Wednesday 30 November 2016

Bread knife.



If something is serviceable and reasonably attractive, then I think it should be used, regardless of age; unless it's very fragile, or extremely valuable.

Such is the case with my nice old Maple handled, and carved, bread knife. Made by the highly regarded Joseph Rodgers & Sons of Sheffield in around 1920, it still cuts as well as ever, and is a pleasure to use.


OK, a nasty serrated, white plastic handled, stainless steel blade might do the job, but working with a tool that's been in use since George V was on the throne (1910-1936) is a true pleasure. 

I can't recall its history, but it must have cut an awful lot of bread; and hopefully will continue to do so.

p.s. I was watching TV's 'Flog it' recently where someone was selling a sliver tea set. The Teapot was marked JR and had the star and cross mark, used by Rodgers since 1764; well within the age of the Teapot. The expert attributed it to someone completely different. As you might imagine, I shouted expletives at the screen!  



39 comments:

  1. They made things to last back then. An old trusty friend.

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  2. A proper bread knife....it even tells you what it is for!
    I love practical antiques like this... we have many here, but none this beautiful.... save perhaps, our emergency kettle, a wedding present to my parents. It has an element underneath the base...rather like a hotplate... you can boil just one cup of water! It was secondhand when they were given it in '48....so it had come through the war. It now lives in the guest room....part decorative, wholly functional...and has tea and coffee stuff with it.
    All our other items live in the kitchen... and get used!!

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    1. I prefer 'antique' to modern in almost everything. Old kitchen things are probably my favourites.

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  3. I do wish your children save these precious things one day. I have a few things passed down to me and I hope my son will treasure them as I do; they are not great values but they are my family history which I value most.
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. We often wonder about that. Their tastes are so different to ours. As long as things don't get thrown onto a skip, I shan't really mind, but it would be good to think that they'll appreciate certain things.

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    2. Cro, I go back to read post because I also enjoy reading comments people leave - I have just seen a strange long comment left in your "Bok's birthday" post.
      X

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    3. Thanks Maria, I've deleted it. I also deleted the same thing from my yesterday's post, and have seen it appearing all over the place. I do hope he/she is not going to become a nuisance; these things used to be very common, but I thought they'd disappeared.

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  4. Using things is a way to honour them and making life richer - you will enjoy cutting bread more with that knife than with a new one; feeling the connection to a special era and a great craftman. Can't see the sense of putting things into a glass vitrine, protected "for special days" - when the good days are - hopefully - now? So I use them.

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    Replies
    1. Quite right Brigitta. We do try to regularly use even quite vulnerable antiques. Why not?

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  5. That's a lovely knife, I love the carved handle

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  6. Yes. A good knife is a good knife.

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    Replies
    1. It cuts well, doesn't need sharpening too often, and gives pleasure. What more could one want!

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    2. We are blessed in that respect.

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  7. I'm a great believer in using old things and not locking them away in a cupboard 'for the next generation'. I do have some beautiful knives and the means for sharpening them but, unfortunately, for freshly made bread I do find my serrated one better and for meat (which I very rarely carve) I would really raise your temperature because, unless I have to do it at the table, I use an electric knife!

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    1. I had a friend who always used an electric knife, and his meat always ended-up looking shredded. I seem to have a lot of old unused knives that ought to go to the dump; unless I could find someone to sharpen them.

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    2. Our market had a sharpener vanman but he left....have now found a new 'affuteur' on a neighbouring village's market.... they know their stuff those guys.

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    3. I haven't seen one around here for years.

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    4. One rang our doorbell only last week!

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    5. My cooking knives are razor sharp although a good old-fashioned knife-sharpener would get the job if there was one but I haven't seen one since my childhood. I can only assume, Cro, that your friend couldn't carve regardless of the knife he used. My father rarely ate red meat (having, as a keen sportsman, been advised not to after he contracted rheumatoid arthritis in his teens) but I sat at my grand-father's side as he carved everything including jugged hare (yuk) and though I don't enjoy carving I can do it.

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    6. Carving has always been a distaff task in my family, but my wife refuses to do it, so I am forced to perform. I think my friend used to try to carve too thinly, hence ending-up with shreds.

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  8. A beautiful old knife and useful too!

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  9. I always wanted a mouseman bread knife and breadboard...one day!

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    1. I'd like one of his breadboards; quite a status symbol.

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  10. Beautiful bread knife -- a real treasure. Once upon a time things were made for lifetimes!

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  11. Of my four children, only one would "maybe" want any of my old things and in all probability, it would all end up in a box on an attic. They like shiny, new and disposable today.

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    1. Sad, isn't it. One day they'll realise what they've let go, and then it'll be too late.

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  12. I'm sorry to say the knife is redundant and a bread cutting machine is now efficiently about its business.

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    1. That sounds dreadful. And I bet it runs on expensive electricity too!

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    2. Not really. I use it for less than 5 minutes a week. The electric glutton is Weaver Pat's favourite implement: the dreaded iron. We hardly ever use that thing. I don't even know where we keep it.

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    3. I think I could count the amount of times I've used an iron on one hand. I've never worn clothes that needed ironing.

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  13. I am a Flog it fan too Cro - we usually watch it by the fire over tea at this time of the year.

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    1. I like to keep up with the value of things, even though I haven't been in the business for a very long time. 'Flog it' on a rainy afternoon with a cup of tea is just fine!

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  14. "serviceable and reasonably attractive" I'd like those words put on my headstone.

    Recently went through our collection of furniture stored in the awful house on The Poor Farm, to bring some down to my new studio building. One child mocked me for keeping any of it (the 25 yr old) one thought I should save it for the big house he thinks we;ll build again (age 27) one marked several pieces for his after I die (the 35 year old) and one told me I should sell it all so she wouldn't have to support me in later life (age 36) I suppose I should be happy that none of them are opening fighting about our treasures :)

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    1. Well at least they're all business minded. As I said somewhere above, they'll probably regret not earmarking certain things for themselves, as they'll probably come to regret it.

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