A new(and unusual)knife and fork set............

[knife7knut]

Got this in the post the other day.Made in Italy.Very unusual fork.Surprisingly they are pretty comfortable to use despite the look of the handles.

[Ringmaster]

Very unusual, K7K !

I assume it's a carving set ? Can you tell what the purpose is, with the offset tines of the fork ? I can see where it would offer a firmer "grasp" of the meat, but I'm having trouble imagining how it's used ?

What's the age of that set ?

Nice,
JR

[knife7knut]

It is indeed a carving set.not sure of the age but it seems to be of pretty good quality.Have to see if I can find any info on the maker. The knife has both smooth and serrated edges and a double point for(I assume)easier pickup of whatever is being cut.I think the reasons for the tine placement on the fork are for:a more firm grip of the meat while cutting and easier release once it has been cut.At least that is what it seems.

Tried it on a chicken and it sliced very cleanly.My wife prefers an electric carver but I have never gotten the hang of using one;instead preferring the old fashioned way.I have about a dozen carving sets(mostly older)but this one is my latest favorite.

[Sauconian]

Here's the knife. Is there a different patent # on the fork ?

http://www.google.com/patents?id=sTZxAAAAEBAJ

[knife7knut]

There are a couple of different patent numbers.The,"D" prefix seems to have been eliminated and there is an Italian patent number(67984)stamped as well.The patent number on the fork is 185568 so apparently the patents were granted fairly close together and these were probably designed as a unit.

[Classic Case]

perhaps the tines are spread apart, so you can draw the knife between them when you slice? i have no idea, thats just what occured to me.

[peterforce]

no expert..but i had a set like this and you would literally after slicing the meat use the space between the tongs almost as you would a spatula when picking up a burger.you would stick the meat again.you would slide the bottom tongs under the slice and just with a slight movement of your hand slide it onto the plate. a set like this is great aroung the holidays.you can literally slice and serve right to the plate.

[Diligence]

I think Peter has it right...the lower prongs are used just like a fork-lift and the top prongs will bind against the thicker cuts of meat and still allow the chef to easily deposit the meat onto some hungry guys plate - without lots of fiddling around. If you look close, I think you will see that a slice of meat would have to be really thick to keep from using the fork in this way.

J