Is It a Find?!

Hello Dan, I was handed down this knife from my great-grandmother. The knife is rather dull and it is marked "Sterling" and engraved with the year "1893". Would you happen to know what it was used for? It is quite ornate and looks very well made. Thank you, Janice Greetings Janice, Your antique, sterling silver knife is actually used for peeling and cutting citrus fruit. First introduced in the late 1700s, this style of knife was modeled after a folding pen knife, whose purpose was to trim and sharpen the points of a writing quill. Folding fruit knives became popular among the wealthy in Europe in the mid 1800s and its popularity soon spread to the United States where it became a somewhat common item for one to have. Often they were given as gifts, thus why many were monogrammed or inscribed. The silver composition of the knife's blades and handles were inert to the citric acid from the fruit, thus would not be prone to pitting or surface oxidation that the acid would normally cause to a regular metal knife. The silver composition also allowed for the knives to be sanitary; because silver is naturally antimicrobial, bacteria could not survive on its surface. The blades of these knives were dull, mainly because silver is rather a soft metal that does not maintain a sharp edge easily and citrus fruit, once peeled, is soft and easy to slice. In a retail setting these knives on average sell between $35 to $150 depending on their complexity and size. Thank you for sharing with us your unique find.