itinerant knife grinders

[Paddy Goose]

Having seen a great photograph of an itinerant knife grinder, who wheels his gear around the streets,...

Miss Marple, I found one. From East London 1905.

Paddy

I'm at a loss to work out why it be any easier to do so with a long knife from behind, or from the side, Mike.

Hi Sam,

I would imagine that act took both hands, one to hold the wound open, or pull viscera as its cut free. I dont imagine he cuts and then sets the knife down to use his right hand to reach in and pull.

The angle his elbow would have to be at in order to do some of the smaller cuts to free bits, or the nicks and nose, would be severe. A blade say 11-13 inches long...as it can be in some cases versus a blade 6-8 inches sharpened to cut precisely, not to sever completely. Doesnt mean he used it precisely always.

If hes a local guy and not medically affiliated, poor or severely poor, is he likely to have a tool that contemporary surgeons used, or one that almost any hawker, docker or part time street walker could afford...or steal.

Cheers Sam.

[Sam Flynn]

The length would be awkward when extracting a kidney through the front

I'm at a loss to work out why it be any easier to do so with a long knife from behind, or from the side, Mike.

a liston would be ideal, its an amputation knife. im studying to (hopefully) become a surgeon by the way there that looks smug enough

Hi Joel,

Best of luck with that, we need more good surgeons. The length would be awkward when extracting a kidney through the front, it also I believe would exceed the length of knife that was considered. I believe the use of that knife was as you say, for amputations, cutting through bone as well as tissues...making smaller snips, or nicks, or slicing an organ free might require a more manageable length.

Plus, can you imagine him pulling out that if they were conscious before he cut the throat? No screams. I think it was a blade that was a little easier to manage overall...for all the actions. Be much easier to slice an apron with a curved tip Bowie I think.

Cheers.

[joelhall]

My apologies Adam, gents,... as I was thinking of the man who introduced things like the sterilization of instruments to prevent infections in the mid 1800's...which were the cause of death more than the surgeries themselves often.

Kind of an awkward instrument for incisions and excisions I would think.

Best regards.

a liston would be ideal, its an amputation knife. im studying to (hopefully) become a surgeon by the way there that looks smug enough

You're thinking of Sir Joseph Lister (father of antisepsis), Mike - after whom Listerine is named.

The Liston knife (for so it is properly called, I believe) is named after Robert Liston, a surgeon of the early/mid 19th century.

My apologies Adam, gents,... as I was thinking of the man who introduced things like the sterilization of instruments to prevent infections in the mid 1800's...which were the cause of death more than the surgeries themselves often.

Kind of an awkward instrument for incisions and excisions I would think.

Best regards.

[Steve S]

Don't need a grinder....I carry a small sharpening stone as part of my Re-enactment kit...couple of minutes after use is enough to keep razor-sharp.
Steve

[AdamWalsh]

the problem with Liston knives is that there is no hand guard, they are designed for amputations/autopsies, not for attack, so maybe while slicing someones throat from side to side will be do-able attacking someone (i.e stabbing) would most likely result in the knife pushing backwards against your hand and cutting your own fingers, therefore making it plausible that he maybe used 2 knives, one for inital attack and one for afterwards (mutilations etc once victim has stopped struggling).

[Mike Covell]

I am 30 this year and remember the knife grinders showing up in the street as a young boy. His stone wheel was attached to his bike, he would peddle and hold the knife to his wheel!

I remember watching as my Nan's knives were held to the stone and gave off wonderful sparks as they conected!

[miss marple]

Jack could have used many different knives, as said,when sharpened they changed shape. Knives were easily available and easily sharpened, so we may be too fixated on the wounds of 'canonical five'. If Jack became more skillful with the knife, he may have developed a pride in his knives and chosen them very carefully.
I think Tabrum was a victim of Jack, there is a lot of signature there. After that perhaps he realised cutting the throat was the most effective way of killing the victims and got the right tools for the job.
Miss Marple

[Robert]

Jack may have had his knife in a sheath - although I've never yet seen, in any film fight scene, a man pull out a sheaf and pull a knife from it. The knife always comes out ready for use.

[AdamWalsh]

You're thinking of Sir Joseph Lister (father of antisepsis), Mike - after whom Listerine is named.

The Liston knife (for so it is properly called, I believe) is named after Robert Liston, a surgeon of the early/mid 19th century.

I was thinking that - Im sure its "Liston".

[Sam Flynn]

What you may have is a Listor knife, named after the surgeon who essentially introduced sanitation to some surgical procedures in the mid 1800's.

You're thinking of Sir Joseph Lister (father of antisepsis), Mike - after whom Listerine is named.

The Liston knife (for so it is properly called, I believe) is named after Robert Liston, a surgeon of the early/mid 19th century.

[sdreid]

I remember when an itinerant knife grinder used to come through our neighborhood when I was a kid. He had the grinding wheel mounted to the front bumper of his old wreck of a car. Most people viewed him as only a notch above a hobo. I think he lived in his car.

Hi Adam,

What you may have is a Listor knife, named after the surgeon who essentially introduced sanitation to some surgical procedures in the mid 1800's. I have a knife collection myself....Bowies, penknives, flick blades, and quite a few Bayonets from both World Wars and the Boer War.

We dont know what kind of knife Jack used,...but as Mrs Marple points out, keeping it sharp wasnt a huge challenge. But...as you sharpen the softer metals that these knives were constructed with, you remove a lot of the blade metal...and a broad knife like a Bowie sharpened often, might end up long and thin as a Listor knife, only with a curved tip, and both sides, upper and lower, sharpened.

Hope that helps, cheers.