Ethnographic Kitchen Knives??

Nathaniel · 22nd August 2009, 04:58 PM

Anyone have some examples of ethnographic kitchen/ cooking knives?

I thought it would be interesting to see different cooking knives from around the world and through history?

Rick · 22nd August 2009, 05:45 PM

Why, as a matter of fact I have one .

With pamor .

(pictures shortly)

Nathaniel · 22nd August 2009, 11:00 PM

Very nice Rick, where is it from?

Jason Anstey · 23rd August 2009, 05:27 AM

Hi Nathaniel

I sent you a PM but your box is full.

Cheers

Jason

Rick · 23rd August 2009, 03:23 PM

Hi Nathaniel , this knife is from rural Java .
It is displayed on a 8x11 sheet of paper .
Very sharp, feels good in the hand .
The 'pamor' in this case seems to be just layers on a core; doubtful there is any esoteric intent .

A. G. Maisey · 24th August 2009, 07:45 AM

Single knife is Japanese overall length 8.25".

Group of knives Jawa and Bali, key for comparison.

All knives in current everyday use.

Tim Simmons · 24th August 2009, 10:21 AM

Banks Island, Vanuatu, 54cm long. This is an eating knife rather than a kitchen knife. Probably for cutting and dividing prepared food and bring food to the mouth. Heavy foodstuff would be cut with larger bamboo knives even able to cut flesh.

ariel · 24th August 2009, 11:35 AM

Come to think of it, Persian Kards, with their wootz blades and precious handles, are nothing but eating implements. They are mechanically not good for anything else.

migueldiaz · 24th August 2009, 03:14 PM

Below are examples from the Filipino Bajau Laut [pronounced bah-JOU (as in joust) LAH-oot], who live in southernmost Philippines (adjacent to Sabah/ Borneo, Malaysia).

Sorry for the poor quality of the pics. It's a cellphone camera I used. The items are displayed at the Phil. National Museum.

The wooden knife says "spatula" on the label. The other item is labeled "axe", or "palakul" in the native tongue.

Note how these folks can't help but make even everyday items very ornate ...

potapych · 24th August 2009, 04:20 PM

Eastern Arctic, Inuit: Nunavimiut, 1900-1909, Antler, metal, 5.3 x 6.4 cm (From McCord Museum).

Canadian Inuit, ("Thule"), Ulu (woman's knife), bone handle and iron blade, Strathcona Sound, Baffin Island, Nunavut, circa 1500-1800 A.D. (From the Canadian Museum of Civilization).

While most of the earliest samples have slate blades (as illustrated below, from Afognak Data Recovery Project, Afgonak Island, Kodiak Archipelago), there is evidence that some of these peoples used meteoric iron and iron acquired from Norse adventurers as much as 1000 years ago, working it by cold hammering.

They are still a very popular kitchen tool and modern samples abound.

fearn · 24th August 2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by potapych

Eastern Arctic, Inuit: Nunavimiut, 1900-1909, Antler, metal, 5.3 x 6.4 cm (From McCord Museum).

Canadian Inuit, ("Thule"), Ulu (woman's knife), bone handle and iron blade, Strathcona Sound, Baffin Island, Nunavut, circa 1500-1800 A.D. (From the Canadian Museum of Civilization).

They are still a very popular kitchen tool and modern samples abound.

I don't have a picture, but I got my mother a modern ulu from Dancing Man Knives several years ago, and she loves it. Since she has arthritic fingers, the ulu is useful to her, because it cuts with wrist and arm action more than finger pressure.

Tim Simmons · 24th August 2009, 07:43 PM

Also better to cut up meat with mittens on your hands.

Mark · 25th August 2009, 04:13 PM

Here's one with some age on it. Not exactly "kitchen" (open-air butcher shop, perhaps). It is an Acheulean hand-axe found along a river bed in central Ethiopia. Its about 5 inches long and 3 wide, and upwards of 1.5 million years old. Its quite something to hold, considering that the guy who made it wasn't even fully human (probably Homo erectus).

A. G. Maisey · 26th August 2009, 06:24 AM

Here's another Jawa kitchen knife.

This is my wife's mincer, for making big pieces of meat into smaller pieces.

Weight 600grms, overall length 14.5"

Made in Koripan, Jawa Tengah.

fearn · 26th August 2009, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark

Here's one with some age on it. Not exactly "kitchen" (open-air butcher shop, perhaps). It is an Acheulean hand-axe found along a river bed in central Ethiopia. Its about 5 inches long and 3 wide, and upwards of 1.5 million years old. Its quite something to hold, considering that the guy who made it wasn't even fully human (probably Homo erectus).

Ummm Mark,

Are you saying that you use this in your kitchen???

Mark · 26th August 2009, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fearn

Ummm Mark,

Are you saying that you use this in your kitchen???

Only for very large cuts of meat.

pallas · 26th August 2009, 08:47 PM

ive seen kitchen knives with yataghan "ears" before

Mytribalworld · 27th August 2009, 01:08 PM

In the province "Zeeland" ( south west Netherlands ) it was custom for every man to have his own "Paeremes". A traditionally carved knife for table,kitchen and other use and part of the local dress especially on sunday.
knifes where also give to a bride and groom on the weddingparty.

The horse knifes where mostly carved by a local carver and a knife was always decorated on top with two horses between each other.

most knife date from the period 1700-1900 often the knife are dated into the carving. They are quite expensive especially the older ones.

The art of carving these knifes is almost gone and as far as I know there's only one old man who carves sometimes one.

As son of a Zeeuw I'm thinking to pick up the production of these knifes,just to save the art for the future.....

Arjan

Tim Simmons · 27th August 2009, 06:46 PM

A Lapp knife {to cut the dancers two piece free, no thats just silly} food knife. The bone blade is smoothly polished with use and hard to photograph. Must have been a big spender

.

Nathaniel · 28th January 2010, 04:54 AM

migueldiaz · 28th January 2010, 05:23 AM

I think blades C & D can be deemed as kitchen knives ... from Fay-Cooper Cole's The wild tribes of Davao district, Mindanao (1913):

mross · 29th January 2010, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Here's another Jawa kitchen knife.

This is my wife's mincer, for making big pieces of meat into smaller pieces.

Weight 600grms, overall length 14.5"

Made in Koripan, Jawa Tengah.

I like the hole in the middle, made from a circular saw blade?

Montino Bourbon · 30th January 2010, 12:30 AM

On a tour, I stopped in a large outdoor market in Chang Mai. A butcher there was using this, or something like it. I knew I had to have one.

Couple of days later I stopped along the road in a little village where they specialize in blacksmithing. One of the smiths was just putting the finishing touches on this. 16 inches long, blade 9 inches long, 3 inches wide. it weighs 1 1/2 solid pounds. And yes, I do use it occasionally. The last time I used it was to take apart a large fish.

Heavy blade. The spine is a quarter of an inch thick at the handle. It can be used as a throwing knife too, since it's heavy enough that no matter how it hits it'll hurt!

buendia · 13th February 2010, 09:14 PM

I cut meat with flint knives today. They are replicas of neolithic knives from Central Europe. Flint cuts like nothing else - really outstanding experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TNAVykyePc

A. G. Maisey · 14th February 2010, 12:44 AM

MROSS

No, made from a truck spring.

Re flint knives

I understand that a few years ago --- perhaps around 1990 --- there was a preference amongst some surgeons for knapped flint blades for some surgical procedures. I do not know if this still applies.

buendia · 18th February 2010, 05:05 AM

Recently I bought on a flea market in Poland such a knife:
[IMG]

[/IMG]
It is 33cm (13inches) long and weighs 380g (13.5oz). Handle is made of horn.
No idea how old is it and what is the provenance?

buendia · 18th February 2010, 05:20 AM

This piece comes from Bavaria, Southern Germany. It was made in 1400s (?) and is in a pretty nice shape. I almost think of sharpening it. I made a temporary hilt out of paper and some tape just to get feel of it. It is 22cm long (8.5 inches). I think it could be a nice kitchen or personal knife. What could be an original shape of the handle???[IMG]

[/IMG]

What could be these maker`s marks?

Nathaniel · 24th February 2010, 02:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Montino Bourbon

On a tour, I stopped in a large outdoor market in Chang Mai. A butcher there was using this, or something like it. I knew I had to have one.

Couple of days later I stopped along the road in a little village where they specialize in blacksmithing. One of the smiths was just putting the finishing touches on this. 16 inches long, blade 9 inches long, 3 inches wide. it weighs 1 1/2 solid pounds. And yes, I do use it occasionally. The last time I used it was to take apart a large fish.

Heavy blade. The spine is a quarter of an inch thick at the handle. It can be used as a throwing knife too, since it's heavy enough that no matter how it hits it'll hurt!

Speaking of which Montino, you all should check out the Thai movie, Chocolate....there is a fight scene in a meat market with much larger knives that will have you jaw dropped and cringing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcgt_NsPq3w

Timo Nieminen · 2nd February 2013, 09:14 AM

A couple of traditional Korean kitchen knives. The larger one is modern, traditional style, forged from railway sleeper steel. It's inspired by the successful drama series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dae_Jang_Geum about a Korean woman who became a palace cook.

The smaller one is, I think, an antique Korean kitchen knife. The handle is natural wood, and ergonomically chosen. I haven't used this one yet.

The modern one is a nice kitchen knife. A few weeks ago, I gave it a quick sandpaper sharpen; before that, it just had the original edge. It was nice and sharp before; now it is nice and very sharp. The last time I used it, I cooked an ancient Babylonian lunch.

My main knife block is populated by mostly Japanese knives. I need to make a larger block that fits my Chinese knives. I don't think of those as ethnographic, but just another style of modern kitchen knife. Korean knives, OTOH, don't seem to be used in modern Korean kitchens.

22nd August 2009, 04:58 PM	#1
Nathaniel Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 865	Ethnographic Kitchen Knives?? Anyone have some examples of ethnographic kitchen/ cooking knives? I thought it would be interesting to see different cooking knives from around the world and through history?

22nd August 2009, 05:45 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,376	Why, as a matter of fact I have one . With pamor . (pictures shortly) Attached Images Last edited by Rick; 22nd August 2009 at 08:47 PM.

24th August 2009, 07:45 AM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	Single knife is Japanese overall length 8.25". Group of knives Jawa and Bali, key for comparison. All knives in current everyday use. Attached Images

24th August 2009, 10:21 AM	#7
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,925	Banks Island, Vanuatu, 54cm long. This is an eating knife rather than a kitchen knife. Probably for cutting and dividing prepared food and bring food to the mouth. Heavy foodstuff would be cut with larger bamboo knives even able to cut flesh. Attached Images

24th August 2009, 03:14 PM	#9
migueldiaz Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Manila, Phils. Posts: 1,042	Below are examples from the Filipino Bajau Laut [pronounced bah-JOU (as in joust) LAH-oot], who live in southernmost Philippines (adjacent to Sabah/ Borneo, Malaysia). Sorry for the poor quality of the pics. It's a cellphone camera I used. The items are displayed at the Phil. National Museum. The wooden knife says "spatula" on the label. The other item is labeled "axe", or "palakul" in the native tongue. Note how these folks can't help but make even everyday items very ornate ... Attached Images

22nd August 2009, 11:00 PM	#3
Nathaniel Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 865	Very nice Rick, where is it from?

23rd August 2009, 05:27 AM	#4
Jason Anstey Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 102	Hi Nathaniel I sent you a PM but your box is full. Cheers Jason

23rd August 2009, 03:23 PM	#5
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,376	Hi Nathaniel , this knife is from rural Java . It is displayed on a 8x11 sheet of paper . Very sharp, feels good in the hand . The 'pamor' in this case seems to be just layers on a core; doubtful there is any esoteric intent .

24th August 2009, 11:35 AM	#8
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Come to think of it, Persian Kards, with their wootz blades and precious handles, are nothing but eating implements. They are mechanically not good for anything else.

24th August 2009, 04:20 PM	#10
potapych Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Left Coast, USA Posts: 14	Eskimo Knife "Ulu" Eastern Arctic, Inuit: Nunavimiut, 1900-1909, Antler, metal, 5.3 x 6.4 cm (From McCord Museum). Canadian Inuit, ("Thule"), Ulu (woman's knife), bone handle and iron blade, Strathcona Sound, Baffin Island, Nunavut, circa 1500-1800 A.D. (From the Canadian Museum of Civilization). While most of the earliest samples have slate blades (as illustrated below, from Afognak Data Recovery Project, Afgonak Island, Kodiak Archipelago), there is evidence that some of these peoples used meteoric iron and iron acquired from Norse adventurers as much as 1000 years ago, working it by cold hammering. They are still a very popular kitchen tool and modern samples abound. Attached Images

24th August 2009, 07:43 PM	#12
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,925	Also better to cut up meat with mittens on your hands.

25th August 2009, 04:13 PM	#13
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	Here's one with some age on it. Not exactly "kitchen" (open-air butcher shop, perhaps). It is an Acheulean hand-axe found along a river bed in central Ethiopia. Its about 5 inches long and 3 wide, and upwards of 1.5 million years old. Its quite something to hold, considering that the guy who made it wasn't even fully human (probably Homo erectus). Attached Images

26th August 2009, 06:24 AM	#14
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	Here's another Jawa kitchen knife. This is my wife's mincer, for making big pieces of meat into smaller pieces. Weight 600grms, overall length 14.5" Made in Koripan, Jawa Tengah. Attached Images

26th August 2009, 08:47 PM	#17
pallas Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 53	ive seen kitchen knives with yataghan "ears" before

27th August 2009, 01:08 PM	#18
Mytribalworld Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 400	Dutch Horseknifes "Paardemes" In the province "Zeeland" ( south west Netherlands ) it was custom for every man to have his own "Paeremes". A traditionally carved knife for table,kitchen and other use and part of the local dress especially on sunday. knifes where also give to a bride and groom on the weddingparty. The horse knifes where mostly carved by a local carver and a knife was always decorated on top with two horses between each other. most knife date from the period 1700-1900 often the knife are dated into the carving. They are quite expensive especially the older ones. The art of carving these knifes is almost gone and as far as I know there's only one old man who carves sometimes one. As son of a Zeeuw I'm thinking to pick up the production of these knifes,just to save the art for the future..... Arjan Attached Images

27th August 2009, 06:46 PM	#19
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,925	A Lapp knife {to cut the dancers two piece free, no thats just silly} food knife. The bone blade is smoothly polished with use and hard to photograph. Must have been a big spender . Attached Images

28th January 2010, 04:54 AM	#20
Nathaniel Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 865

28th January 2010, 05:23 AM	#21
migueldiaz Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Manila, Phils. Posts: 1,042	I think blades C & D can be deemed as kitchen knives ... from Fay-Cooper Cole's The wild tribes of Davao district, Mindanao (1913): Attached Images

30th January 2010, 12:30 AM	#23
Montino Bourbon Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Santa Barbara, California Posts: 301	Thailand On a tour, I stopped in a large outdoor market in Chang Mai. A butcher there was using this, or something like it. I knew I had to have one. Couple of days later I stopped along the road in a little village where they specialize in blacksmithing. One of the smiths was just putting the finishing touches on this. 16 inches long, blade 9 inches long, 3 inches wide. it weighs 1 1/2 solid pounds. And yes, I do use it occasionally. The last time I used it was to take apart a large fish. Heavy blade. The spine is a quarter of an inch thick at the handle. It can be used as a throwing knife too, since it's heavy enough that no matter how it hits it'll hurt! Attached Images

13th February 2010, 09:14 PM	#24
buendia Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Silesia, Poland Posts: 41	I cut meat with flint knives today. They are replicas of neolithic knives from Central Europe. Flint cuts like nothing else - really outstanding experience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TNAVykyePc

14th February 2010, 12:44 AM	#25
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	MROSS No, made from a truck spring. Re flint knives I understand that a few years ago --- perhaps around 1990 --- there was a preference amongst some surgeons for knapped flint blades for some surgical procedures. I do not know if this still applies.

18th February 2010, 05:05 AM	#26
buendia Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Silesia, Poland Posts: 41	Recently I bought on a flea market in Poland such a knife: [IMG][/IMG] It is 33cm (13inches) long and weighs 380g (13.5oz). Handle is made of horn. No idea how old is it and what is the provenance?

18th February 2010, 05:20 AM	#27
buendia Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Silesia, Poland Posts: 41	This piece comes from Bavaria, Southern Germany. It was made in 1400s (?) and is in a pretty nice shape. I almost think of sharpening it. I made a temporary hilt out of paper and some tape just to get feel of it. It is 22cm long (8.5 inches). I think it could be a nice kitchen or personal knife. What could be an original shape of the handle???[IMG][/IMG] What could be these maker`s marks?

2nd February 2013, 09:14 AM	#29
Timo Nieminen Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 422	A couple of traditional Korean kitchen knives. The larger one is modern, traditional style, forged from railway sleeper steel. It's inspired by the successful drama series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dae_Jang_Geum about a Korean woman who became a palace cook. The smaller one is, I think, an antique Korean kitchen knife. The handle is natural wood, and ergonomically chosen. I haven't used this one yet. The modern one is a nice kitchen knife. A few weeks ago, I gave it a quick sandpaper sharpen; before that, it just had the original edge. It was nice and sharp before; now it is nice and very sharp. The last time I used it, I cooked an ancient Babylonian lunch. My main knife block is populated by mostly Japanese knives. I need to make a larger block that fits my Chinese knives. I don't think of those as ethnographic, but just another style of modern kitchen knife. Korean knives, OTOH, don't seem to be used in modern Korean kitchens. Attached Images