Penknife

File:Pocket-knife.jpg

A simple penknife

File:Writing in bound manuscripts with reed, reed knife, and ink well; citing bound rubricated manuscripts with fore- and top-edge clasps and sharpening a reed pen (Genoa, 16th. c.) (8067971786).jpg

A 16th century depiction of using a penknife on a quill

A penknife, or pen knife, is a small folding knife.<ref name="EB1770-1"/> Today, penknife is also the common British English term for both a pocketknife, which can have single or multiple blades, and for multi-tools, with additional tools incorporated into the design.<ref name="Moore1988"/>

History

Originally, penknives were used for thinning and pointing quills (cf. penna, Latin for "feather") to prepare them for use as dip pens and, later, for repairing or re-pointing the nib.<ref name="EB1770-1"/> A penknife might also be used to sharpen a pencil,<ref name="Machen1895"/> prior to the invention of the pencil sharpener. In the mid-1800s, penknives were necessary to slice the uncut edges of newspapers and books.<ref name="Flanders2014"/>

A penknife did not necessarily have a folding blade, but might resemble a scalpel or chisel by having a short, fixed blade at the end of a long handle.Template:Cn

During the 20th century there was a proliferation of multi-function pocketknives with assorted blades and gadgets,<ref name="Shackleford2010"/> the most famous of which is the Swiss Army knife, referred to in British English as penknives.

A larger folding knife than a penknife, especially one in which the blade locks into place as a protection, as for skinning animals, is referred to by some as a claspknife.<ref name="Shackleford2010"/>

See also

• Opinel knife
• Penny knife
• Skeleton knife

References

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<ref name=EB1770-1>Template:Cite book</ref>

<ref name="Machen1895">Template:Cite book</ref>

<ref name="Moore1988">Template:Cite book</ref>

<ref name="Flanders2014">Template:Cite book</ref>

<ref name="Shackleford2010">Template:Cite book</ref>

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