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16 Cutting Facts About Knives, Razors, and Daggers

There's more to a simple knife than it looks.

16 Cutting Facts About Knives, Razors, and Daggers

June 13, 2022

Aside from the invention of the wheel and the light bulb, there is no other invention that has benefited the advancement of mankind for good (for the most part) than the knife. A simple, short cutting implement has helped us achieve agriculture, taken down prey and predators, ward off fellow human attackers, and provided a way for us to pick our teeth in the coolest, most dangerous way possible.

It can be easy to see how so many people overlook the knife. In today’s world, it’s just a fork’s tag team partner and a metal stick used to slather peanut butter on things. Or it’s an impractical decorative tchotchke that you find at a flea market to use as wall art or something (if you’re a single, lonely man). But knives are more than what they seem.

Let’s cut the nonsense and trim away the nonsense with some interesting facts about knives.

16

Obsidian

Obsidian knives can slice at a cellular level. These knives are so sharp they can cut individual cells, making them a sought-after and expensive blade. The best steel scalpel tears into tissues like a chainsaw in comparison. CRACKED.COM — Source: CNN

15

Sumo

Sumo referees carry daggers. This is not to break up unruly matches or defend themselves against sore losers - it's to kill themselves if they make a bad call. Luckily, this is mostly a symbolic gesture. CRACKED.COM — Source: Wikipedia

14

Skyfall

Skyfall caused a 405% sales boost in straight razors. Moneypenny giving Bond a sensually close shave proved to be influential. Not only did the market for these blades skyrocket, but internet searches for cut-throat razor and straight razor ballooned by 735%. CRACKED.COM — Source: Digital Spy

13

Swiss Army Knife

The world's largest Swiss Army knife has 87 tools. + The Wenger Giant is a big slab of a folding knife that boasts over 141 different functions, and weighs over three pounds. (We're no knife experts, but why not just carry a regular tool box at this point.) CRACKED.COM — Source: Gear Personal

12

Stone Age Knives

Knives are older than modern humans beings. In 2009, stone blades were discovered in Africa that were more than a half million years old. This means that the first cutting implements and tools were created before even Neanderthals existed. CRACKED.COM — Source: Science

11

WASP Injector Knife

The WASP Injector knife will inflate and freeze your insides. GAT Built specifically to take down large predators, this knife injects compressed air into the stab wound that will not only add damage, but is also cool enough to freeze surrounding tissue and organs. Yikes, we didn't know death by cold ballooning was a thing. CRACKED.COM — Source: Cerberus Tactical

10

Sharp Knives

Sharper knives lead to fewer accidental cuts. When you use a blunter knife, it generally requires more force to do its job and makes it harder to control, leading to more injuries than a well sharpened blade. CRACKED.COM — Source: Reader's Digest Canada

9

Miséricorde

The Miséricorde doesn't just exist in Elden Ring. The long, narrow knife (whose name means mercy) was intended to end the misery of lethally wounded enemies or allies, by piercing past eye slits and weak points in their armor. CRACKED.COM — Sources: Interesting Facts, Knife Collector's Club, Elden Ring Wiki

8

King Tut's Alien Knife

King Tut owned a knife made from a meteorite. Researchers were puzzled by the iron knife found in King Tutankhamen's tomb, as iron was very rare during his reign. The blade's mix of iron, nickel and cobalt strongly suggests an extraterrestrial origin. CRACKED.COM — Source: History

7

Knife Throwing

The fastest knife thrower can hurl 102 knives per minute! THE GREAT THROW I Dr. David Adamovich, А.К.А. The Great Throwdini, threw a world record of 102 14-inch throwing knives at his female assistant within a single minute. (She's okay, by the way). CRACKED.COM — Source: New York Magazine

6

Obsidian Scalpels

Obsidian scalpels give surgeons a cutting edge. In lieu of traditional steel, many top surgeons prefer scalpels made of obsidian (a type of volcanic glass), as they are able to make finer, exact cuts on even the toughest materials. CRACKED.COM — Source: CNN

5

Penknives

Penknives were literally used to make pens. This type of pocket knife was created to thin out and sharpen the tips of quills to use for writing with ink. When pencils came into fashion, the knives were used to sharpen them as well. CRACKED.COM — Source: Wikipedia

4

Machete Fencing

Machete fencing is an art form in Haiti. Tire machèt is a fighting technique popularized during the Haitian Revolution, when firearms were not readily available to most of the revolutionary forces. Today, it's usually taught within Haitian families as self-defenseand a part of their history. CRACKED.COM — Source: Haitian Fencing

3

Bowie Knife

The world's largest Bowie knife is over 14 feet long. PLEASE NORTH adidas adidas An attraction in Bowie, Texas, the monster knife has no practical use, but you can take your picture with it before moving on to the next tourist trap on the American highway. REMO CRACKED.COM — Source: Roadside America, Atlas Obscura

2

Apache Revolver

The French made the worst knife weapon ever. Invented by French gangsters, the Apache revolver was a knife/gun/brass knuckles hybrid which took three effective weapons and merged them into a single clunky one, making stabbing, shooting, and even punching ineffective. CRACKED.COM — Source: Sky Above Us
Photo Credit: Michele M.F./Flickr

1

Gem of the Orient

The most expensive knife is worth $2.1 million. It took 10 years for Buster Warenski to craft the Gem of the Orient, a knife made with 153 emeralds, nine diamonds, and a jade handle. This has to be the priciest thing ever made by someone named Buster. CRACKED.COM — Source: Oishya

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