Origin and history of Doctor's(Physician's)Knives

[AlaChoctaw]

Can anyone give me any info about the origin and history of the "Doctor's" pattern knives? Who, what, where, why, when? I am giving one to a surgeon whe recently saved my life in a tricky emergency surgery, and would like to include a synopsis of the history, etc. Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Rev. Jim

 

[anthony cheeseboro]

I understand it is a 19th century design. The square bottom was for crushing pills into powder. The two bladed version have spatula blade that was designed for separating pills.

 

[Piney]

This is all I could find out quickly:
In the days of the horse-drawn buggy, the pill-buster was an indispensable tool that assisted the country physician. Gone are doctors making calls door to door, but the famous pillbuster lives on. The handy Doctor's Knife was designed as a utilitarian tool ... the long spear blade was used to cut pills in half, while the flat end design was for grinding pills into powder. Occasionally a special spatula blade was attached to help mix salves. This elegant knife will make an excellent conversation piece - it's a part of our country's early medical history.

 

[Ponsau]

Hate to resurrect an old thread. I stubled on this while looking around for info on doctors knives. But I'm a pharmacist and doctors knives are awesome. I use spatulas to count pills, and a knife is always handy. Lately though I've got into the habit of carrying my leatherman charge to work. The screwdriver and pliers can be so helpful for fixing medical equipment. My wife is a physician, and used to do home hospice traveling door to door. Unfortunately she isn't in to knives.
I do know there are some pharmacists that will use these knives though. Pretty handy in our profession if you ask me.

 

[Ponsau]

Hate to resurrect an old thread. I stubled on this while looking around for info on doctors knives. But I'm a pharmacist and doctors knives are awesome. I use spatulas to count pills, and a knife is always handy. Lately though I've got into the habit of carrying my leatherman charge to work. The screwdriver and pliers can be so helpful for fixing medical equipment. My wife is a physician, and used to do home hospice traveling door to door. Unfortunately she isn't in to knives.
I do know there are some pharmacists that will use these knives though. Pretty handy in our profession if you ask me.