security.
I always carry 2 pocket knives. One is a small buck knife that i bought my father as a teenager, when he passed i took it back. the other is a case knife i have carried since a teen. We always had a rule at the house you never gave a pocket knife as a gift by itself (bad luck). My dad would always wrap the pocket knife in a dollar bill.
 
May 2, 2020
4,664
23,771
Louisiana
I always carry 2 pocket knives. One is a small buck knife that i bought my father as a teenager, when he passed i took it back. the other is a case knife i have carried since a teen. We always had a rule at the house you never gave a pocket knife as a gift by itself (bad luck). My dad would always wrap the pocket knife in a dollar bill.
An old tradition/superstition that has morphed into several forms. Traditionally a coin was given with a knife. The superstition was that giving a knife as a gift would sever the friendship, so it was given along with a coin. The recipient would then give the coin back to the “gifter” as a form of payment for the knife, making it a sort of purchase rather than a gift.
 

davek

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 20, 2014
685
952
An old tradition/superstition that has morphed into several forms. Traditionally a coin was given with a knife. The superstition was that giving a knife as a gift would sever the friendship, so it was given along with a coin. The recipient would then give the coin back to the “gifter” as a form of payment for the knife, making it a sort of purchase rather than a gift.
Recovering collector here, realizing he had more knives than he would use in his lifetime and thus giving a few away.

I have charged a penny for every one.

Also bad luck to give a knife back to a person who handed it to you in a different open/closed condition.

'Course, my dad told me it was bad luck to be superstitious.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
My Old Bear Knife is on its way according to tracking from the Chicago Knife Works in Morton Grove, a suburb I know well. I'll report if I have impressions when it gets here, although I'm hardly a expert. Yes, though I have a yin for carbon steel, my "carries" for years have been stainless, and now a little of each. To be honest, I savor the patina on carbon blades, that they look a little disheveled to the uninitiated, as with high end kitchen knives. My wife is an ardent chef, and her knives are sacrosanct. She welcomes me to use them, but I avoid them. I use my old Chicago (brand name) knives. Yes, the Opinel locks securely, and I like the simplicity of its mechanism. Basic is good.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
My Opinel with a 3" blade is a tad bulkier in pocket than other pen knives but about the lightest knife I own. It has a carbon blade that has a good edge and holds it. A senior guy with loose fitting clothes has no problem with a few items in the pockets. Younger guys with spiffy duds might not like it as well.
 

Mr.Mike

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 11, 2019
844
2,049
Pennsylvania
"I just never trusted folding knives, I always feel like they are going to fold in on my finger. Fixed blades for me. "

Mr Mike, Opinel knives do actually have a blade locking system, a crude one yes but it works.

Regards,

Jay.
Yea I own an opinel and do like it. There's just always this thought in the back of my head with folders that the locking mechanism is going to fail. Also I just love batoning with my kabar lol.
 
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