A crude cutting tool, or knife, was probably one of the first tools used by primitive man. From the first moment he used a sharp rock to crack a dinasour egg, man has never stopped looking for ways to improve on the knife. In reality, it has not been a man's search for a better mouse trap that helped shape society, but rather his search for a better knife.
175,000 years ago, give or take a century, man dropped down out of the trees, stood on his own two feet, picked up a sharp stone and went out to search for dinner. He moved to a cave for warmth and protection. Then, he discovered fire.
The discovery of fire followed by the innovation of cooked foods, created a need for more refined tools (knives). To coin a phrase, "Necessity is the mother of invention." And so, the flint knife was born. Flint was a more pliable medium than stone and man found he could shape and fashion a more efficient tool. He also found that by heating this tool in a fire it became tougher and more durable.
During this period, the family or tribal unit was coming into its own. Man had begun to settle down. He had his cave and his fire, he hunted food and prepared it with his greatly improved knife. Yet, instinctively he knew things had just begun.
Metal was the next great step toward a more durable and pliable resource with which to ease his daily chores. With the introduction of iron around 3000 B.C. man had truly reached a "Golden Age" that would revolutionize his life.
Once iron was a routine part of the tool maker's materials, steel was not far away. Steel was truly the one material that revolutionized our lives. The steel industry, as we know it today, which is actually the basis for all modern day industry, came about because of man's search for the "Better Knife."
By the 14th century advances in the steel industry, and therefore in the cutlery industry, caused a great deal of romance and fantasy to spring up around certain forges. The skill of some steelmakers was cloaked in more secrecy than surrounded the invention of the atom bomb. Mythology speaks of King Arthur's Excalibur, The Singing Sword. It tells us of Balmung, the knife with which Sigfried split the anvil with one stroke.
Metals for the famous Damascus weapons were forged in India. Damascus weapons were produced by laminating high carbon steel with milder steel in layers. This process is still in use today.
During the early Christian era, production of the dagger, or sheath knife, was a forge's major product. The dagger was not just a form of protection, but a utensil important to good table manners.
By the 15th century, England emerged as the center for fine steel and cutlery. London, Hallamshire and Sheffield were known then, as they are today, for their knowledge of the cutler's art. The cutlery guilds began here and formed the basic models for our present day trade unions.
Excerpts taken from American Premium Guide to Knives & Razors, 4th Edition, by Jim Sargent, owner Sargent Cutlery Co
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