History of Mankind s Most Important Tool, The Knife. Written by: peterkim10110

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1 History of Mankind s Most Important Tool, The Knife Written by: peterkim10110 The knife is one of the first tools ever to be crafted by the human race. Throughout millennia, it has remained vital to the survival of humans, and it has dramatically changed how we interact with our environment. The knife, or the cutting edge as it essentially is, changed the way humans hunted, prepared food, and crafted new items. It made us capable of capturing large prey and preparing their carcasses for consumption. It was also instrumental to our self defense, and over time it allowed us to ascend the hierarchy of beings to become the dominant species on the planet. Many will argue that the wheel or the hammer was a more historically important tool, but it is the knife that has remained indispensible throughout the generations. We have evolved entire cultures around it and used it to establish and destroy regimes. We have changed the way we eat, build things, and fight all because the knife made it possible to explore new methods of doing things. Tracing back to the origins of the first knife ever crafted, we are capable of witnessing how the tool helped mankind evolve, and how much it has since developed to become the vital tool it is today. The Age of the Stone Tools (Paleolithic and Neolithic Age) The cutting edge was first created over 2.5 million years ago by our ancestors. These tools were extremely basic and were made by breaking pieces off large rocks and using their sharp edges to cut through things. Such tools were created by hominids, a race of human-like creatures that existed long before the first Homo sapiens roamed the earth. With time, hominids started to develop ways to make sharper cutting edges. They would flake and sharpen the pieces of rock to make them more efficient at cutting. Sometimes, they would even chip off protruding pieces in order to straighten their tools. Gradually, they began attaching their sharpened pieces of rock to bone and wood handles to prevent injuring themselves when hunting or crafting items using knives, giving rise to the era of Paleolithic tools. The first knives were predominantly made from flint, a type of rock we assume was widely available at the time, and was the easiest to manipulate. Flint could be manipulated into various shapes as well by grinding. When the Homo sapiens finally came into existence, the knife took off as the primary tool for hunting, crafting, and self-defense. Not only did our ancestors further refine the earlier iterations of the cutting edge, but they also adopted a new type of tool, the disposable tool. Homo sapiens would walk around with a chunk of flint or obsidian or quart from which they would chip off flakes that could be used as knives. These tools, which would be discarded shortly after use, are recognized as expedient tools, and they represented our intrinsic attraction to convenience. This era was known as the Neolithic age or the age of the new stone tools.

2 The Neolithic age lasted for what is roughly 99 per cent of human history. It is only recently that humans abandoned rock tools in preference to the more durable and malleable metal. The Copper and Bronze Age The end of the Lithic ages was marked by our transition to metal ores. First, we used copper and gradually added bronze and tin to our list. We extracted the ores of these metals, and through minimal processing, we were able to extract their malleable contents. Copper and bronze scored maximum points on durability as they were capable of surviving much longer than their rock predecessors. However, there was a catch. Humans traded rock tools for the sharper, more durable bronze and copper knives, but these soft metals suffered from poor edge retention and were highly susceptible to corrosion. They became dull all too frequently, and this created a need for sharpening tools to make the knives usable again. This marked the advent of knife sharpening stones, incidentally bringing back the use of rock tools even though this time they played second fiddle to the metallic cutting edge tools. This was roughly 10,000 years ago. The knives created during the copper and Bronze Age closely resembled what we have today. The piece of metal was sharpened on one edge and left dull on the other, forming the blade and the tang of the knife respectively. Like their predecessors, the humans in this era used bone and wood extensions to create handles that would make their tools easier to wield. The extraction and processing of bronze and copper had unprecedented effects on human interaction. We developed our first trade routes around these metals, which consequently led to increased cross-cultural interaction and trade. This is a prime example of how the knife impacted on the development of early civilizations and possibly led to the spread of cultural beliefs across different populations around the globe. The Iron Age and the Origin of the Iron Alloy Steel Knife It was only a matter of time before copper and bronze became unsuitable materials for the creation of tools. Their inability to remain sharp for long periods of time forced humans to look for better options, and they found it in iron and steel around 3,500 years ago. Iron held a massive advantage over soft metals. Not only could it be forged into more durable blades, but it also had better edge retention capabilities. This was a significant milestone in the development of the knife. From here, humans began further enhancing the iron knife in different ways. First, wood ash would be added to the blade to create the first iron alloy steel. This steel blade gradually evolved into the stainless steel knife that we commonly use today in the kitchen, in the forest (while hunting) and on the battlefield. Since then, steel blades have been advanced dramatically. Processes like blacksmithing, tempering, and cold forging allowed us to use precision when making knives, and this improved the standard knife blade into what it is today. These processes have been passed down for generations and have largely remained the same since. The Iron Age marks the period when humans mastered the forgery of knives from durable materials

3 like iron. Following this progress, humankind went on to mark their next big achievement in knife crafting in 1400AD when the first folding knife was invented. The pocket knife we know of today existed thousands of years before our modern civilization did. Since then, we have improved the material of the handle, added serrations, locking mechanisms, and blade grinds, and upgraded the folding knife in every conceivable way. The Era of Decorative Knives It wasn t long after when knives became deeply significant to us. They helped us obtain our sustenance, create new things, and protect ourselves from wild animals and predators, so it was only a matter of time before humans began treating knives as the treasured tools they rightfully were. The Romans began crafting knives with designs embedded into their handles. They would draw intricate representations of their warriors in combat that glorified their achievements in war. Knife handles during this era were still predominantly made from either wood or bone. However, newer, more exotic materials were soon used to make knife handles. Knives with pearl and tortoiseshell handles were considerably more precious, and some were even believed to hold secret powers. During the Saxon era in England, there were knives known as scramasax knives. Whoever carried a knife like this had a reason, and that s because these knives meant something. To some, they indicated their freedom as individuals during the era of slaves. Such knives had handles that were not only intricately decorated with carvings but also heavily ornamented. To date, there are still a few of these present in museums, with one of the best-preserved ones bearing clear inscriptions that say Gebereht owns me on one side. Military knives came into existence during the 19th century. Originally, the handles were made from bone, and the blades were predominantly of the sheepfoot variety with rounded off tips that allegedly prevented internal scuffles from escalating too much. Military blacksmiths later traded bone for plastic, and thus plastic knife handles were born. To improve grip, a diamond pattern overlay was carved into the plastic handle. The Evolution and Diversification of the Knife as a Tool and a Weapon One of the first times a clear distinction was put in place between knives as eating utensils and knives as weapons was in the 17th century. In 1669, King Louis XIV of France illegalized all pointed knives used in the streets and at the dinner table to minimize deaths and injuries arising from knife attacks. He decreed that all pointed knives should be ground down to a blunt point. This decree was mimicked very recently in England as doctors moved to ban long kitchen knives in a bid to cut down on stabbing rates. The knife soon became known as a utensil for the dining table. Once the fork became a commonly used utensil in the 17th century, the knife s pointed edge was taken away and in some instances, it was given a

4 serrated blade that was good at cutting food but not causing injuries. Be that as it may, the distinguishable design of the modern dining knife (or table knife) is credited to the French Cardinal Richelieu who abhorred the use of sharp knives at the table as early as in the 1630s. He is believed to have later influenced King Louis XIV to ban the use of pointed knives outside the military. In the 19th century, the curved, four-tined fork eradicated the need for sharp-tipped knives permanently. The modern table knife took on a blunt appearance with one serrated or sharpened edge for cutting through chunks of food. In other fields, the development of knives took different trajectories. In the military, knives were forged with double edges to make them more lethal in combat. Foragers developed the machete, a sword-like knife that featured one or two sharp edges that were used to whack away thick vegetation when foraging. Different cultures developed different types of knives and assigned specific duties to them. In Scotland, the knife evolved into a long, pointed blade known as the dirk, which was chiefly a fighting knife. In America, a legendary soldier and pioneer known as Jim Bowie was credited with the development of a large-bladed knife that featured a distinct shape. This knife, which was named after him (the bowie knife), still has several applications today. It is commonly used in fishing, camping, foraging, and even combat. The kitchen knife evolved from the first bronze and copper knives, which featured single-edged blades with tangs (blunt edges) and a plastic, bone, or wooden handle. Its primary function, cutting, and slicing has remained the same over the years. As a utensil, the design of the common knife was also diversified into the bread knife, the kitchen knife, the table knife, the butcher s knife, the carving knife, and the cleaver, which is a hatchet-like knife used to cut through bone. In Medieval Europe, knives evolved from the small single-handed tools they were to large double-edged blades, axes, and spears. It is during this period, which was in the 15th century, that the wealthy walked around with personal knives that they would use in combat and dining. The Significance of the Knife to Human Existence Knives quickly became the most versatile tools at our disposal. They had uses ranging from spearing and prickling to cutting and slashing. Aside from being crucial to our survival during the Lithic periods when we used them predominantly to hunt and to protect ourselves, knives have influenced human existence in a lot more ways, not all of which have been positive. Looking at one negative impact, knives made wars devastating. The invention of swords, spears, and arrows, which were predominantly fighting tools, led to the massacre of millions, or possibly billions, as empires rose and fell and new conquerors reigned supreme. All the wars fought before the 19th century were either won or lost by the sword, which at the time was a devastating weapon of destruction. On a more positive note, knives allowed us to evolve culture and class and integrate it into our way of living. While initially knives were used as dining utensils only sparingly and had to be carried around from meal to meal, they eventually changed into becoming a necessity in the preparation and consumption of human food.

5 Before forks were popularized, knives dominated the dinner table. They were slim, sharp, and pointed, and eventually, this was changed to accommodate them to milder, non-violent settings. Knives have had a great impact on how we ve evolved as a society, from helping us obtain food to enabling us to eat it in a manner that separated us from the animals. Similarly, we ve also greatly influenced its shape, size, and uses over the years.