Solingen Steel Knives & Penknives
History of Germany's Solingen Kitchen Knives, Penknives and Blades
For centuries, this small town in Germany has been turning out the highest quality knives and cutlery.
Some time in the 16th century, artisans in this small German town began creating high quality blades. Four hundred years later, the name Solingen stamped on a blade is still the mark of a high quality product.
A Short History of a Small Town
Solingen was first chartered in 1374, but has been an entity much longer than that. The Romans founded the city of Cologne 20 miles up river (the Rhine) from Solingen. The town had the necessary resources and geographical features to make it a center of blade manufacturing; lush forests provided an unlimited supply of wood for charcoal, local creeks and streams rich in deposits of iron ore, and proximity to the mighty Rhine River, which eventually made it possible to ship to customers all over the world. In the early years, the proximity of the wealthy and thriving city of Cologne provided a ready marketplace for Solingen Steel blades.
Cologne Swords
In the beginning, the finished blades were shipped to Cologne where skilled artisans added beautifully crafted handles and sheaths. The finished product was sold locally, in fact, area rulers deemed that Solingen blades could be sold only in Cologne, and though even the earliest blades were usually stamped with the Solingen name, the finished products were known as “Cologne Swords.” The Thiry Years War (1618-1648) took its toll on the knife industry in Solingen. Some of her most talented craftsmen emigrated to France, Russia, America, and especially to England, where, by the mid-eighteenth century, knife makers in Sheffield had taken over as industry leader.
Peter Daniel Peres
The Solingen blade makers were organized into guilds that had restricted membership, and the industry was tightly controlled by the local aristocracy. In 1805, a cutlery trader named Peter Daniel Peres applied to Duke Maximillian for permission to manufacture fine pen knives, which were not being produced, and therefore not subject to strict guild rules barring competition.
Solingen After 1918
World War I interruped the further development of the German cutlery industry, and by the end of the war, Solingen's former customers had developed their own blade industry. Her biggest customers had enacted anti-dumping laws and stiff tarrifs, and the Russian market was closed completely. Many of the Solingen firms went bankrupt. The advent of the Third Reich brought about a brief surge of activity, particularly in the manufacture of bayonet s and daggers, but by the end of WWII, the devastation of the factories and equipment therein as well as manufacturing restrictions delayed Solingen's rebirth. By the 1950's, machine work had relpaced work had replaced that which was formerly done by hand by skilled artisans, and the blade manufacturing businesses had expanded to include components for a variety of other industries.
Solingen Pen Knives and Kitchen Cutlery
Sill sought after today, high quality Solingen pen knives and kitchen cutlery are sold by a variety of manufacturers including:
Pen & Sheath Knives
- Boker
- Eickorn
- German Bull
- Hen & Rooster
- Huburtus
- Mercator
- Puma
- Robert Klaas
Kitchen Cutlery:
- Henckels
- Forschner
- Messemeister
- Wusthof
Source:
- Levine’s Guide to Knives & Their Values The Complete Book of Knife Collecting,Fifth Edition by Bernard Levine, Krause Publications, 2001
