Definition of a Knife

A knife can be defined as any blade or cutting edge. Being mainly handheld devices, knives usually possess a handle. Knives can be either fixed blade, folded/folding blade, or slided/sliding blade. Knives with a fixed blade are otherwise known as sheath knives, whereas those with folding blades are often referred to as pocket knives.

Historically, knives represent the first tools of our ancient civilisations, with the earliest knives being made of rock, flint, obsidian (a volcanic glass), and bone. The design and construction of modern knives is highly advanced, with blades being made from a wide variety of metals (including steel, iron, copper, titanium) and ceramics.