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A table knife is an item of
A special type of a table knife is a knife with a "Buckels"-blade. It is also called "Old-German-table-knife". These blades are usually very thin ground and additionally made of carbon steel. As a result these blades are extremely sharp and it is not necessary to use an additional knife with a serrated edge to cut bread or buns.
In the past a large type of table knife may have been referred to as a "case knife". These knives were stored in cases, and were also known as sheath knives.
A table knife is an item of cutlery
Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...
with a single cutting edge, and a blunt end – part of a table setting
Table setting (laying a table) or place setting refers to the way to set a table with tableware—such as eating utensils and for serving and eating. The arrangement for a single diner is called a place setting. It is also the layout in which th ...
. Table knives are typically of moderate sharpness only, designed to cut prepared and cooked food.
History
In early periods in the West, no special kind of knife was used at the table. Men and often women of most classes carried a knife around with them for a great variety of tasks, from pruning trees to personal protection or eating at table. TheAnglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
and Germanic version of this was called the ''seax
''Seax'' (; also sax, sæx, sex; invariant in plural, latinized ''sachsum'') is an Old English word for "knife". In modern archaeology, the term ''seax'' is used specifically for a type of small sword, knife or dagger typical of the Germanic pe ...
'', often over a foot long. The original table knife was invented by Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
. Guests at a meal brought their own cutlery, usually in a little case called a ''cadena''. It was only in the 17th century that hosts among the elite again began to lay out cutlery at the table, although at an Italian banquet in 1536 for Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...
, it is recorded that each guest was provided with knife, spoon and fork, evidently a rarity.
The distinguishing feature of a table knife is a blunt or rounded end. The origin of this, and thus of the table knife itself, is attributed by tradition to Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...
around 1637, reputedly to cure dinner guests of the habit of picking their teeth with their knife-points.
Later, in 1669, King Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Versa ...
banned pointed knives in the street and at his table, insisting on blunt tips, in the hope that it would reduce the violence of the time period.
In any table setting, the knife will typically be the piece to bear the maker's stamp on the blade. The English city of Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
is noted for its cutlery manufacture and many knives bear the city's name in addition to the maker's.
In the past the blades were typically of carbon and/or stainless steel, with handles of bone
A bone is a Stiffness, rigid Organ (biology), organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red blood cell, red and white blood cells, store minerals, provid ...
, wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
, or ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
, but many modern examples are now made from a single piece of stainless steel for both handle and blade as per the example pictured.
A special type of a table knife is a knife with a "Buckels"-blade. It is also called "Old-German-table-knife". These blades are usually very thin ground and additionally made of carbon steel. As a result these blades are extremely sharp and it is not necessary to use an additional knife with a serrated edge to cut bread or buns.
In the past a large type of table knife may have been referred to as a "case knife". These knives were stored in cases, and were also known as sheath knives.
See also
* Steak knife – with a pointed end, and a very sharp, often serrated, cutting edge *Butter knife
In common usage, a butter knife may refer to any non-serrated table knife designed with a dull edge and rounded point; formal cutlery patterns make a distinction between such a place knife (or table knife) and a butter knife. In this usage, a bu ...
* Knork
A variety of eating utensils have been used by people to aid eating when dining. Most societies traditionally use bowls or dishes to contain food to be eaten, but while some use their hands to deliver this food to their mouths, others have deve ...
* Sporf
A variety of eating utensils have been used by people to aid eating when dining. Most societies traditionally use bowls or dishes to contain food to be eaten, but while some use their hands to deliver this food to their mouths, others have deve ...
Notes
References
* Strong, Roy, ''Feast: A History of Grand Eating'', 2002, Jonathan Cape, {{cooking-tool-stub