The History of Cutlery

The History of Cutlery Knives! Although they are not the most expensive piece by heating it with fire. Occasionally, flint was worked right of equipment in a commercial kitchen, knives are the most at the mine, normally, however, blocks of stone were valuable! Think how often each member of the brigade brought from far and wide and worked on flat stretches of picks up a knife to dice, slice, fillet or split each and every ground near the dwelling of a clan. day! Now imagine how labor intensive, difficult and costly Flintstone was traded during the late Stone Age. Grand- it would be to do these tasks if today's assortment of quality Pressigny in France had an abundant supply of good knives was not available. quality stones that were sold to distant tribes. The huge The development of cutlery has paralleled mankind’s amount of chippings found at the work site of the Grand- progress throughout history. Let’s begin our journey in the Pressigny community indicated that this was where stone Stone Age, with its axes, knives and spearheads made of was worked on a scale large enough to support trading fragments of hard stones such as flint. flintstone and flintstone artifacts. The “chipped stone era” in Europe and Asia came to an THE STONE AGE… end as mankind made a giant leap forward and began to Some 300,000 years ago, the very first cutler fashioned work with metal in place of stone. knives and spearheads from stone so that he and his family could feed and defend themselves. THE BRONZE AGE… The first knives ever made by man were splinters of Metals replaced stone slowly, hence, even though bronze the particularly hard stone, flint or silex. Flintstone was (an alloy of copper with tin) was available, stone continued common, thus readily available. The sharp edges on these to be used for a long time. However, once the merits of splinters formed a type of cutting implement that made bronze knives became known, they took hold and far skinning and hacking up animals killed in the hunt an surpassed the capabilities of their stone ancestors. easier chore. Flintstone was also excellent for scraping pelts that were used for clothing. THE IRON AGE BEGINS ABOUT 1000 BC… Scientific research and archaeological diggings have Iron is one of the most common metals in the earth’s crust. lead to the discovery of tools used by early mankind in the It can be found almost everywhere, combined with many daily struggle to survive. Early man made flint knives (or other elements, in the form of iron ore. stone splinters) in a great number of shapes. Sizes varied The many sagas about the “Iron Age” suggest that the first from that of a small pocket knife to the considerable length skills in metalworking, originally deemed holy, came from of a scrub-clearing scythe. Edges were usually straight, but the east, or more exactly, from Phrygia in Asia Minor, in exceptional cases, curved. Some blades thickened out to Greece. into triangular or rounded handles while others were attached to wooden handles. The Chronicle of Paros (a marble tablet found on the Greek island of Paros), suggests that the discovery of iron Ancient man required great practical experience to skillfully occurred in 1432 BC, while other documents suggest that craft early flint knives. The job began with the selection of the “Iron Age” began about 1000 BC. After 1432 BC, a good flintstone. Next, the stone had to be fractured and actual written records show that iron was used for the sharp-edged strips knocked off. To do this, the stone weapons, knives and farm tools. Iron knife blades were far was held in the left hand, and a pebble was held in the superior to any of their predecessors. right hand. The pebble was used to hammer the flat edge of the stone fragment to loosen a long chip with two sharp The Etruscans were working iron ore mines on the island edges – this formed a rough blade which then had to be of Elba (now part of Italy) in 600 BC. The Etruscans seem carefully finished by continuing to chip the flintstone until to be the first people to have extracted iron ore from the the desired blade was obtained. Island of Elba and they supplied iron to the Romans during the early centuries. During this period the number of tools People of the late Stone Age used flint more than any other and weapons made from iron grew tremendously and stone for making weapons and tools. Artisans knew how replaced those made from bronze. Cutting and shaving to choose the right types of stone to fashion weapons and knives, scythes and sickles, then ultimately scissors with tools and went to great efforts to find the required stone. springs completed the list of cutting implements being In fact, in parts of France, earth-works worthy of being made by the end of the Iron Age. called “mines” have been found; they feature proper excavation shafts and subterranean galleries. When diggers With the end of the era known as the Iron Age, prehistoric came across an extremely large flintstone, they cracked it times were left behind and a new era began. CCI – The History of Cutlery THE MIDDLE AGES TO INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION cutlery was separated from weapons manufacturing. The IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY… “Ceremonial of Cutlers” records that the cutler’s craft was The preparation of iron was critical to the evolution of the taught in Cologne by a Roman, Marius Marcus Aurelius. “Cutler's Craft.” Therefore, it is important to present a brief It took men a long time to learn their craft; not only did history of the production of iron prior to discussing the they make an entire knife, they also made their own cutler’s craft. manufacturing tools – hammers, tongs, files, etc. Items made in the Early Middle Ages, and on display in IRON PREPARATION museums today, have ornamental handles. Many included From its discovery to the end of the Middle Ages, the precious materials like gold, silver, enamel, amber, gems, preparation of iron remained the same: alternating layers rock crystal, marble, mother-of-pearl, etc. and were made of iron ore and wood (or charcoal) were heated in a more precious with artistic carving, engraving and inlaying. hearth until a mass of molten ore was obtained. The These knives, and later forks, were owned by the nobility molten ore was then hammered while it was hot to remove and the wealthy people of the day. impurities not removed during the heating and melting process. Raw iron, ready for forging was obtained. SHEFFIELD & SOLINGEN – FAMOUS CUTLERY TOWNS In the beginning, the hearth was a simple conical hole or Although cutlers could be found extensively throughout pit in the ground; as progress was made, the hearth various parts of the world during the Middle Ages, this became a furnace. The first furnaces were known as Renn report focuses on Germany and England, two major or Bloomery furnaces. Later on, bricked-up shaft kilns were European cutlery producers. used as Renn furnaces. Oxygen was force-fed into the kiln The development of trade routes and the flourishing by means of bellows that were initially pumped by of commerce during the 15th century meant that pig iron manpower, then later driven by water wheels. Shaft kilns, was easily transported to the major centers of trade and were followed by lump furnaces, then flux furnaces, and craft. In the 16th and 17th centuries, “knifers” worked finally by blast furnaces which are still used today. in many cities throughout Europe. Long-lasting fame and In the 15th century, construction of the first “high forges” 13 a reputation for quality knife blades only stuck to a few to 20 feet tall resulted in a lucky and major discovery: a places. Solingen, Germany is one of these towns. ferrous metal in liquid form, known as cast iron. Cast iron The availability of water power was the main reason why was used to manufacture all types of objects (cooking blade makers were initially attracted to Solingen. In the pots, cannon balls, pipes, etc.). beginning, iron quarried from nearby sites was used, later Cast iron also allowed iron to be produced in quantity. on, iron was brought from Siegland, about 100 kilometres Cast iron was refined by heating it and blowing air over away. it. This caused the carbon in the cast iron to burn off and The Continental Blockade erected by Napoleon in the latter the pure iron to run off drop by drop, forming a molten part of the 18th century effectively halted all exports from mass of raw iron. Solingen and created difficult times for the Solingen cutlery Iron processing did not change again until three hundred trade. After Napoleon fell from power there was a surge years later. In the late 18th century, two important discov- of production and trade at first, but competition from eries about carbon were made. In 1779, C. W. Scheele England was stiff, particularly in overseas markets. The distinguished between molybdenite (MoS2) and graphite. Continental Blockade and the advent of the Industrial Additionally, in 1786 three French scientists, Berthollet, Revolution in England had enabled Sheffield to gain a Monge and Vandermonde, precisely defined the nature of significant technological advantage over Solingen. To the iron/cast iron/steel relationship and the role of carbon stimulate business, Solingen cutlery traders had books of in the preparation and characteristics of these three samples compiled. These early catalogues used water materials.

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