chef knives/ knife history

[ryknife]

Hey guys i need some help, I have a research paper due on the history of knives and their uses and evolution into what they are today. My thesis is "knives have always been a integral part of human culture" .I attend Johnson and Wales for culinary so any info on early chef knives or early knives in general would be appreciated. Also i want to touch on the manufacture of knives today compared to early knives. Thank you very much for any advice or info you have.

 

[mete]

How early ? I have photos in books of ancient Roman stone carvings and frescos showing knives . That info is readily available. I once saw a very interesting program about a small museum somewhere in Italy showing old knives just for butchering pigs ,it was quite a collection !! Modern manufacture could best be understood if you could get a tour of the Dexter-Russell factory which is not too far from you .If you want to go back farther than Roman you can get info on bronze age knives and even farther to stone knives .What do you need ??

 

[Lurker]

Your post reminds me of something a history professor told me. When they discovered King Tut's tomb, they found an amazing collection of treasure, much of it pure gold and valuable gemstones. There was one item that was one of his most valued posessions. It was in the place of highest honor, within the inner cript right along with Tut's body worn on a belt around his waist in a sheath of solid gold. It was a dagger and it was extremely valuable because it was made of a super, almost magical material that could pierce the armour of any adversary. It was made of iron!

For a bronze age culture, iron was revolutionary. The only source of iron at that time was from meteorites and was known in Egypt as "black copper from the sky."

 

[the possum]

Honestly I think it would be very wise to ask this question in Bernard Levine's forum here as well. Suffice to say a wealth of information can be found there, and you can also use an Advanced Google search (search only the domain www.bladeforums.com for "chef knife" or whatever key words) to find a great deal that's been discussed in the past.