Jefferson’s Knives: A Tale Of Two Future Presidents And William Shakespeare! Jefferson’s knives, from several mentions, in his memorandum books, we know that Thomas Jefferson purchased a number of pocket knives between 1767 and 1819. One of these knives looks a lot like a modern Victorinox Swiss Army Knife with about a dozen tools between the scales, with the exception of its obvious carbon steel blades and its degrading wood handle. This last one can be seen in Jefferson’s collection at Monticello, and while interesting for many reasons including its likely Sheffield manufacture, and technology, has no real bearing on the tale at hand. It is sufficient to say that Jefferson seems to have been like many if not most Americans regarding the utility of keeping a pocket knife on one’s person. Most men of letters in those days had somewhere about the office a knife of the type used to sharpen a quill pen, hence the term “penknife”. These were often desk knives of the sort sometimes used
Saving knifedom from the empire of the dull!