Description

Flinders Petrie identified this type of knife, sharp only on the convex end and the butt, as having been used for cutting out linen garments. The top curve would have been for making a running cut, and the butt for chopping through any tough threads, or parts that dragged in the long cut. A very similar type of knife is often found with burials of women (e.g. Illahun, xvii), and it is exactly adapted to cutting out on a flat board.

This same shape persists into the New Kingdom, but its use is less certain. It has been suggested that the form derives from a flensing knife, and was used in shaving or hair-dressing. Perhaps an expensive tool such as this found many uses in an Ancient Egyptian household.