Table knife
Cuchillo de mesa
- Date
- c. 1637 · confidence low
- Place
- Paris, Île-de-France, France
- Credited to
- Armand-Jean du Plessis, duc de Richelieu
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Cardinal Richelieu is credited with having the tips of his table knives rounded off to stop them being used as weapons or toothpicks, giving rise to the pointless table knife.
The Richelieu anecdote is the most commonly repeated traditional explanation, but it is not directly documented by sources from his own time.
What it led to
- Standardization of table cutlery
- Separation of kitchen and table knives
- Table etiquette norms
- Matching cutlery sets