Rybička (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Little Fish) is a small Czech

pocket knife A pocketknife is a knife with one or more blades that fold into the handle. They are also known as jackknives (jack-knife), folding knives, or may be referred to as a penknife, though a penknife may also be a specific kind of pocketknife. A typ ...

with the

handle A handle is a part of, or attachment to, an object that allows it to be grasped and manipulated by hand. The design of each type of handle involves substantial ergonomic issues, even where these are dealt with intuitively or by following tr ...

shaped as a fish. It has been produced since the first decades of the 20th century. The knife was particularly popular during the period of socialism in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. It was valued as a simple and small tool used for

mushroom picking Mushroom hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking, mushroom foraging, and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild, typically for culinary use. This practice is popular throughout most of Europe, Australia, Japan, K ...

, a traditional Czech hobby. It was very popular and sold in large numbers on the Czechoslovak market. As of 2014, it is produced by the company Mikov in Mikulášovice,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

History

The design of the Rybička knife apparently originates from the production of the cutlery workshop of Jan Maixner, however, it gained popularity only after Ignaz Rösler took over the company. The oldest catalogue with the knife shaped as a fish is approximately 80 years old (), however, some sources suggest that the design is only about 60 years old (produced since 1947–1955). During the second half of the 20th century, a part of the production moved to Slovakia, under the sister company Sandrik. The knives were identical, only the sign on the

blade A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Histor ...

was different. During an exhibition of knives in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

in 2005, Rybička received honorable mention as "the most famous knife of Czechoslovakia". The company also produces various collector's series and luxury variants of the knife.

External links

Rybička on manufacturer's website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rybicka (knife) Pocket knives