This is a knife sharpener made of Old Sheffield Plate and steel. This is a very compact sharpening device compared to the long handled sharpeners generally used for kitchen knives. It was probably kept on a desk for sharpening letter knives and openers. Other desk items such as writing sets and taper sticks were manufactured in Old Sheffield Plate, so it is perhaps not surprising that a knife sharpener like this was too. Old Sheffield Plate was developed in Sheffield around 1742 by Thomas Boulsover. It is a type of silver plated metal made by fusing a thin layer of silver onto a copper ingot. It was rolled out into sheets and used to make decorative objects that looked like silver but were much cheaper.
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A whetstone excavated from Sheffield Castle by A.L.Armstrong. This would have been used for sharpening knives or tools. Sheffield Castle was on the site of the current Castle Market in central Sheffield. It dated from around 1100 to 1648, when it was demolished. Mary Queen of Scots was kept here by George Talbot, the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, for fourteen years of her imprisonment. Before the castle was demolished, the moat began to silt up. Afterwards it slowly filled with debris. Many objects have been found in this debris. Armstrong carried out an excavation of parts of the castle site in 1927 in the area of what is now the Sheffield Co-operative Department Store.
Medium: Flint, elephant ivory
Place Found: Tomb 32, Abu Zaidan, Egypt
Dates: ca. 3300-3100 B.C.E.
Period: Predynastic Period, Naqada III Period
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This is the best-preserved and most detailed example of a type of late Predynastic knife with rows of animals on both sides of the handle. There are 227 animals of 19 species covering this handle, and even the sides of its thumb rest (which is placed to be held by a right-handed person). The purpose of such knives and the significance of their decoration are not known. Most known examples seem to have belonged to men of the highest rank, but this example has the added mystery of having been found in an otherwise modest grave.