How to clean your knives

If you have a knife which needs cleaning, what you need is a “Sun” knife cleaner. As you can see from this charming advert, your kitchen maid will be able to use this economic, efficient and rapid machine, made from cast iron, steel and leather and clean your knives to perfection!

In order to use the machine you had to have knife powder, made by Sun, of course, and the knives were polished between two leather discs, which apparently were of such quality that they would last several years.

The machine must be screwed or clamped firmly to a dresser or shelf. Hold the handle of the knife firmly in the left hand and insert the point of the blade with its edge downwards between the two leather discs and under the iron bar on the left of the Machine. Turn the handle with the right hand while pushing the blade of the knife straight in, slowly right up to the shoulder, then withdraw the knife straight out and slowly while still turning the handle with the right hand. The powder is supplied in small quantities through the hole in the front spring. It is important to remember the blade is cleaned while being pushed in and drawn out of the Machine, and the edge of the blade should be down and the blade pressed in with its point slightly downwards. great speed can be attained with a little practice.

We might find it amusing that knife cleaning was of such importance, and wonder why they couldn’t just be washed. This advert dates from about the 1880’s and at that time cleaning tableware and cutlery took up a lot of time, not just for housewives but for the many servants, especially in larger households. Even fairly modest homes might have a silver dinner service, and wealthier           families might have had as many as twenty 20 place settings. In the kitchens, the maids would have used hot water and soap but before the advent of stainless steel,it could well be a tough job to remove stains and marks. How delighted they must have been when ‘the mistress’ invested in a “Sun” knife cleaner!