Herder paring knife 'Treasure out of necessity'

If objects could talk, these paring knives would have exciting stories to tell. For example, how they ended up in their well-protected hiding place almost 90 years ago - or the wonderful coincidence that recently brought them to light again. The adventure of these "treasures of necessity" began in the 1940s, when Günter Herder, then owner of Windmühlenmesser-Manufactur Herder in Solingen-Ohligs, and his storekeeper Fritz Henkels packed and stored large numbers of finished vegetable knives in boxes. To protect the utensils from unauthorized access, the well-sealed treasure chests were buried on the company's property. Thus, when reconstruction began after 1945, a basic stock of material was available with which the production and sale of cutlery and knives could be restarted and Windmühlenmesser-Manufactur could be revived.

However, it only recently became clear that not all the paring knives had been handed over at the end of the war when the manufactory was due for renovation work and the employees set about tidying up. Some treasure chests had ended up behind the large oven in the former wood drying room - well hidden, they were forgotten. This is why we are able to offer you a Herder vegetable knife that comes from original stocks from before 1940. Unused, the blade of this "Hümmelken" made of stainless knife steel is still as sharp as on the first day. As proof of its history, occasional traces of ageing can only be found on the iron rivets that secure the finely polished cherry wood handle scales. And whether you see it as a utilitarian object or a collector's item - this knife is fully functional in any case. Another special feature: it is one of the first knives to be produced by Windmühlenmesser-Manufactur with a stainless steel blade.