Page 1 of 2
What-is-it question LX
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:51 am
by Granmaa
This item was made in London in 1885, it is 6 inches long.
What is it?
Miles
.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:18 pm
by Hose_dk
saw is easy i will gues a litle.
possibility 1 for sugar
if that is not the case medical a doctors tool.
.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:47 pm
by dognose
Hi Miles,
Is it some kind of novelty cake knife, perhaps for yule log?
Trev.
.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:52 pm
by Granmaa
It's not for sugar, cake or bone.
Clue: It's food related.
Miles
.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 4:46 pm
by Doos
Hi,
Could it be used to divide a hen or some other cooked bird?
Otherwise it looks like a tool Lorena Bobbitt would use.
.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:27 pm
by Granmaa
This isn't for cutting hens or coqs........... or any other bird come to that ; )
Miles
.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:34 pm
by admin
Ice Cream Knife?
.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:41 pm
by dognose
Or maybe French sticks?
Trev.
.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:44 pm
by 2209patrick
Wild guess.
Tool for cutting out the insides of a grapefruit or orange?
The ones I've seen are usually curved.
Pat.
.
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:50 pm
by Granmaa
Nice tries, but I'm afraid not.
Remember that sterling silver is soft, and the food item this saw cuts is soft as well.
Miles
.
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 1:43 am
by Hose_dk
Asparagous?
.
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:36 am
by dognose
Tomatoes? especially when preparing tomatoe saws!
Trev.
.
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:36 am
by Granmaa
No and no. I think this is my first mystery object that has lasted over four hours!
Trev is closest with the type of food this cuts; think sandwiches and salads.
Miles
.
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 6:10 pm
by Waylander
Lettuce knife?
Waylander
.
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:20 pm
by Granmaa
Not lettuce either.
One more guess and I'll reveal all.
Miles
.
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 3:46 am
by dognose
Surely not for hard boiled eggs!
Trev.
.
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:39 am
by Granmaa
No not for eggs either.
It's actually a cucumber saw, and a pretty rare item as you can imagine.
Miles
.
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 10:27 am
by Doos
Hi,
Sounds like a novelty indeed, usually you would expect a slicer for that.
About the lettuce; the silver and the lettuce will react chemically to a poison (atleast when the silver gets "chipped" off the silver fork by the knife). That is the reason why etiquette dictates one should never cut lettuce. It is however just a left-over from the days when people who could affort lettuce ate with silver cuttery.
Nowadays hardly anyone uses silver anymore, so it should be perfectly ok to cut lettuce.
Something similar happens with egg and silver.
.
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 5:56 pm
by salmoned
How was the purpose for this item determined? Was it found listed in the maker's record book as a cucumber saw? Just wondering...
.
Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:28 pm
by Granmaa
Good question; the saw was sold by Christie's (New York) and that was how they named it. There's also a similar one on the ASCAS website. I don't know where they found out its title.
Miles
.