I recently rediscovered this peculiar knife. It carries U.K. Registered Design No. 985267. In Canada, it was registered in 1978 as a "culinary cutting and serving tool" by the Hing Wah Houseware Manufactory Limited of 49-50 Middle Kwai Chung Village, New Territories, Kowloon. That is, Hong Kong. The Canadian registration expired in 1993.
It's certainly odd. Is that a bottle opener at the rear of blade? In addition to the peculiar perforations, which appear to serve only a decorative purpose and which would make the knife more difficult to clean, it also has 2 riveted pins on the back, located 2 inches above the cutting teeth:
These limit the size of the loaf of bread that it can cut through. So, nothing bigger than baguettes. I don't know if their purpose was to attach the knife to some kind of holder, to keep a slice of bread from falling off of the knife while it was being served, or if they were there to keep the blade pointing downward when the knife was laid on its side. I'll probably never know.
Perhaps not the best invention since, well, sliced bread.
Perhaps not the best invention since, well, sliced bread.
The perforations may be to reduce the knife's tendency to stick to and drag on the sides of a cut in fresh bread. Cheese knives employ the same idea.
ReplyDeleteThe riveted pins are indeed quite baffling.
Given the bottle opener, I suspect this is general purpose kitchen tool. I suspect the decorative slots are so that the knife can also be used as a pot strainer. The pins might be used to register it on the inside of the pot.
ReplyDeleteExcellent pot strainer, and of course the pins register it against the rim of the pot. The circular shape of the back of the blade alighn with the rim of all but the largest pots. Ingenious really.
DeleteI use the blade rough chopping leaf veges such as cabbage or lettuce. Think thin strips for coleslaw or sauerkraut. It's quicker and easier than any western chef's knife.
It's light, and this is the downside. Light duty, versatile kitchen work, not something you would use for hours. The handle is the weak point of this design, but otherwise a useful tool if your implements and space are limited
I have used the strainer slots for couse grating of bread and cheese. Its the most versatile utensil handle is its weakest point unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI Found a identik one 😁
ReplyDeleteWhat’s one of these worth
ReplyDeleteThanks! Good analysis and description of features.
ReplyDeleteI received one of these when I was married in 1978. The blade is to cut through frozen food. The hook is a bottle opener. The pegs are to strain from a pot. The pegs hold the rim of the pot. Mine recently lost a peg, however, it still strains wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the explanation, I knew those various features couldn’t be random:-)
ReplyDelete