Folding or Utility Knife

An interesting tool now housed in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, UK. My reconstruction, just as the original, is made of silver with the exception of the iron blade (the brass version also visible in the pictures below was built as a prototype). Especially interesting is the hinged spoon / fork combination which can be locked fast to the body of the knife. Pictures of the original can be found at the Museum's website.

There are two more known sets of similar construction, one from Ljoben, Bulgaria, and the other from Ventimiglia, Italy. The Ljoben find is dated to the early 3rd century AD.

• Sherlock, David. “A combination Roman eating implement.” Antiquaries Journal 68 (1988): 310-311, pl. xlix.