Shilin Knife
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The Shilin Knife, also known as the Pattsiran Knife or the knife with eggplant-handle and bamboo leave-blade, is a traditional folding knife from Taiwan[1]. Its blade resembles a bamboo leaf, and the handle is made of copper-wrapped buffalo horn, shaped like an eggplant. The blade can be folded and stored inside the handle. It first appeared in Pattsiran (today Shilin District, Taipei City) in 1870, and later became known as the "Shilin Knife" after Pattsiran was renamed [2].
History
The origin of the Shihlin Knife can be traced back to a locksmith from Guangdong (commonly known as Maoniushi [貓牛師]). During the Qing Dynasty, he came to Taiwan and opened a shop in Shilin and took apprentices in knife-making. He created a knife with a handle resembling an eggplant and a blade resembling a bamboo leaf, and took on several followers. Among them, Mr. Kuo He (郭合) was the most famous. The Shilin Knives he made won several awards at various industrial and commercial exhibitions during the Japanese colonial period. In the agricultural society, where handy tools were not commonly available, the Shilin Knife became one tool for cutting, chopping, and slicing. Knives came in ten different sizes, each half an inch apart, suitable for various purposes[3].
Controversy
Kuo He was one of Maoniushi’s followers and started learning knife-making with him since eighteen. In 1869, he made the first Pattsiran Knife (Shilin was called Pattsiran at this time). His shop was named Kuohezi (郭合記) , and the current owner, Kuo Ming-Jang (郭明讓), is the fifth-generation descendant. One theory has that the Shilin Knife was in fact designed by Kuo He[4].
However, Maoniushi had two other followers, Chiu Hsien-Yao (邱顯曜) and Chiu Hsien-Cheng (邱顯誠), who owned another shop - Shilin’s Knife of Fame (士林名刀). This group believes that the Shilin Knife was designed by Maoniushi, and Kuo He was merely one of his followers[5].
References
- ↑ 顏, 水龍 (2016). 臺灣工藝. 南投縣: 國立臺灣工藝研究發展中心/遠流出版事業. p. 206. ISBN 978-986-05-0845-1.
- ↑ "八芝蘭刀". 文化部-典藏網.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help) - ↑ "士林刀". 痞客邦. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ↑ "萬用單刀傳百年 — 百年老店3：台北郭合記士林刀". 天下雜誌.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "郭合記". 郭合記. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
External links
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