Photos To me the perfect butter and cheese knife is this...

[roaduck]

When I was a teenager I picked up an all-stainless parallel bladed 5 inch table knife up at a flea market for twenty pence (about 25 cents)
It was an English Sheffield made knife from the 1930`s or 1940`s (top right pic) and I use it two-three times a day at least.
It`s been used as a screwdriver and a chisel so the hollow handle is split and lets water in because my brother used a hammer on it on some frozen sausages haha!
The tip is knackered and had to be reground too so I`ve got two nearly identical all stainless parallel knives on order.
It`s not too sharp so it`s perfect for hard cheeses and buttering sandwiches because the blade is much thicker and stiffer than a butter knife or pallette knife - I could not do without it in the kitch or in town cooking.

 

[Aardvark]

Please understand that using any but the bottom-left knife with a Technics totally voids the warranty!

 

[roaduck]

Oh I didn`t know that Aardvark - thanks for telling me - haha! - At least it has a glass platter haha!
My other hobby is Hi-fi`s so I have a cheapie Dual DJ deck and a dusty Linn Axis upstairs which sounds dry and fast like a CD.

 

[Aardvark]

I have a Lesa Pro 6 in the living room.

 

[roaduck]

That sounds nice - I`ve not heard of that make.
I love watching records go round - especially picture discs! - `puters and CD eat your heart out !

 

[Aardvark]

Italian, I think. 50 yrs old, or so. 6 lb platter, hence the name.

 

[roaduck]

Oh WoW Aardvark that sounds incredible and that`s just your description - nevermind the gorgeous sound !

 

[Cementite]

When I was a teenager I picked up an all-stainless parallel bladed 5 inch table knife up at a flea market for twenty pence (about 25 cents)
It was an English Sheffield made knife from the 1930`s or 1940`s (top right pic) and I use it two-three times a day at least...

On a whim, about 15 years ago, I bought a similar Sheffield butter/table knife in carbon steel at a flea market for a similar price. (I suspect mine was even older than yours, though.)

To modern eyes, the knife looked terrible -- the steel was almost black with patina, and the white faux-ivory handle was pretty ratty -- but I loved that knife. Its blade was super thin, not much thicker than a double-edge razor blade, and just as springy, and you could sharpen it to a razor's edge with a couple of swipes across a stone.

Somehow, somewhere that knife got lost in the shuffle. (I think I started using it to cut bait when saltwater fishing -- since it was such a cheap but sharp knife -- and the saltwater likely devoured it.) But I would love to find another!

ETA: Now that I think about it, today -- the first Saturday of the month -- is the one day of the month when that particular flea market/auctioneer is open...so I'm going to go look for another similar knife there today. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[roaduck]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane Cementite and Aardvark - I love flea markets and jumble sales and as you say they don`t make things like they used to make them - built to last.

 

[roaduck]

My new all-stainless knives finally arrived and they are beautifully polished and weighty at over 4 ounces each with five inch blades.
They will last ages seeing that my last one is well over 70 years old and it is used everyday.

 

[Grasshopperglock]

Those are nice.

A few years ago I was walking the flea market and at one place. The guy had three sets of vintage silverware in their storage box. Silver plated like they were dipped in hot silver. One set was 100% complete and dates to around 1921. Basic set. Dinner knives, dinner spoons, and dinner folks. No desert spoons or forks. I believe it's a 6 person set.

Seeing your vintage stuff. I need to polish up my set.

 

[roaduck]

Wow that sounds fantastic G Grasshopperglock .
I already have a decent all stainless set for 18 dinner guests but it`s nowhere near the quality of those English Lincoln House ones above.
Those two knives above are new but because they are so highly polished they will show every finger mark .
I have no desert spoons or forks either - just one big spoon for everything - soup, pudding - the lot haha!

The prices are eyewatering - over two grand for the full all stainless 18 place set and seventy grand for the 925 sterling silver set with 3 drawer canteen on legs ; that`s heirloom quality cutlery what you describe.
I was polishing a lot of silver cutlery before family get togethers as a child - that was hard work.