A Brief History of Knife Production

The History of Knives

Man's Oldest Tool

Both as a tool and a weapon, knives date back to the broad prehistoric period known as the Stone Age, where they were used as status symbols, methods of defense, and daily household utensils. There is so much history embedded in the deceptively humble knife, an object we at WÜSTHOF have dedicated seven generations to honoring and perfecting. To learn more about why we’re so devoted to premium knife craftsmanship, let’s take a step back into history.

Early cutting tools were made from stone, ivory, horns, and antlers. Around 4000 BCE, Egyptian artisans also began using knives made from obsidian, a form of polished volcanic glass and flint. These materials were quite common in blade craft for the next few millennia, despite the increased mining and extraction of copper, lead, and gold around 6500 BCE in the Bronze Age. These metals often proved too soft for consistent, heavy-hitting tasks like hunting and cooking. Originally, a knife’s blade and handle were a single unit, and around 600 BCE distinct handles began to appear in Celtic cultures, where they were typically crafted from bone. Wood, leather, and metal handles eventually followed suit.

It was also around 600 BCE that knifemaking experienced a major upgrade from the introduction of iron, the popular metal of the new age. Yet iron came with some pros and cons. On the one hand, iron was resilient, durable, inexpensive, and abundant. On the other, iron rusted easily and was usually still too soft for many of the tasks it was up against. One hundred years later, however, saw the invention of iron smelting, a process that involved adding carbon to iron to create steel. Both supple and robust, steel was a game-changer in the history of knives, and gradual advances in furnace technology increasingly allowed for better control, higher quality, and exceptionally long-lasting products.

A similar trajectory happened in Seki, Japan, where centuries of accumulated skill and knowledge were grounded by techniques originally developed for making samurai swords. During the Meji Restoration in the late 1800’s, an edict was passed that banned former samurais (known as shizoku) from carrying swords, declaring the act at odds with the era’s period of modernization and Westernization. The Sword Abolishment Edict left sword-making artisans out of a job, inspiring many of them to begin forging knives meant for kitchen work. (You can read a bit more about the continent’s knife legacy in “Asian-Style Knives 101.”)

Knife history is deeply entwined with our origins at WÜSTHOF. Our knowledge, passion, and dedication to the perfect blade has survived two centuries and seven generations, but the seed of such craftsmanship began much earlier. Whether we’re making the highest-quality kitchen knives for the home cook or the best knives for professional chefs, our customers inspire us to continually contribute to the beautiful history of knives — and to support the talented knifemakers who sustain us.