K1715 Hand forged blacksmith made 1700s 18th century pair of sugar cutter. It is used to chop large chunks of rock sugar into smaller portions, a kitchen necessity in the 18th century . This particular pair has great decorative bands around the jointed area. It is complete with the original tension spring, finger stopper, and closure tab. Fully functional! Great blackened patina with even patina. Measurements: 9 ¾” long x 2 ¾” wide across top.
Sugar was expensive as it was taxed heavily until the 19th Century. Poorer people in Europe used honey instead of sugar as this was cheaper. We can now buy sugar in a variety of forms, as lumps, granules or powder. However, sugar used to be sold in tall, conical loaves that were made by pouring liquid sugar into a mold. Pieces of sugar would be snipped off the loaf using scissors and then pounded or ground, depending on what the sugar was going to be used for. The sugar was cut with special iron sugar-cutters like the ones above. As you can see they are shaped something like very large heavy pliers with sharp blades attached to the cutting sides, these cutters had to be strong and tough. It is easy to imagine that snipping off the hard sugar was difficult and that little bits flew everywhere!
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