The knife is one of the oldest tools used by man. It was the natural progression of using sharp objects, since prehistoric times, for hunting or for an aid in everyday tasks. In the beginning the sharp objects were created throughout the sculpturing and grinding of hard stone, in order to creat the desired shape which served the user. When we entered the copper age, there were created bronze knifes which were used in hunting, as weapons and in everyday tasks. Later in the iron age the use remained the same but the material changed becoming more durable.

For what concerns food, the ancient men used knifes to cut up and prepare their food but for eating they mainly used their hands. Later, in Roman times, they began using knifes to eat. In addition there have been found tombs, where the dead were buried together with their personal dining knife. Until the middle ages, when someone was a guest at a table he had to bring his personal dining knife. However, every knife could be used as a weapon. During the dining session a fight, would often begin, where people used knives and it would not conclude to a happy ending. This is why Louis XVI made the pointy food knife edges more round.

Since knives were usually used for hunting, butchering and killing, you had to use them with your “good” hand. Usually meaning your right hand, since most people are right-handed. It was inevitable therefore, when the “savoir vivre” was created to create the rule of keeping the knife with your right hand, since it was very inconvinient to do so with your left hand. While the “newborn” forks, which were used for bringing food into the mouth, secondary function (not cuting necks), could have been handled with the left hand.

In today’s industrial era the knife has been replaced with other tools which are more efficient. For hunting we use guns, for war more developed weapons and for everyday chores we use specialized tools. Eventually the common knife is only used from butchers and scouts and for the later in the form of a pocketknife.

In regards of the food the main tool is the fork and then the knife when we think about the frequency with wich we use each utencil. If someone visits a “modern” restaurant with a creative cuisine, he will notice that the food that it serves have a form with which the use of the knife is being minimized.

So, what is the necessity of using of the knife with your right hand? Most of us after cutting the food change hand and use the fork with the right hand to bring the food to our mouth. Especially when we have to “grab” vegetables or other chopped food.

So, I’d suggest that you let your kids eat as they like, usually meaning using the fork with their right hand and the knife with their left. When are they gonna use a knife anywhere but in eating?