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Penknife: Difference between revisions

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Importing Wikidata short description: "Small folding knife" (Shortdesc helper)
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{{shortShort description|Small folding knife}}
{{About|the quill and reed pen sharpening knife|the knife concealed in a pen|Ballpoint pen knife}}
[[File:Pocket-knife.jpg|thumb|A simple penknife.]]
[[File:Writing in bound manuscripts with reed, reed knife, and ink well; citing bound rubricated manuscripts with fore- and top-edge clasps and sharpening a reed pen (Genoa, 16th. c.) (8067971786).jpg|thumb|A 16th century depiction of using a penknife on a quill]]
 
A '''penknifePenknife''', or '''pen knife''', is a British English term for a small folding [[knife]].<ref name="EB1770-1"/> Today the word ''penknife'' is also the common British English term for both a [[pocketknife]], which can have single or multiple blades, and for [[multi-tool]]s, with additional tools incorporated into the design.<ref name="Moore1988"/>
 
==History==
Originally, penknives were used for thinning and pointing [[quill]]s (cf. ''penna'', Latin for ''feather'') to prepare them for use as [[dip pen]]s and, later, for repairing or re-pointing the [[Nib_Nib (pen)|nib]].<ref name="EB1770-1"/> A penknife might also be used to sharpen a [[pencil]],<ref name="Machen1895"/> prior to the invention of the [[pencil sharpener]]. AIn penknifethe did not necessarily have a folding [[blade]]mid-1800s, butpenknives mightwere resemblenecessary ato [[scalpel]] or [[chisel]] by having a short, fixed blade atslice the enduncut of a long handle. One popular (but incorrect) [[folk etymology]] makes an association between the sizeedges of a penknifenewspapers and thatbooks.<ref of a small [[ballpoint pen]].name="Flanders2014"/>
 
A penknife did not necessarily have a folding [[blade]], but might resemble a [[scalpel]] or [[chisel]] by having a short, fixed blade at the end of a long handle.{{cn|date=August 2023}}
During the 20th century there has been a proliferation of multi-function knives with assorted blades and gadgets, including; [[stitching awl|awls]], [[reamer|reamers]], [[scissors]], [[nail file|nail files]], [[corkscrew|corkscrews]], [[tweezers]], [[toothpick|toothpicks]], and so on. The tradition continues with the incorporation of modern devices such as [[ballpoint pens]], [[LED]] torches/flashlights, and [[USB flash drive]]s.<ref name="Shackleford2010"/>
 
During the 20th century there has been a proliferation of multi-function [[pocketknives]] with assorted blades and gadgets,<ref name="Shackleford2010"/> the most famous of which is the [[Swiss Army knife]], referred to in British English as penknives.
The most famous example of a multi-function penknife is the [[Swiss Army knife]], some versions of which number dozens of functions and are really more of a folding [[multi-tool]], incorporating a blade or two, than a penknife with extras.<ref name="Shackleford2010"/>
 
A larger folding knife than a penknife, especially one in which the blade locks into place as a protection, as for skinning animals, is oftenreferred to by some calledas a [[claspknife]].<ref name="Shackleford2010"/>
 
==See also==
* [[Ballpoint pen knife]]▼
* [[Penny knife]]
* [[Opinel knife]]
▲* [[Ballpoint penPenny knife]]
* [[Skeleton knife]]
* [[Pocketknife]]
 
==References==
<references>
 
<ref name=EB1770-1>{{cite book|author1=A Society of Gentlemen in Scotland|authorlink1author-link1=History_of_the_Encyclopædia_Britannica#First_edition.2C_1771|title=Volume 3|date=1773|publisher=John Donaldson 195 The Strand|location=Oxford University|page=524|url=https://books.google.co.ukcom/books?id=Ow8UAAAAQAAJ&dq=penknife+encyclopedia+britannica&q=penknife#v=snippet&q=penknife&f=false|accessdateaccess-date=18 December 2014|quote=upon your knee with the back of a penknife,}}</ref>
 
<ref name="Machen1895">{{cite book |title=The Three Impostors |author=[[Arthur Machen]] |author-link=Arthur Machen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=moYlAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA272 |quote=As he came along in the train, he had been sharpening a pencil, and the sudden jolt of the engine as it drew up at a station had driven the penknife against his face... |publisher=John Lane |location=London |date=1895}}</ref>
 
<ref name="Moore1988">{{cite book|last=Moore|first=Simon|title=Penknives and Other Folding Knives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tyXW6xQRoY4C|year=1988|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-0-85263-966-5|pages=25–26}}</ref>
 
<ref name="Shackleford2010Flanders2014">{{cite book|last=ShacklefordFlanders|first=SteveJudith|title=Blade'sThe GuideVictorian toCity: KnivesEveryday &Life Theirin Dickens' ValuesLondon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E6NZd17WtWoCx5quAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA221PA152|date=5 January 20102014|publisher=KrauseSt. Martin's PublicationsPress|location=IolaNew York, WisconsinNY|isbn=978-1-4402250-150504021-73|pagespage=219–222152}}</ref>
 
<ref name="Shackleford2010">{{cite book|last=Shackleford|first=Steve|title=Blade's Guide to Knives & Their Values|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nlgZAwAAQBAJ&dq=uncut&pg=PA152|date=5 January 2010|publisher=Krause Publications|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-1505-6|pages=219–222}}</ref>
</references>▼
 
▲</references>
==External links==
* http://www.victorinox.ch/index.cfm?page=0&lang=E
* http://www.wengerna.com/index.html
* http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pen%20knife
 
{{Knives}}
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