‘No matter what you have to cut, one golden rule applies – the cutting tool must be sharp! That is the secret of good carving, slicing and chopping, even mincing by machine. Good cutting tools are not cheap and it is “Penny wise and Pound foolish” to try to economise on them; buy really good ones and they will probably last you a lifetime”

Back in nineteen-somewhen and the present day I have had more knives than you could shake a stick at!

From the first set, seven knives (including a paring and a palette) all that remains is the palette knife, the rounded tip long since lost in some inexplicable manner!

But my engraved initials on the hilt are still clearly visible (Oh the vanities of youth!)

This particular article dates back to the late forties. The brown marks top and bottom are the remains of the sellotape used to fix it into the book.