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Cutlery

French travelling set of cutlery, 1550–1600, Victoria and Albert Museum
An example of modern cutlery, design by architect and product designer Zaha Hadid (2007).

Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware) includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffield in England has been famous for the production of cutlery since the 17th century and a train – the Master Cutler – running from Sheffield to London was named after the industry.[1] Bringing affordable cutlery to the masses, stainless steel was developed in Sheffield in the early 20th century.[2]

The major items of cutlery in Western culture are the knife, fork and spoon. These three implements first appeared together on tables in Britain in the Georgian era.[3] In recent times, hybrid versions of cutlery have been made combining the functionality of different eating implements, including the spork (spoon / fork), spife (spoon / knife), and knork (knife / fork). The sporf or splade combines all three.

  1. ^ British Pathé. "The Master Cutler". britishpathe.com.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things. Reader's Digest. 27 November 2009. p. 49. ISBN 978-0276445699.