Another what is it...

[peacefrogii]

Can anyone tell me what this was used for?

[Mel Larsen]

I have one very similar that is called a Slaw Knife,  used to chop cabbage for making sauerkraut.  But could have been used to chop almost anything.
Mel

[peacefrogii]

Thanks Mel!  That would make sense.  It came from my Great Grandmother I believe who came from Germany.  It think she made sauerkraut daily...  :)

[Papaw]

Welcome to Tool Talk!!

[Billman49]

Herb chopper - used throughout Europe in various forms - so inevitable that it would have come to the US with immigrants, and later made there as well... This type often known as a half moon (or demi lune, although the French call it a hachoir) - now very popular in the UK since the TV cook, Nigella Lawson, introduced the two handed version under the Italian name 'mezzaluna'. Versions with two handles or two or more blades exist - small single bladed versions were often used in a wooden bowl or dished chopping boards. Straight bladed versions are more common in the UK...

[BruceS]

The Eskimo's (Inuit)  have a very similar knife called an Ulu "woman's knife"   The form must be universally liked.

[scottg]

If you look to the right in this picture, you can see one of these that has 2 blades.
Twice as fast chopping, was the claim.  I have my doubts about that, but its still cool looking. 8^)
  yours Scott

[Branson]

These were once very common kitchen tools, and rather wide spread.  The Eskimo woman's knife, the ulu or ooloo, is one of many built on these lines.  The ulu can be used for much more than chopping, and I suspect their Colonial counterparts saw many uses as well.  I have several in different patterns, and these were made by blacksmiths in some cases, by tool companies in others (notably Disston).  There isn't a part of a stew that can't be done with this knife.  Cuts stew meat into chunks quite handily, as well as mincing onions (or simply slicing them.  There's a good deal of variation in their construction, since the only requirements are  a handle centered over a curved blade.  Nigella's two handled chopper is more restricted to chopping herbs and such -- and really does much better with a shallow wooden bowl.

[oldtools]

Didn't they use something similar for Skinning fur or blubber?

[Branson]

Didn't they use something similar for Skinning fur or blubber?

On a much larger scale, but yes.  Remember those edging shovels with a half-moon blade?  They look quite a bit like those.  Or think of a saddler's head knife on a straight shovel handle, only with a blade  about 10 inches across.

[Branson]

Thanks Mel!  That would make sense.  It came from my Great Grandmother I believe who came from Germany.  It think she made sauerkraut daily...  :)

This style of knife is quite widespread.  The Eskimo ooloo  or  "woman's knife" has a curved blade with a handle over the blade.   There are a number of styles, some have a centered tang that attaches the handle like a T-handle auger, while others have the blade attached with two tangs, much like yours.  The blades of some Colonial choppers are drawn out, turned so that they are horizontal to the edge and inserted into the handle.  In the 19th and early 20th Centuries, many were made by saw companies -- I have a Disston.

With a bowl, they do a great job of chopping herbs, and also of mincing meat or vegetables.  But you can also do all the cutting necessary to make a stew -- meat, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, etc.  Grin, I've found they work wonders in cutting pizza.

[EVILDR235]

I have two of those out in my shop. one came from my mothers house when she moved out of her house that she had lived in for 63 years. It was her mohers house before hers. My grandmother was german as was her mother who came from germany in the late 1800s. The only problem with the knives is which one came from my mothers house. My mother and grandmother use to make sauerkraut when i was a child.

EvilDr235