Thread: Weird razor-like thingy, anyone know what it is?

Maybe it was used for castrating livestock . That handle looks too dainty for any kind of serious butchering , or other work .

Originally Posted by dave5225

Maybe it was used for castrating livestock . That handle looks too dainty for any kind of serious butchering , or other work .

Castrating isn't serious butchering ?! Tell that to the cow! And I just cringed again.

Originally Posted by Nightblade

Castrating isn't serious butchering ?! Tell that to the cow! And I just cringed again.

Good point !

It looks like navaja, traditional folding Spanish knife

The seller has now updated his auction description with some new information. He says a customer has informer him is is not a razor, it is a "guest knife" (really not sure how to translate it into english, "gästabudskniv" in swedish).
The history might be interesting. In earlier days (we are talking some hundred years, 1600-1700) silverware was not common, and ppl would use folding or sheathed knives during meals. Each person would naturally have their own. When invited to parties it was common for guests to bring their own eating utilities, and this knife apparently was used both as a knife and a spoon (!)
Another anecdote: the round point might come from a french government representative that found it unappetizing to see guests use their sharp pointed knives to pick their teeth after the meal, so he decided all "guest knives" must have round points. This would also reduce the chance that the guests would stab each other as the party progressed.

A link to a sample photo page with some of these old knives, along with some folding knives: more ancient weird knives here, and a swedish pdf article about them here.

Thanks for all your inputs guys, there is no lack of neither helpfulness nor imagination here

Wow....So that puts a whole new meaning to table manners.Pass the gravy or I'll stab yeh !!

Tweed banana collection, c.1960s | migration history timeline at NSW Migration Heritage Centre

http://www.6of1.biz/USERIMAGES/STUTT...NG%20RAZOR.JPG

These give some interesting clues as to what it could have been. Given the number of hardware stores in those days I am sure that a "worked" piece of metal had to serve more than one purpose.