Shoe knife
MOT V 84.0056 L=17,8cm B=0,9cm G=28gr
The shoe knife is a full metal blade, approx. 15-25 cm long, which is used by the shoemaker to bevel the edges of leather and trim the edges of the sole. The cut is straight and is oblique in the plane of the blade.
The blade is often wider towards the cutting end. It can also be concave lengthwise; in this way one avoids damaging the shoe when the edges of the sole are cut. Often the handle is wrapped in thin leather (1). Sometimes the knife itself is made from, for example, a metal strip from a packaging (eg MOT V 84.0056). There are also models with a wooden handle (eg MOT V 88.1549).
This knife is used by other leather workers in addition to the shoemaker. For example, the bookbinder uses the knife to thin out the edges of the leather before they are folded over the cover. The basket maker sometimes uses a shoemaker's knife instead of a picking knife (basket maker). [MOT]
(1) SALAMAN 1986: 141.
